Jan van Riebeeck
| Jan van Riebeeck | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 1st Commander of the Cape | |
|
In office 7 April 1652 – 6 May 1662 |
|
| Succeeded by | Zacharias Wagenaer |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Johan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck 21 April 1619 Culemborg, Duchy of Culemborg, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 18 January 1677 (aged 57) Batavia, Dutch East Indies |
| Resting place | Groote Kerk, Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Spouse(s) |
Maria de la Quellerie Maria Isaacks Scipio |
| Children |
Abraham van Riebeeck 7 others |
| Occupation | Colonial administrator |
| Religion | Dutch Reformed |
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.
Van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. He grew up in Schiedam, where he married 19-year-old Maria de la Quellerie on 28 March 1649. She died in Malacca, now part of Malaysia, on 2 November 1664, at the age of 35. The couple had eight or nine children, most of whom did not survive infancy. Their son Abraham van Riebeeck, born at the Cape, later became Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Joining the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) (Dutch East India Company) in 1639, he served in a number of posts, including that of an assistant surgeon in the Batavia in the East Indies.
He was head of the VOC trading post in Tonkin, Indochina.
In 1643, Riebeeck travelled with Jan van Elseracq to the VOC outpost at Dejima in Japan. Seven years later in 1650, he proposed selling hides of South African wild animals to Japan.
In 1651 he volunteered to undertake the command of the initial Dutch settlement in the future South Africa. He landed three ships (Dromedaris; Reijger and Goede Hoop) at the future Cape Town on 6 April 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies. The primary purpose of this way-station was to provide fresh provisions for the VOC fleets sailing between the Dutch Republic and Batavia, as deaths en route were very high. The Walvisch and the Oliphant arrived later in 1652, having had 130 burials at sea.
Van Riebeeck was Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662; he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting cereals, fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi people. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there are a few Wild Almond trees still surviving. The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop ('Fort of Good Hope') was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions. This fort was replaced by the Castle of Good Hope, built between 1666 and 1679 after van Riebeeck had left the Cape.
...
Wikipedia