Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
| Kiliaen van Rensselaer | |
|---|---|
| 1st Patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck | |
|
In office 1630–1643 |
|
| Preceded by | Created |
| Succeeded by | Johan van Rensselaer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1586 Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands |
| Died | October 1643 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Spouse(s) |
Hillegonda van Bijler (m. 1616; her death 1626) Anna van Wely (m. 1627; his death 1643) |
| Children |
First marriage: Hendrick van Rensselaer Johan van Rensselaer Maria van Rensselaer Second marriage: Jan Baptist van Rensselaer Maria van Rensselaer Jeremias van Rensselaer Hilegonda van Rensselaer Eleanor van Rensselaer Nicholas van Rensselaer Susanna van Rensselaer Ryckert van Rensselaer |
| Parents | Hendrick van Rensselaer Maria Pafraet |
| Occupation | Diamond and pearl merchant, patroon |
| Known for | An original director of the Dutch West India Company, founding patroon of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck |
| Signature |  |
| No portrait of Kiliaen van Rensselaer is known to exist. | |
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkɪlijaːn vɑn ˈrɛnsəlaːr]; 1586 – buried 7 October 1643) was a Dutch diamond and pearl merchant from Amsterdam who was one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company, being instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland.
He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New York's Capital District. His estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent War.
Van Rensselaer was the son of Hendrick Kiliaensz van Rensselaer, a soldier from Nijkerk in the States army of the duke of Upper Saxony, and Maria Pafraet, descendant of a well-known printers' dynasty. To keep from risking his life in the army like his father, he apprenticed under his uncle, a successful Amsterdam jeweler. He too became a successful jeweler and was one of the first subscribers to the Dutch West India Company upon its conception.
The concept of patroonships may have been Kiliaen van Rensselaer's; he was likely the leading proponent of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, the document that established the patroon system. His patroonship became the most successful to exist, making full use of his business tactics and advantages, such as his connection to the Director of New Netherland, his confidantes at the West India Company, and his extended family members who were eager to emigrate to a better place to farm. Van Rensselaer married twice and had at least eleven children. When he died sometime after 1642, two succeeded him as patroons of Rensselaerswyck.
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