Renier van Tzum

Renier van Tzum also known as Tzom or Reijnjer van't Zum, (c. 1600/1606 in Tzum – September 21, 1670 in IJlst), was a merchant/trader and official of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC).

Van Tzum was born in the Frisian village Tzum or Tzom. He was the son of Marten Jansz (1575?-1624), a captain in the Admiralty of Friesland. His mother died in 1622; two brothers in 1628. It is not known when Van Tzum began working for the VOC. Van Tzum was sent to Siam in 1629. In 1636 he went on a boatride on Chao Phraya River with his colleagues. When Jeremias van Vliet left the factory in 1641, Van Tzum was nominated to succeed him, but first in 1643 he was appointed chief factor. He collaborated with Anthonie van Diemen in Batavia, Johan van Twist in Dutch Malacca,Maximiliaan le Maire and François Caron in Formosa, Jan van Elseracq on Deshima and the factors in Persia and at the Coromandel Coast. Van Tzum pretended to be sick when invited by the king.

On 29 September 1645 Van Tzum arrived on Deshima, starting as the VOC opperhoofd or chief factor on 24 November 1645. As head of the Dutch trading post, he traveled to Edo.

He departed from Nagasaki on December 31, on a ship with six fellow Dutchmen. They reached the capital on February 7. As presents Van Tzum handed over spectacles, magnifying glasses, optical lenses, also ones that could be used in a darkroom, and medicines. On February 12 he met with Inoue Masashige.

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