Willem Usselincx

Willem Usselincx (1567–1647) was a Flemish slave owner, slave trader, merchant, investor and diplomat who was instrumental in drawing both Dutch and Swedish attention to the importance of the New World. Usselincx was one of the founding fathers of the Dutch West India Company (Dutch: Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie).

Usselincx was born in Antwerp, today a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium. Usselincx was born at a time of major upheaval and change. His life span covered the period of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) which was a revolt against Spain resulting in the secession of seven provinces that came to form the Dutch Republic. At the time of his birth, Antwerp was the most prominent harbor of Western Europe. The Port of Antwerp is located on the right bank of the river Scheldt, which is linked to the North Sea by the estuary Westerschelde. The 16th century has gone down in history as Antwerp’s Golden Age. Over the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second largest European city north of the Alps by 1560.

The religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in Antwerp with violent riots in August 1566. The Eighty Years' War followed shortly. The Spanish Crown succeeded in recapturing the important provinces of Flanders and Brabant, including the major port city of Antwerp. This reclaimed area became known as the Spanish Netherlands. In 1585, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, had captured Antwerp after a long siege and sent its Protestant citizens into exile. The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces stipulated that the Scheldt should be closed to navigation, which destroyed Antwerp's trading activities.

...
Wikipedia