Adriaan de Bruin
Tabo Jansz | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1700 Africa |
Died | 1766 Oosthuizen, Netherlands |
Adriaan de Bruin (c. 1700–1766), earlier called Tabo Jansz, was an enslaved servant (
Biography
Little is known of de Bruin's life before adulthood. Originally kidnapped from Africa and enslaved, he had been brought to the Dutch Republic from either
Apparently de Bruin and van Bredehoff were on good terms, and when the latter died in 1733 he left a considerable inheritance to de Bruin (who inherited more than the white maid), consisting of 12,000 guilders in bonds. Two months after van Bredehoff's death, Tabo Jansz was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church, and this was the first documented instance of the name Adriaan de Bruin—the first name for his "master", the last name for his skin color (the register lists him as "from West India"). The inheritance, van Bredehoff noted, was to set de Bruin up in business and prevent him from "falling back into heathendom". However, he was only allowed the annual interest, and the funds were governed by two administrators, who were to receive the funds should de Bruin die without children. De Bruin had married a local girl, Welmetje Bakkers, and started a tobacco shop in Hoorn. In 1753 he asked for a sum of 1,000 guilders to repay debts incurred for work on his shop. The two administrators refused, and de Bruin ended up asking the local government to force the administrators' hands and sell some of the bonds. They grudgingly agreed but reprimanded him, and appointed a third administrator, François van Bredehoff, the son of Adriaan van Bredehoff. Dutch historian Jan de Bruin commented, "For Adriaan this must have been a humiliating experience. He was no longer a slave, but he would never really be a free man". He died in 1766, childless.[1]
Portrait
In 1727, painter
The portrait shows the two men standing on the dike of the Beemsterringvaart, with van Bredehoff pointing at his family home on the other side of the canal (it was built by his father after 1686, and demolished in 1863[5]). Young de Bruin is holding a musket in one hand, and with the other restrains a dog with a leash.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Bruin, Jan de (2013). "Twee West-Friese slaven" (PDF). Oud Hoorn (in Dutch). 35 (2): 59–63.
- ^ a b Haarnack, Carl; Hondius, Dienke (25 March 2012). "Swart in Nederland". Buku – Bibliotheca Surinamica. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ISBN 90-6707-092-0.
- ^ Straus, Cees (12 January 2008). "VOC-bestuurder hangt met nichtje in Westfries Museum". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ Twintig eeuwen West-Friesland, de Westfriezen en hun buren (in Dutch). 1999. p. 428. Retrieved 1 May 2019.