Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck
Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck | |
---|---|
Governor of Suriname | |
In office 27 November 1683 – 19 July 1688 | |
Preceded by | Laurens Verboom |
Succeeded by | Johan van Scharphuizen |
Personal details | |
Born | The Hague, Netherlands | 20 August 1637
Died | 19 July 1688 Paramaribo, Suriname | (aged 50)
Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck (also: Sommelsdijk) (
Biography
Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck was Lord of
He was the fourth generation of a line active in Dutch politics. After a political career in the Netherlands, in 1683 he became tired of Dutch public affairs. Accordingly, he acquired a one-third share of the Society of Suriname, the other shareholders being the Dutch West India Company and the city of Amsterdam. At that time Suriname was a very small colony.[2]
Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck arrived in
In order to develop Suriname, he brought in 300 soldiers. The drunken and disorderly conduct of the soldiers was not appreciated by van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck who started to impose strict laws on the soldiers.[3] The soldiers started to complain about their pay and rations.[2] On 19 July 1688, a mutiny started, twenty soldiers advanced to his house,[3] and shot Van Sommelsdijck and his assistant Laurens Verboom.[2]
During his lifetime, he was rumoured to be one of the richest people of Amsterdam.[4] After his death, it was revealed that he had immense debts.[2]
His daughter Veronica married into the Scottish aristocracy and his descendants include Lord Cochrane, James Boswell, Terence O'Neill, Archibald Cochrane, Lady Victoria Hervey and Fred Again[5]
References
- ^ "J. Wolbers, Geschiedenis van Suriname · DBNL".
- ^ a b c d "Sociëteit van Suriname". Hart.Amsterdam (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck". Suriname.nu.
- ^ "De aanleg van plantages en andere infrastructuur in Suriname". Historiek (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Veronica van Aerssen van Sommelsdyck | James Boswell".