Jacob Mossel
 | This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2015) ) |
Jacob Mossel | |
|---|---|
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies | |
| In office 1 November 1750 – 15 May 1761 | |
| Preceded by | Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff |
| Succeeded by | Petrus Albertus van der Parra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 November 1704 Enkhuizen, Dutch Republic |
| Died | 15 May 1761 (aged 56) Batavia, Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) |
Jacob Mossel (28 November 1704 – 15 May 1761) went from being a common sailor to become
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
from 1750 to 1761.
He was of noble birth, born in
Dutch Council of the Indies (Raad van Indië) in Batavia/Jakarta
.
In 1745, he became the first Director of the
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He remained in post until his own death in 1761.[citation needed
]
Jacob Mossel ruled the Indies during a period in which things got steadily worse for the
British East India Company. In the battle for Bengal, Mossel lost to the British. Mossel was a supporter of the policy to allow private entrepreneurs to trade for themselves in the territory of the Indies. This concerned small scale trading in which the Company could make no profit. Following that, Batavia/Jakarta
underwent a period of growth, which, because of his successors tax regulations, came to nothing. The Company was plagued by corruption and self-interest among its office holders. Jacob Mossel was also involved in this. His great fortune could not in any case have been put together from his official salary. The initiatives he took against corruption were not very effective.
To curb exaggerated displays of wealth, in 1754 he brought in a so-called "Regulation against pomp and splendour", which tried to lay down exactly what wealth an officer could display. These details went from the number of buttonholes they could have to the size of their houses. Of course, the regulations did not apply to himself, and there was great feasting at his daughter's wedding. After his death at Batavia/Jakarta, from a wasting disease, he was given a magnificent funeral.[citation needed]
Sources
- Comprehensive Dutch website on the history of the Dutch East Indies [1]
- Inventaris van de collectie Jacob Mossel, 1699–1801. (1971) Nationaal Archief (NA), Den Haag. Stukken betreffende Jacob Mossel en andere leden van dit geslacht en de Amfioen sociëteit, nummer toegang 1.11.06.03[usurped]. URL bezocht op 10 juni 2006.
- Emmer, P. C. e.a. (1986) "Colonialism and Migration: Indentured Labour Before and After Slavery", in: Ross, R. J. e.a. Colonial Cities. Essays on Urbanism in a Colonial Context. Series: Comparative Studies in Overseas History , Vol. 5., Springer, pp. 81–83.
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| Government appointed (1800–1948) |
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