Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel | |
---|---|
Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony | |
In office 1 June 1691 – 2 November 1699 | |
Preceded by | Himself, as commander |
Succeeded by | Willem Adriaan van der Stel |
Commander 10 December 1679 – 1 June 1691 | |
Preceded by | Hendrik Crudop (acting) |
Succeeded by | Himself, as governor |
Personal details | |
Born | Born at sea, Indian Ocean | 14 October 1639
Died | 24 June 1712 Constantia, Cape Colony | (aged 72)
Spouse | Johanna Jacoba Six |
Children | Willem Adriaan van der Stel |
Parent |
|
Employer | Dutch East India Company |
Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the first
Background
Simon was the son of Ariaen or
Career
Simon then went to the
In 1679, he was appointed "Commander" of the VOC's colony at the Cape of Good Hope, through the growing influence of his relative,
Van der Stel and his wife did not enjoy a very good relationship and her sister Cornelia accompanied her husband to the Cape. Van der Stel never saw his wife again, though he remained devoted to her and frequently sent her money. Johanna Jacoba sent the furnishings and works of art required to fit out the governor's residence at Groot Constantia. These included several art works including The Fisherman, an unfinished painting by Simon de Vlieger, which was one of 13 of his works purchased by Jan van de Cappelle.
In 1685, he was visited by Hendrik van Rheede (with whom he shared in great interest in tropical medicine and botany), and was given Constantia as a reward for 'good and faithful services to the VOC'. In 1685–86, he left for an expedition to the Copper Mountains at Springbok (Namaqualand), where he made topographic and geographic, botanical and zoological observations.[8] In 1691, the VOC replaced the office of "Commander" with "Governor", and Van der Stel was promoted to the new position. His house, Groot Constantia, was well furnished with fine paintings, including The Fisherman. The painting came up for sale at the auction of Van der Stel's estate in 1716.[3]
Every one of his four sons was at one time or another with him in South Africa. Willem Adriaan, after being magistrate of Amsterdam, succeeded his father as Governor of the Cape; Frans "de jonker" became a farmer at the Cape; Adrian became governor of Amboyna (1706–1720); Cornelis was one of the 352 shipwrecked in the Ridderschap van Holland in 1694.[9] An expedition under Willem de Vlamingh was sent out to look for survivors on islands in the Indian Ocean or on the coast of Western Australia.
Van der Stel retired in 1699, and was succeeded by his son
Legacy
The town of Stellenbosch (founded in 1679) was named after him and Simon's Town is also named after him, as well as the Simonsberg mountain. An early ship of the South African Navy, SAS Simon van der Stel was also named for him, in 1952.
Widely known for his development of the South African wine industry, Van der Stel was also the first Cape Governor to be of mixed race-origin, a fact that was largely unacknowledged by the apartheid government.[12]
Ancestry
Simon Van der Stel (Jew from Portugal) | |||||||||||
Adriaan van der Stel | |||||||||||
Maria Adriaens Estella | |||||||||||
Simon Van der Stel | |||||||||||
Hendrik Lievens | |||||||||||
Maria Lievens | |||||||||||
Monica da Costa (freed slave) | |||||||||||
References
- ^ Wallis, F (2000). "Nuusdagboek: Feite en Fratse oor 1000 jaar". Retrieved 27 April 2021.
- ^ Sleigh, D. (2004). Die Buiteposte: VOC-Buiteposte onder Kaapse bestuur 1652-1795. p.642. ...
- ^ a b "Simon van der Stel and the Development of Cape Town". Archived from the original on 26 April 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ Sleigh, D. (2004). Die Buiteposte: VOC-Buiteposte onder Kaapse bestuur 1652-1795. p.642. ...
- ^ https://libstore.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/001/252/642/RUG01-001252642_2010_0001_AC.pdf
- Green Imperialism, p. 138.
- ^ "Simon van der Stel" (PDF). lib.ugent.be. p. 13.
- ^ See the facsimile of his illustrated manuscript on this expedition, ed. by M.L. Wilson and WJJ van Rijssen: Codex Witsenii. Annotated watercolours of landscapes, flora and fauna observed on the expedition to the Copper Mountains, Namaqua, 1685-6 by Simon van der Stel, Cape Town: Iziko Museums, 2002.
- ^ "De VOCsite: gegevens VOC-schip Ridderschap Van Holland (1681)".
- OCLC 8591273.
- ISBN 90-5194-262-1
- ^ "Simon van der Stel, commander and governor of the Cape, is born". South African History Online.