Salomon Sweers
Encyclopedia
Salomon Sweers was a bookkeeper and a council for the Dutch East India Company
.
His younger brother was admiral Isaac Sweers
employed by the Admiralty of Amsterdam
.
Salomon Sweers was the son of Aernout Sweerts, a member of the vroedschap
, and Alida van Bronckhorst. In 1628 the family moved to Amsterdam, when his father became a representative in the East India Company.
His 17-year old Salomon joined the East India Company VOC as a clerk. In 1632 Sweers left for the East, under the command of Antonie van Diemen, who protected him.
In 1638 he married in Batavia with Catharina Jans, a widow from Hoorn. Together they paid a visit to their homeland. In 1640 he undertook a second journey to Batavia, being appointed in the Council of India.
Together Antonie van Diemen, Cornelis Witsen, Cornelis van der Lijn
and Joan Maetsuycker
he was involved in the two expeditions of Abel Tasman
. Tasman named several islands after the members of the Council, as here
can be seen. In 1646 he left Batavia again, after being accused of "private trade". Frederick Coyett
became in charge of his goods.
In 1649 he bought a house on next to Johannes van Rensselaer, Patroon
of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in the New Netherlands. In 1653 he became involved in the upbringing of Jacques Specx
's children.
In 1661 his wife died. In 1662 he remarried Elisabeth Bicker, a daughter of Andries Bicker
. Four years later he remarried a widow in Rotterdam.
Sweers Islands in van Van Diemen's Land
(Tasmania) were named by Abel Tasman in November 1642, but the exact location of these islands remains unknown. Tasman also named 'Salomon Suwers (Sweers) hoeck' or Salomon Sweers Cape on the northern coast of Lavongai (New Hanover
) in the Bismarck Archipelago
north-east of Papua New Guinea
during the 1642 journey, and in 1644 he named Sweers River in the Gulf of Carpentaria
, Queensland
, Australia. This river's probable location is Investigator Road (in which case it was not at all a river), the strait between Bentinck and Sweers Island, two of the South Wellesley Islands
.
None of these names are in use today. Sweers Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria was named by Matthew Flinders
in 1802, a name it still carries. Flinders gave it this name as an honour to the Dutch who had been there before him, and hence this eight by two kilometres large island is indeed named after Salomon Sweers.
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
.
His younger brother was admiral Isaac Sweers
Isaac Sweers
Isaac Sweers was a 17th century Dutch admiral.HNLMS Isaac Sweers was Gerard Callenburgh class destroyer of the Royal Netherlands Navy, named after the admiral....
employed by the Admiralty of Amsterdam
Admiralty of Amsterdam
The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various Admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests...
.
Salomon Sweers was the son of Aernout Sweerts, a member of the vroedschap
Vroedschap
The vroedschap was the name for the city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a vroedman, literally a "wise man"...
, and Alida van Bronckhorst. In 1628 the family moved to Amsterdam, when his father became a representative in the East India Company.
His 17-year old Salomon joined the East India Company VOC as a clerk. In 1632 Sweers left for the East, under the command of Antonie van Diemen, who protected him.
In 1638 he married in Batavia with Catharina Jans, a widow from Hoorn. Together they paid a visit to their homeland. In 1640 he undertook a second journey to Batavia, being appointed in the Council of India.
Together Antonie van Diemen, Cornelis Witsen, Cornelis van der Lijn
Cornelis van der Lijn
Cornelis van der Lijn was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1646 until 1650.-Early career:Van der Lijn was born in Alkmaar, possibly in 1608. He went, in 1627, as Assistant to Batavia, Dutch East Indies aboard the Wapen van Hoorn. From 1632 to 18 January 1636 he was Accountant-General...
and Joan Maetsuycker
Joan Maetsuycker
Joan Maetsuycker was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1653 to 1678.Maetsuycker studied law in Leuven, and was a lawyer first in The Hague, and later in Amsterdam. From 1636, he lived in the Dutch East Indies...
he was involved in the two expeditions of Abel Tasman
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the VOC . His was the first known European expedition to reach the islands of Van Diemen's Land and New Zealand and to sight the Fiji islands...
. Tasman named several islands after the members of the Council, as here
Australian places with Dutch names
There are many Australian places which have Dutch names dating from the 17th century due to the Dutch voyages of exploration along the western, northern and southern Australian coasts. Other places were named after the early Dutch explorers by later British explorers or colonists, for instance the...
can be seen. In 1646 he left Batavia again, after being accused of "private trade". Frederick Coyett
Frederick Coyett
Frederick Coyett , born in Stockholm or Moscow in 1615?, buried in Amsterdam, October 17, 1687, was a Swedish nobleman and the last colonial governor for the Dutch colony of Formosa...
became in charge of his goods.
In 1649 he bought a house on next to Johannes van Rensselaer, Patroon
Patroon
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...
of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in the New Netherlands. In 1653 he became involved in the upbringing of Jacques Specx
Jacques Specx
Jacques Specx was a Dutch merchant, who founded the trade on Japan and Korea in 1609. Jacques Specx received the support of William Adams to obtain extensive trading rights from the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu on August 24, 1609, which allowed him to establish a trading factory in Hirado on September...
's children.
In 1661 his wife died. In 1662 he remarried Elisabeth Bicker, a daughter of Andries Bicker
Andries Bicker
Andries Bicker was a wealthy merchant on Moscovia, a member of the vroedschap, the leader of the Arminians, an administrator of the VOC, representative of the States-General of the Netherlands and colonel in the Civic guard...
. Four years later he remarried a widow in Rotterdam.
Sweers Islands in van Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(Tasmania) were named by Abel Tasman in November 1642, but the exact location of these islands remains unknown. Tasman also named 'Salomon Suwers (Sweers) hoeck' or Salomon Sweers Cape on the northern coast of Lavongai (New Hanover
New Hanover Island
New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...
) in the Bismarck Archipelago
Bismarck Archipelago
The Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
north-east of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
during the 1642 journey, and in 1644 he named Sweers River in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. This river's probable location is Investigator Road (in which case it was not at all a river), the strait between Bentinck and Sweers Island, two of the South Wellesley Islands
South Wellesley Islands
The South Wellesley Islands, located South of the Wellesley Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, are :* Bentinck Island, Queensland* Sweers Island* Fowler Island, Queensland* Albinia Island* Horseshoe Island, Queensland...
.
None of these names are in use today. Sweers Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria was named by Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
in 1802, a name it still carries. Flinders gave it this name as an honour to the Dutch who had been there before him, and hence this eight by two kilometres large island is indeed named after Salomon Sweers.