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Thomas Hope (1704-1779)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hope was a Dutch banker and administrator of the VOC
.
The Hope family originally came from Scotland. Archibald Hope, the father of Thomas, was a Quaker who had eight sons. Archibald – along with his eldest son Archibald Jr. – played a principal part in trade in Rotterdam around 1720. His second eldest son Henry (later father of Henry Hope
) went to seek riches in the United States. Younger sons Isaac and Zacharias remained in Rotterdam, where, as ship-owners, they organized the 1735 transatlantic crossing by the Swiss Mennonite
emigrants to Pennsylvania. Archibald and second youngest brother Thomas moved to Amsterdam.
of 1720, Thomas'older brother Archibald founded the trade and banking house Hope & Co, when he tried his luck by opening a branch of his fathers banking house Hopes in Amsterdam. In those early years he simply lodged with a cousin and spent his days at the Amsterdam exchange. He was clearly successful, because Thomas joined him and was given power of attorney in 1724. When Archibald married they opened an office in 1726, and the next year Thomas married the daughter of a well-to-do Amsterdam merchant, Margaretha Marcelis. When Archibald died in 1734, Thomas was joined by his youngest brother Adrian. The business became successful in trade with England, America and the slave trade with the West Indies. The stadholders William IV
and William V
(1766) appointed Thomas Hope as their representative with the VOC and the WIC
.
Thomas Hope came up with a system of cost calculation. Thomas Hope is considered as a possible author of the Proposition: a proposal at the Parliament of the Netherlands in 1751 to improve Holland's diminishing trade position through abolition of the export tax and lowering import tax. The proposal did not take up considerable time on the agenda, but was enacted by other countries.
The Hope brothers' business affairs (like those of many others) flourished for many reasons, including loans for the war between England and France (1756–1763). In 1758, Thomas bought Mattheus Lestevenon
's (then Dutch ambassador in France) attractive building at Keizersgracht 444-446. In 1759, the Hope business had 26 co-workers. The next-door house at 448 was bought in 1763 for Henry Hope, the nephew from America. Thomas had one son, Jan Hope
, who was about the same age as Henry, and they had been traveling companions on their grand tour. Together they would continue to build the Hopes name internationally. In 1763 many Amsterdam businesses went bust when the Brothers De Neufville could not pay their creditors, resulting in an international financial crisis (Isaac de Pinto
, for example, got into difficulties and had to give up his house), but Hope & Co. continued to flourish through international loans and share dealing.
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...
.
Family
Henry Hope
Henry Hope was an Amsterdam merchant banker born in Boston, in Britain's Massachusetts Bay Colony in North America.-Early years:...
) went to seek riches in the United States. Younger sons Isaac and Zacharias remained in Rotterdam, where, as ship-owners, they organized the 1735 transatlantic crossing by the Swiss Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
emigrants to Pennsylvania. Archibald and second youngest brother Thomas moved to Amsterdam.
Life
After the economic bubbleEconomic bubble
An economic bubble is "trade in high volumes at prices that are considerably at variance with intrinsic values"...
of 1720, Thomas'older brother Archibald founded the trade and banking house Hope & Co, when he tried his luck by opening a branch of his fathers banking house Hopes in Amsterdam. In those early years he simply lodged with a cousin and spent his days at the Amsterdam exchange. He was clearly successful, because Thomas joined him and was given power of attorney in 1724. When Archibald married they opened an office in 1726, and the next year Thomas married the daughter of a well-to-do Amsterdam merchant, Margaretha Marcelis. When Archibald died in 1734, Thomas was joined by his youngest brother Adrian. The business became successful in trade with England, America and the slave trade with the West Indies. The stadholders William IV
William IV, Prince of Orange
William IV, Prince of Orange-Nassau , born Willem Karel Hendrik Friso, was the first hereditary stadtholder of the Netherlands.-Early life:...
and William V
William V, Prince of Orange
William V , Prince of Orange-Nassau was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, and between 1795 and 1806 he led the Government of the Dutch Republic in Exile in London. He was succeeded by his son William I...
(1766) appointed Thomas Hope as their representative with the VOC and the WIC
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
.
Thomas Hope came up with a system of cost calculation. Thomas Hope is considered as a possible author of the Proposition: a proposal at the Parliament of the Netherlands in 1751 to improve Holland's diminishing trade position through abolition of the export tax and lowering import tax. The proposal did not take up considerable time on the agenda, but was enacted by other countries.
Mattheus Lestevenon
Mattheus Lestevenon, heer van Berckenrode was a city-secretary and schepen in Amsterdam, then Dutch ambassador to France. Lestevenon played an important role in the year 1748 and in the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris. Pietro Locatelli dedicated six violin sonatas to him.-Life:Lestevenon...
's (then Dutch ambassador in France) attractive building at Keizersgracht 444-446. In 1759, the Hope business had 26 co-workers. The next-door house at 448 was bought in 1763 for Henry Hope, the nephew from America. Thomas had one son, Jan Hope
Jan Hope
John Hope , also known as Jan Hope, was the son of Thomas Hope and Margaretha Marcelis, first cousin of Henry Hope, father of Thomas Hope, and a follower of the Scottish Enlightenment, who is best known today for his Groenendaal Park in Heemstede, Netherlands, where he summered from 1767 to his...
, who was about the same age as Henry, and they had been traveling companions on their grand tour. Together they would continue to build the Hopes name internationally. In 1763 many Amsterdam businesses went bust when the Brothers De Neufville could not pay their creditors, resulting in an international financial crisis (Isaac de Pinto
Isaac de Pinto
Isaac de Pinto was a Dutch Jew of Portuguese origin, a scholar and one of the main investors in the Dutch East India Company....
, for example, got into difficulties and had to give up his house), but Hope & Co. continued to flourish through international loans and share dealing.
Other residents of Keizersgracht 444
- Mattheus LestevenonMattheus LestevenonMattheus Lestevenon, heer van Berckenrode was a city-secretary and schepen in Amsterdam, then Dutch ambassador to France. Lestevenon played an important role in the year 1748 and in the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris. Pietro Locatelli dedicated six violin sonatas to him.-Life:Lestevenon...
- Thomas's widow Margaretha Marcelis and his son Jan HopeJan HopeJohn Hope , also known as Jan Hope, was the son of Thomas Hope and Margaretha Marcelis, first cousin of Henry Hope, father of Thomas Hope, and a follower of the Scottish Enlightenment, who is best known today for his Groenendaal Park in Heemstede, Netherlands, where he summered from 1767 to his...
- Thomas's grandson Thomas Hope
- Adriaan van der HoopAdriaan van der HoopAdriaan van der Hoop was a Dutch banker and in the first half of the 19th century one of the richest men in the Netherlands. He also was an influential politician: a member of the city council, the States-Provincial in Haarlem and the Senate in The Hague. In his later years he became an important...
Literature
- Elias, J.E. (1903-1905, herdruk 1963) De vroedschap van Amsterdam 1578-1795, 2 delen.