Willem Adriaan van der Stel
Encyclopedia
Willem Adriaan van der Stel (August 24, 1664, Haarlem
- November 11, 1733, Lisse
) was appointed as extraordinary Council of the Dutch Indies, and Governor of the Cape Colony
, a way station for the Dutch East India Company
(VOC), from January 23, 1699 to 1707. He was dismissed after a revolt and was exiled to the Netherlands
.
(1639–1712) and Johanna Jacoba Six (1645–1700), who were prominent members of the Dutch merchant world. His paternal grandfather had been the governor of Mauritius
, and his grandmother a mestizo
. His mother was related to Jan Six
, involved in the silk
trade and a friend of Rembrandt. Willem Adriaan was fifteen when he went to the Cape in 1679. Around 1684 he returned to Holland where he married Maria de Haze, with whom he would have five children. (Her father François de Haze
who worked for Dutch East India Company as an opperhoofd
on Deshima, in Persia and Bengal
was also involved in the silk trade).
Willem Adriaan van der Stel lorded over Nieuw
and Oud-Vossemeer
on the island Tholen
, probably through his wife. In 1691 became an schepen
of Amsterdam. He did not return to the Cape until January 1699 when he was appointed to succeed his father as Governor of the colony.
and agriculture
and conducted extensive farming experiments. He sent quite a few Aloe
to the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam. He was the author of one of South Africa's earliest gardening almanacs. Van der Stel expanded the VOC's gardens and sent expeditions towards the north to explore the rest of the country. He established the "Land van Waveren", now known as Tulbagh
and laid the cornerstone for the Groote Kerk in Cape Town
.
Van der Stel’s legacy is however stained by his apparent greed and extravagance. During his rule, van der Stel was viewed as corrupt and dictatorial.
, which is the origin of the present day Somerset West and its wine route. The land was granted to him in 1700, and he spent much of the VOC resources on its development. This allowed him an unfair advantage and led to strained relationships with the local “free burghers” (independent farmers).
His unilateral actions determining who could participate in the monopoly of wine and meat triggered a revolt amongst the farmers, and in 1706 Adam Tas
, Willem van Zijl and Henning Husing drew up a petition objecting to Van der Stel's activities. Some 63 (out of 550) burghers signed the document and it was sent to the VOC headquarters in Amsterdam.
The petition was at first rejected. Van der Stel had Tas arrested, tried and imprisoned - in the "Black Hole" an infamous dungeon at the Castle of Good Hope
.
Because 31 of the signatories were Huguenots, and since the Netherlands was at war with France
, the failed petition continued to cause concern in Amsterdam. Fearing that the discontent might cause some burghers to become spies for the French, the VOC dismissed van der Stel, and ordered his return to the Netherlands (April 23, 1707). He left the colony in 1708 and returned to the Netherlands where he spent the rest of his life in exile. Subsequently no VOC employees were allowed to own land in the colony. Louis van Assenburgh (1708–1711) became his successor.
Three years after his dismissal, Vergelegen
was sold and divided into four separate farms, and the homestead was ordered to be demolished.
Some point to the scale of his plans and activities in agriculture and horticulture as evidence indicating a man of great vision and imagination. Others note his role in the development of the unique Cape Dutch architecture
, and see him as a martyr.
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
- November 11, 1733, Lisse
Lisse
Lisse is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 16.11 km² of which 0.41 km² is water. Its population is 21864...
) was appointed as extraordinary Council of the Dutch Indies, and Governor of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, a way station for the Dutch East India Company
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...
(VOC), from January 23, 1699 to 1707. He was dismissed after a revolt and was exiled to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Early life
Van der Stel was the eldest of six children of Simon van der StelSimon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel was the last Commander and first Governor of the Cape Colony, the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-Background:...
(1639–1712) and Johanna Jacoba Six (1645–1700), who were prominent members of the Dutch merchant world. His paternal grandfather had been the governor of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, and his grandmother a mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
. His mother was related to Jan Six
Jan Six
Jan Six was an important cultural figure in the golden age of the Netherlands.-Biography:...
, involved in the silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
trade and a friend of Rembrandt. Willem Adriaan was fifteen when he went to the Cape in 1679. Around 1684 he returned to Holland where he married Maria de Haze, with whom he would have five children. (Her father François de Haze
François de Haze
François de Haze worked for Dutch East India Company as an opperhoofd on Deshima , in Persia and Bengal ....
who worked for Dutch East India Company as an opperhoofd
Opperhoofd
Opperhoofd is a Dutch word which literally means 'supreme head'.The Danish equivalent Overhoved, which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch word, is also treated here....
on Deshima, in Persia and Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
was also involved in the silk trade).
Willem Adriaan van der Stel lorded over Nieuw
Nieuw-Vossemeer
Nieuw-Vossemeer is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Steenbergen, about 10 km northeast of Bergen op Zoom.Nieuw-Vossemeer was a separate municipality until 1997, when it became part of Steenbergen....
and Oud-Vossemeer
Oud-Vossemeer
Oud-Vossemeer is a village on the island of Tholen in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Tholen, and lies about 11 km northwest of Bergen op Zoom, close to the Eendracht, part of the Scheldt-Rhine Canal....
on the island Tholen
Tholen
Tholen is a municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen has lent its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality....
, probably through his wife. In 1691 became an schepen
Schepen
A schepen is a Dutch word referring to a municipal civic office in Dutch-speaking countries. The term is still in use in Belgium, but it has been replaced by wethouder in the Netherlands. The closest English terms are alderman, member of the municipal executive, councillor and magistrate,...
of Amsterdam. He did not return to the Cape until January 1699 when he was appointed to succeed his father as Governor of the colony.
Rule as Governor
Van der Stel displayed an interest in horticultureHorticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and conducted extensive farming experiments. He sent quite a few Aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
to the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam. He was the author of one of South Africa's earliest gardening almanacs. Van der Stel expanded the VOC's gardens and sent expeditions towards the north to explore the rest of the country. He established the "Land van Waveren", now known as Tulbagh
Tulbagh
Tulbagh is a town in the Tulbagh valley and is situated in the Witzenberg Local Municipality, with the valley called "Die Land van Waveren" locally. Closest towns are Wolseley, Prince Alfred's Hamlet, Gouda and Ceres in the Boland district of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.The valley has...
and laid the cornerstone for the Groote Kerk in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
.
Van der Stel’s legacy is however stained by his apparent greed and extravagance. During his rule, van der Stel was viewed as corrupt and dictatorial.
Revolt and dismissal
Van der Stel owned a private estate, VergelegenVergelegen
Vergelegen is an historic wine estate near Somerset West, in the Western Cape province of South Africa.-Foundation:The estate was settled in 1700 by an early Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel...
, which is the origin of the present day Somerset West and its wine route. The land was granted to him in 1700, and he spent much of the VOC resources on its development. This allowed him an unfair advantage and led to strained relationships with the local “free burghers” (independent farmers).
His unilateral actions determining who could participate in the monopoly of wine and meat triggered a revolt amongst the farmers, and in 1706 Adam Tas
Adam Tas
Adam Tas was a community leader in the Cape Colony at the turn of the 17th century, and is best known for his role in the conflict between Cape Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel and the "free burghers" at the Cape of Good Hope.- Overview :Adam Tas was born in Holland...
, Willem van Zijl and Henning Husing drew up a petition objecting to Van der Stel's activities. Some 63 (out of 550) burghers signed the document and it was sent to the VOC headquarters in Amsterdam.
The petition was at first rejected. Van der Stel had Tas arrested, tried and imprisoned - in the "Black Hole" an infamous dungeon at the Castle of Good Hope
Castle of Good Hope
The Castle of Good Hope is a star fort which was built on the original coastline of Table Bay and now, because of land reclamation, lies nearer to the Cape Town city centre in South Africa.-History:...
.
Because 31 of the signatories were Huguenots, and since the Netherlands was at war with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the failed petition continued to cause concern in Amsterdam. Fearing that the discontent might cause some burghers to become spies for the French, the VOC dismissed van der Stel, and ordered his return to the Netherlands (April 23, 1707). He left the colony in 1708 and returned to the Netherlands where he spent the rest of his life in exile. Subsequently no VOC employees were allowed to own land in the colony. Louis van Assenburgh (1708–1711) became his successor.
Three years after his dismissal, Vergelegen
Vergelegen
Vergelegen is an historic wine estate near Somerset West, in the Western Cape province of South Africa.-Foundation:The estate was settled in 1700 by an early Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel...
was sold and divided into four separate farms, and the homestead was ordered to be demolished.
Alternate views on van der Stel's legacy
There is some disagreement regarding van der Stel's legacy. Although most sources agree that his rule at the Cape was authoritarian, beset by favoritism, and characterized by misuse of company assets, others claim that this was in no way unique to van der Stel's reign.Some point to the scale of his plans and activities in agriculture and horticulture as evidence indicating a man of great vision and imagination. Others note his role in the development of the unique Cape Dutch architecture
Cape Dutch architecture
-Introduction:Cape Dutch architecture is an architectural style found in the Western Cape of South Africa. The style was prominent in the early days of the Cape Colony, and the name derives from the fact that the initial settlers of the Cape were primarily Dutch...
, and see him as a martyr.
External links
- A biography in Dutch.
- South African History Online.
- History of Cape Town
- Vergelegen History.
- The octagon: an icon of Willem Adriaan van der Stel's aspirations.
- The House of van der Stel (A contrarian perspective of van der Stel’s legacy).