Dirk van Hogendorp

Dirk van Hogendorp was a Dutch military officer, politician, colonial administrator and diplomat. In 1812 he was governor of Vilnius, in 1813 he was appointed as the governor of Hamburg. He was an early critic of the Dutch colonial system as implemented under the VOC. His ideas about reforms in the Dutch East Indies were to a large extent realized by the Commissioners-General of the Dutch East Indies, through the behind the scenes influence of his friend Herman Warner Muntinghe, first as adviser of Stamford Raffles, and later as adviser of the Commissioners-General.