Jan van Riebeeck
Dutch colonial governor (1619-1677) · Netherlands · Politicians · Died at 57
Jan van Riebeeck is read about 226 times a day, in 41 languages.
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Something wrong?He founded the first permanent European settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, a supply station that became the seed of colonial South Africa.
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Jan van Riebeeck (1619-77). Bevelhebber van Kaap de Goede Hoop en van Malacca en secretaris van de Hoge Regering van Batavia. Rijksmuseum SK-A-805In their own words 4
, Hollanders are not a nation to rob another of its property, but desire to live in friendship with all people, and trade with them.
Be careful in always having a good beacon fire, as the signals entirely depend upon it, that the ships may enter the bay in safety".
You shall also keep your fires burning if the ships are blown back by contrary winds, but if the ships are foreign or not Dutch (onduitsch) you shall at once extinguish your fire.
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Johan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck was born on 21 April 1619 in the Dutch Republic. A merchant by trade, he entered the service of the Dutch East India Company and in 1652 was appointed the first Commander of the Cape, tasked with establishing a way station for ships rounding Africa. He held that post for a decade, until 1662, overseeing the settlement's early years before moving on to other company positions. Van Riebeeck died on 18 January 1677, having set in motion a colonial presence that would shape the region for centuries.
Politicians from the Netherlands 6
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