Dirck van Cloon
Encyclopedia
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies represented the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949.The first Governors-General were appointed by the Dutch East India Company...
. He died of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
at the age of 46.
He was born in Batavia sometime in 1684. For his education and training he was sent 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...
. He graduated in Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at Leiden University
Leiden University
Leiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
on 1 April 1707.
He returned he to Batavia on the clipper
Clipper
A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
‘Donkervliet’ and spent some time in Dutch Coromandel
Dutch Coromandel
Coromandel was a governorate of the Dutch East India Company on the Coromandel Coast between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1802. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the British according to the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Dutch...
. He was among other things a district overseer in Sadraspatnam. He got into a fight with the governor of Coromandel, Adriaan de Visser, who accused Van Cloon of delivering bad quality goods. The government in Batavia sent Van Cloon back to the Netherlands, but he persuaded the Directors of 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...
that de Visser was not to be trusted. Van Cloon was reinstated and he left for the Indies on 4 November 1719 on board the ‘van de Huis te Assenburg’ as Supercargo
Supercargo
Supercargo is a term in maritime law that refers to a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on the ship...
. In 1720, he became district chief at Negapatnam. In 1723, he became Governor of Dutch Coromandel
Dutch Coromandel
Coromandel was a governorate of the Dutch East India Company on the Coromandel Coast between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1802. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the British according to the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Dutch...
. In 1724, he returned to Batavia to advise the Governor-General and in 1730, he became “Raad-ordinair” (chief advisor) of the Indies.
On the 9th of October 1731 the Directors of 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...
named Dirck van Cloon Governor-General of the Indies
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies represented the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949.The first Governors-General were appointed by the Dutch East India Company...
, to which he succeed on 28 May 1732, following the disgrace of Diederik Durven
Diederik Durven
Diederik Durven was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1 June 1729 until 28 May 1732Durven studied Law at Leiden University where he graduated in 19 July 1702. He became an advocate in Delft in 1704. In 1705, he was nominated as a member of the Council of Justice at Batavia in the Indies...
. By 20 December 1733 van Cloon was asking to resign because of sickness. He died in post, however, and it was not until after he had died that his successor took over. Van Cloon was involved in a stand-off with the nascent Swedish East India Company
Swedish East India Company
The Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the Far East...
, but he resolved it amicably. Less happy was an insurrection of unemployed Chinese sugar plantation workers. This was caused by the collapse of the sugar market, due to over-production and government mishandling.
External links
http://www.vocsite.nl/geschiedenis/personalia/vancloon.html- http://www.tanap.net/content/voc/organization/organization_batavia.htm for the organisational structure of the Dutch East India CompanyDutch East India CompanyThe 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...