Jan van Riebeeck
Encyclopedia
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (April 21, 1619, Culemborg
, Gelderland
– January 18, 1677) was a Dutch
colonial
administrator and founder of Cape Town
.
in the Netherlands
as the son of a surgeon. He grew up in Schiedam
, where he married 19-year old Maria de la Quellerie
on 28 March 1649. (She died in Malacca
, now part of Malaysia, on 2 November 1664, at the age of 35). The couple had eight or nine children, most of whom did not survive infancy. Their son Abraham van Riebeeck
, born at the Cape, later became Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Joining the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) Dutch East India Company
in 1639, he served in a number of posts, including that of an assistant surgeon in the Batavia in the East Indies
. He subsequently visited Japan
. His most important position was that of head of the VOC trading post in Tonkin
, Vietnam
. However, he was called back from this post as it was discovered that he was conducting trade for his own account.
In 1651 he volunteered to undertake the command of the initial Dutch settlement in the future South Africa
. He landed three ships (Dromedaris (the correct spelling of Dromedaris is with one M, notice the absence of the second M, that is because it originated from the Netherlands language,) Reijger, and Goede Hoop) at the future Cape Town
on 6 April 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies. The primary purpose of this way-station was to provide fresh provisions for the VOC fleets sailing between the Dutch Republic and Batavia, as deaths en route were very high. The Walvisch and the Oliphant arrived later in 1652, having had 130 burials at sea.
Van Riebeeck was Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662; he was charged with building a fort, with improving the natural anchorage at Table Bay, planting cereals,fruit and vegetables and obtaining livestock from the indigenous Khoi
people. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there is a Wild Almond
hedge still surviving, that was planted on his orders as a protective barrier around the Dutch settlement. The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop
('Fort of Good Hope') was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions. This first fort should not be confused with Redoubt Duijnhoop or the Cape Town Castle
. The Castle, built between 1664 and 1679, several years after Van Riebeeck's departure, has five bastions and is made of brick, stone and cement. (Zacharias Wagenaer
laid the cornerstone of this castle.)
Van Riebeeck reported the first comet
discovered from South Africa, C/1652 Y1
, which was spotted on December 17, 1652.
In his time at the Cape, Van Riebeeck oversaw a sustained, systematic effort to establish an impressive range of useful plants in the novel conditions on the Cape Peninsula – in the process changing the natural environment forever. Some of these, including grapes, cereals, ground nuts, potatoes, apples and citrus, had an important and lasting influence on the societies and economies of the region. The daily diary entries kept throughout his time at the Cape (VOC policy) provided the basis for future exploration of the natural environment and its natural resources. Careful reading of the diaries shows that an amount of this knowledge was learned from the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region.
He died in Batavia (now renamed Jakarta
) on the island of Java in 1677.
Jan van Riebeeck is of cultural and historical significance in South Africa
among many of the Afrikaner
population, who view him as the founding father of their nation. This regard was also prevalent in that his image appeared ubiquitously on stamps and the South African currency
from the 1940s up until 1993 when the South African Reserve Bank
changed the currency to an apolitical
design of the fauna
and flora
of the region. The image used on the currency notes was, however, not that of Van Riebeeck, but of Bartholomeus Vermuyden.
6 April used to be known as Van Riebeeck's Day
, and later as Founders' Day but the holiday was abolished by the ANC government after the democratic elections of 1994. His image no longer features on any official currency or stamps, but statues of him and his wife remain standing in Adderley Street, Cape Town
.
The coat of arms of the city of Cape Town
is based on the Van Riebeeck family coat of arms.
Many towns and villages these days still have streets named after him. Riebeek-Kasteel is one of the oldest towns in South Africa, situated at 75 km from Cape Town in The Riebeek Valley together with its sister town Riebeek West
.
Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
(English: Jan van Riebeeck High School) is an Afrikaans high school in Cape Town.
Culemborg
Culemborg is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands. The city is situated just south of the Lek River...
, Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
– January 18, 1677) was a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
colonial
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
administrator and founder of 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...
.
Biography
Van Riebeeck was born in CulemborgCulemborg
Culemborg is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands. The city is situated just south of the Lek River...
in 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...
as the son of a surgeon. He grew up in Schiedam
Schiedam
Schiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. The city is located west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen and south of Delft...
, where he married 19-year old Maria de la Quellerie
Maria van Riebeeck
Maria van Riebeeck was the spouse of Jan van Riebeeck, the Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the settlement at the Cape....
on 28 March 1649. (She died in Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, now part of Malaysia, on 2 November 1664, at the age of 35). The couple had eight or nine children, most of whom did not survive infancy. Their son Abraham van Riebeeck
Abraham van Riebeeck
Abraham van Riebeeck was a Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He was born in the Cape Colony in South Africa, and was the son of Jan van Riebeeck. One of Abraham's children was Johanna Maria van Riebeeck , who had married his predecessor Governor-General, Joan van Hoorn...
, born at the Cape, later became Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Joining the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) 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...
in 1639, he served in a number of posts, including that of an assistant surgeon in the Batavia in the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. He subsequently visited Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. His most important position was that of head of the VOC trading post in Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. However, he was called back from this post as it was discovered that he was conducting trade for his own account.
In 1651 he volunteered to undertake the command of the initial Dutch settlement in the future South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He landed three ships (Dromedaris (the correct spelling of Dromedaris is with one M, notice the absence of the second M, that is because it originated from the Netherlands language,) Reijger, and Goede Hoop) at the future 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...
on 6 April 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies. The primary purpose of this way-station was to provide fresh provisions for the VOC fleets sailing between the Dutch Republic and Batavia, as deaths en route were very high. The Walvisch and the Oliphant arrived later in 1652, having had 130 burials at sea.
Khoi
Khoi may refer to:*The common name of Siamese Rough Bush, Streblus asper Lour*The Khoikhoi people*One of the Khoe languages*The Khoekhoe language*Khoy, a city in Iran*Khoy County, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
people. In the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town there is a Wild Almond
Brabejum stellatifolium
Brabejum stellatifolium is a large tree, indigenous to the Western Cape, South Africa....
hedge still surviving, that was planted on his orders as a protective barrier around the Dutch settlement. The initial fort, named Fort de Goede Hoop
Fort de Goede Hoop
The Fort de Goede Hoop was the first military building to be erected in what is now Cape Town. It was built in 1652, and was in use until 1674 when it was superseded by the Castle of Good Hope....
('Fort of Good Hope') was made of mud, clay and timber, and had four corners or bastions. This first fort should not be confused with Redoubt Duijnhoop or the Cape Town Castle
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:...
. The Castle, built between 1664 and 1679, several years after Van Riebeeck's departure, has five bastions and is made of brick, stone and cement. (Zacharias Wagenaer
Zacharias Wagenaer
Zacharias Wagner was a clerk, an illustrator, a merchant, member of the Court of Justice, opperhoofd of Deshima and the only German governor of the Cape colony...
laid the cornerstone of this castle.)
Van Riebeeck reported the first comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
discovered from South Africa, C/1652 Y1
C/1652 Y1
C/1652 Y1 was a naked-eye comet observed, amongst others by Jan van Riebeeck. First spotted on December 16, 1652, by Dutch observers at Pernambuco . the comet was about 280 A.U. from the Sun ....
, which was spotted on December 17, 1652.
In his time at the Cape, Van Riebeeck oversaw a sustained, systematic effort to establish an impressive range of useful plants in the novel conditions on the Cape Peninsula – in the process changing the natural environment forever. Some of these, including grapes, cereals, ground nuts, potatoes, apples and citrus, had an important and lasting influence on the societies and economies of the region. The daily diary entries kept throughout his time at the Cape (VOC policy) provided the basis for future exploration of the natural environment and its natural resources. Careful reading of the diaries shows that an amount of this knowledge was learned from the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region.
He died in Batavia (now renamed Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
) on the island of Java in 1677.
Legacy in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
among many of the Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
population, who view him as the founding father of their nation. This regard was also prevalent in that his image appeared ubiquitously on stamps and the South African currency
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
from the 1940s up until 1993 when the South African Reserve Bank
South African Reserve Bank
The South African Reserve Bank is the central bank of South Africa. It was established in 1921 after Parliament passed an act, the "Currency and Bank Act of 10 August 1920," as a direct result of the abnormal monetary and financial conditions which World War I had brought...
changed the currency to an apolitical
Apolitical
The state or quality of being apolitical can be the apathy and/or the antipathy towards all political affiliations. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased position in regard to political matters.-References:...
design of the fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
and flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
of the region. The image used on the currency notes was, however, not that of Van Riebeeck, but of Bartholomeus Vermuyden.
6 April used to be known as Van Riebeeck's Day
Public holidays in South Africa
A list of holidays in South Africa:The Public Holidays Act determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it will be a public holiday.-Once-off holidays:...
, and later as Founders' Day but the holiday was abolished by the ANC government after the democratic elections of 1994. His image no longer features on any official currency or stamps, but statues of him and his wife remain standing in Adderley Street, 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...
.
The coat of arms of the city of 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...
is based on the Van Riebeeck family coat of arms.
Many towns and villages these days still have streets named after him. Riebeek-Kasteel is one of the oldest towns in South Africa, situated at 75 km from Cape Town in The Riebeek Valley together with its sister town Riebeek West
Riebeek West
Riebeek West is a small town situated 5 km from Riebeek Kasteel and about 75 km north-east of Cape Town in the Swartland area of the Western Cape, South Africa. The Riebeek Valley is known for its wheat, wines and more recently olives.The area of Riebeek West was first seen by Cape...
.
Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck
Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck is an Afrikaans high school in Cape Town, South Africa. It was founded in 1926 by J.J. Jordaan. The school is situated at the foot of Table Mountain right next to the historical Welgemeend in Cape Town...
(English: Jan van Riebeeck High School) is an Afrikaans high school in Cape Town.