Zacharias Wagenaer
Encyclopedia
Zacharias Wagner (10 May 1614, Dresdner Neustadt
– 12 October 1668, Amsterdam
) 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
. In 35 years he traveled over four continents.
. Within a year he enlisted as a soldier in the armed forces of the Dutch West India Company
to serve in "New Holland" (Dutch Brazil) in 1634. Three years later, he was hired as a writer by the newly-arrived governor of the colony, Count John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. In Recife
he kept a sort of diary with 109 water-colour drawings of curious fish, strange birds, useful and harmful animals, lovely tasty fruit and nasty, poisonous worms and big, brown or black people, published as "Thier-Buch". There are pictures of the Smooth Hammerhead
, Cutlassfish
, slender filefish
, Serranidae
, and Cirripedia. In 1641, he left Dutch Brazil
, and traveled back to Dresden. After four months he returned already to the Netherlands, and took a position with the Dutch East India Company
.
In 1642 he sailed for the Indies as a midshipman
. In the next year he became an assistant for the governors Antonie van Diemen and Cornelis van der Lijn
; in 1646 he became under-merchant and in 1651 merchant. Three times he became a member of the Court of Justice at Batavia. In 1653 he went on a mission to Canton
to open up again trade relations, which proved fruitless, due to a civil war after the Fall of the Ming Dynasty
. In 1657 he rose to the rank of "opperhoofd" (senior official) of the Dutch East India Company
(VOC) at the small island in Nagasaki bay in the Japanese island of Kyushu, Dejima
. He traveled to the capital Edo in a tributary mission
and escaped from a burning city, which started on 2 March 1657. (There is a drawing from his hand in the Edo-Tokyo Museum
.) In 1659, as one of the first "opperhoofden", he ordered a dinner service, consisting of 200 pieces. Wagener made the design
of this Japanese porcelain, according to the European taste white and blue, with many flowers.
Wagner served two terms as opperhoofd in alternation with Joan Boucheljon:
In 1660 Wagner was involved in the peace negotiations with the sultan of Makassar
. The port had about 2.000 Portuguese traders and for years threatened the Dutch spice trade on the Moluccas. The next year he was head of the Public Works in Batavia. In 1662 he went to Cape of Good Hope
with his small family, five slaves and two horses. He followed Jan van Riebeeck
as a governor on 6 May. Riebeeck left the next day. In December 1663 he asked Batavia to send him some pottery from Persia. He negotiated with the Hottentots about cattle for the Company. By abstaining from further expeditions Wagener could pursue his policy to refrain from an interference in tribal disputes, and to keep strictly neutral. After five years studying the German student Georg Friedrich Wreede wrote a compendium of the Dutch and Hottentot language. Wagener appointed him in Mauritius.
Wagener was one of the five people laying the foundation of the Castle of Good Hope
, which was started in August 1665. He constructed a waterbasin, supplying the ships with fresh water, a hospital, a school and a church. In 1666 his wife Anna Auxbrebis, whom he had married in 1648, died. On 27 September 1666 he resigned and Wagener went back to Batavia with his stepdaughter. He sold his slaves from Bengal. With presents he went to see the susuhunan
of Mataram
, who refused to trade with the VOC. While his knowledge of the Malay
or Javanese language
wasn't very good, the mission turned out to be fruitless; Wagener visited Japara afterwards. The year after he sailed back to Amsterdam as a vice-admiral, and in ill health. He was buried on 16 October 1668 in the Old Church
.
A German excerpt of his diary was translated into English and published in 1704 and 1732.
Innere Neustadt (Dresden)
The Innere Neustadt is a neighborhood in Dresden within the administrative district of Neustadt. The name is derived from "Neuen Königlichen Stadt" , the name given to the former district of 'Altendresden' when it was rebuilt after a fire before 1732...
– 12 October 1668, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) 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
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...
. In 35 years he traveled over four continents.
Life
Zacharias was the son of a Saxonian judge and a painter. In 1633 he traveled from Dresden via Hamburg to Amsterdam. There he worked for Willem BlaeuWillem Blaeu
Willem Janszoon Blaeu , also abbreviated to Willem Jansz. Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer, atlas maker and publisher....
. Within a year he enlisted as a soldier in the armed forces of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
to serve in "New Holland" (Dutch Brazil) in 1634. Three years later, he was hired as a writer by the newly-arrived governor of the colony, Count John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. In Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
he kept a sort of diary with 109 water-colour drawings of curious fish, strange birds, useful and harmful animals, lovely tasty fruit and nasty, poisonous worms and big, brown or black people, published as "Thier-Buch". There are pictures of the Smooth Hammerhead
Smooth hammerhead
The smooth hammerhead is a species of hammerhead shark, family Sphyrnidae, so named because of the distinctive shape of the head, which is flattened and laterally extended into a hammer shape , without an indentation in the middle of the front margin...
, Cutlassfish
Cutlassfish
The cutlassfishes are about 40 species of predatory fish in the family Trichiuridae found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, giving rise to their name...
, slender filefish
Filefish
Filefish are tropical to subtropical tetraodontiform marine fish of the diverse family Monacanthidae. Found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the filefish family contains approximately 107 species in 26 genera...
, Serranidae
Serranidae
Serranidae is a large family of fishes, belonging to the order Perciformes. The family contains about 450 species of serranids in 64 genera, including the sea basses and the groupers...
, and Cirripedia. In 1641, he left Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil, also known as New Holland, was the northern portion of Brazil, ruled by the Dutch during the Dutch colonization of the Americas between 1630 and 1654...
, and traveled back to Dresden. After four months he returned already to the Netherlands, and took a position with 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...
.
In 1642 he sailed for the Indies as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
. In the next year he became an assistant for the governors Antonie van Diemen and Cornelis van der Lijn
Cornelis van der Lijn
Cornelis van der Lijn was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1646 until 1650.-Early career:Van der Lijn was born in Alkmaar, possibly in 1608. He went, in 1627, as Assistant to Batavia, Dutch East Indies aboard the Wapen van Hoorn. From 1632 to 18 January 1636 he was Accountant-General...
; in 1646 he became under-merchant and in 1651 merchant. Three times he became a member of the Court of Justice at Batavia. In 1653 he went on a mission to Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
to open up again trade relations, which proved fruitless, due to a civil war after the Fall of the Ming Dynasty
Fall of the Ming Dynasty
The collapse of the Ming Dynasty was a protracted affair, its roots beginning as early as 1600 with the emergence of the Manchu under Nurhaci. Originally a vassal of the Ming emperors, Nurhaci in 1582 embarked on an inter-tribal feud that escalated into a campaign to unify the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes...
. In 1657 he rose to the rank of "opperhoofd" (senior official) 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...
(VOC) at the small island in Nagasaki bay in the Japanese island of Kyushu, Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
. He traveled to the capital Edo in a tributary mission
Dutch missions to Edo
The Dutch East India Company missions to Edo were regular tribute missions to the court of the Tokugawa Shogun in Edo to reassure the ties between the Bakufu and the Opperhoofd...
and escaped from a burning city, which started on 2 March 1657. (There is a drawing from his hand in the Edo-Tokyo Museum
Edo-Tokyo Museum
The is a museum of the history of Tokyo, established in 1993. The main features of the permanent exhibitions are the life-size replica of the Nihonbashi, which was the bridge leading into Edo; the Nakamuraza theatre; scale models of town; and buildings from the Edo, Meiji and Shōwa periods.The...
.) In 1659, as one of the first "opperhoofden", he ordered a dinner service, consisting of 200 pieces. Wagener made the design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
of this Japanese porcelain, according to the European taste white and blue, with many flowers.
Wagner served two terms as opperhoofd in alternation with Joan Boucheljon:
- Joan Bouchelion: 23.10.1655 - 1.11.1656
- Zacharias Wagenaer [Wagener]: 1.11.1656 - 27.10.1657
- Joan Bouchelion: 27.10.1657 - 23.10.1658
- Zacharias Wagenaer [Wagener]: 22.10.1658 - 4.11.1659
- Joan Bouchelion: 4.11.1659 - 26.10.1660
In 1660 Wagner was involved in the peace negotiations with the sultan of Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
. The port had about 2.000 Portuguese traders and for years threatened the Dutch spice trade on the Moluccas. The next year he was head of the Public Works in Batavia. In 1662 he went to Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
with his small family, five slaves and two horses. He followed Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...
as a governor on 6 May. Riebeeck left the next day. In December 1663 he asked Batavia to send him some pottery from Persia. He negotiated with the Hottentots about cattle for the Company. By abstaining from further expeditions Wagener could pursue his policy to refrain from an interference in tribal disputes, and to keep strictly neutral. After five years studying the German student Georg Friedrich Wreede wrote a compendium of the Dutch and Hottentot language. Wagener appointed him in Mauritius.
Wagener was one of the five people laying the foundation of 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:...
, which was started in August 1665. He constructed a waterbasin, supplying the ships with fresh water, a hospital, a school and a church. In 1666 his wife Anna Auxbrebis, whom he had married in 1648, died. On 27 September 1666 he resigned and Wagener went back to Batavia with his stepdaughter. He sold his slaves from Bengal. With presents he went to see the susuhunan
Susuhunan
Susuhunan or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the kings of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. The rulers of Surakarta traditionally adopt the reign name Pakubuwono...
of Mataram
Mataram Sultanate
The Sultanate of Mataram was the last major independent Javanese empire on Java before the island was colonized by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force in interior Central Java from the late 16th century until the beginning of the 18th century....
, who refused to trade with the VOC. While his knowledge of the Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
or Javanese language
Javanese language
Javanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
wasn't very good, the mission turned out to be fruitless; Wagener visited Japara afterwards. The year after he sailed back to Amsterdam as a vice-admiral, and in ill health. He was buried on 16 October 1668 in the Old Church
Oude Kerk (Amsterdam)
The Oude Kerk is Amsterdam’s oldest parish church, consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. It stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdam's main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein.The bust of famous organist and composer...
.
A German excerpt of his diary was translated into English and published in 1704 and 1732.
Work
- Thier Buch / darinnen / viel unterschiedlicher Arter der Fische vögel vierfüssigen Thiere Gewürm, Erd= und / Baumfrüchte, so hin undt wieder in Brasilischen bezirck, und gebiethe, Der Westindischen Com / pagnie zu schauwen undt anzutreffen und daher in den Teutschen landen fremde und unbekant / Alles selbst [...] bezeiget / In / Brasilien / Unter hochlöblicher Regierung des hochgebornen / Herren Johand Moritz Graffen von Nassau / Gubernator Capitain, und Admiral General / von / Zacharias Wagenern / von Dresden. (Kupferstichkabinett, Dresden)
Sources
- Kees Zandvliet a.o. (1987) The Dutch East India Company in the 17th century: life and work of Zacharias Wagenaer (1614–1668). Nagasaki.
- Wolfgang Michel: Zacharias Wagner and Japan (I) — The Autobiography of a 'Thunderman' . Dokufutsu Bungaku Kenkyū, No.37 (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, July 1987), pp. 53–102. PDF_File, Kyushu University Institutional Repository
- Wolfgang Michel: Hans Juriaen Hancke, Zacharias Wagener und Mukai Genshō: Aspekte einer 'lehrreichen' Begegnung im 17. Jahrhundert. Bulletin of the Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University, No. 1 (1995), pp. 109-114. PDF_File, Kyushu University Institutional Repository
- Sybille Pfaff: Zacharias Wagener (1614–1668). Haßfurt, 2001 (Bamberg, Univ., Diss., 1997).
- Spohr, O.H. (1967) Zacharias Wagner, second commander of the Cape. Capetown. Amsterdam.