Abraham van Riebeeck (; 18 October 1653 – 17 November 1713) was a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

with the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

and the

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

from 1709 to 1713.

Biography

Abraham van Riebeeck was born on 18 October 1653 in the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...

(present-day

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

). His father was

Jan van Riebeeck Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Life Early life Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. He ...

, commander of the Cape, and his mother was

Maria van Riebeeck Maria van Riebeeck (née de la Queillerie; 28 October 1629 – 2 November 1664) was a French Huguenot who was the first wife of Jan van Riebeeck, the Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the settlement at the Cape. Life She ...

. When his father moved to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

(present-day

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

) in 1662, he sent Van Riebeeck and his brother to Holland. He studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

from 1673 to 1676.Riebeeck, Mr. Abraham van
''

Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek The ''Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek'' (''NNBW'') is a biographical reference work in the Dutch language. It has been succeeded by the ''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland''. It was published in ten parts between 1911 and 1937 by ...

'', 1924; retrieved 17 January 2015. After his studies, he became a

with the

and travelled on the ship ''De Vrijheyt'' to Batavia, where he arrived 1677. He married Elisabeth van Oosten in 1678. They had six children, Johanna Maria (1679–1759), Johannes (1691–1735), Elisabeth (1693–1723), and three others who died in their childhood. H.M. Morien & H.K. Nagtegaal
Johan Abrahamsz. van Riebeeck (1691-1735)
''Hollandse Genealogische Databank'', 2012; retrieved 17 January 2015. He was

from 1709 until his death in 1713. He was a keen explorer, who undertook several smaller and a few larger voyages in the Indies.

Death

After he became the first person to reach the summit of

Tangkuban Perahu Tangkuban Perahu (also Tangkuban Parahu) is a stratovolcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It erupted in 1826, 1829, 1842, 1846, 1896, 1910, 1926, 1929, 1952, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1967, 19 ...

, Van Riebeeck contracted dysentery on his way home. He was unable to recover from the disease and died on 17 November 1713 in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. File:Elisabeth van Oosten (1660-1714). Echtgenote van Abraham van Riebeeck Rijksmuseum SK-A-812.jpeg, Elisabeth van Oosten, Van Riebeeck's wife File:Elisabeth van Riebeeck (1693-1723). Dochter van Abraham van Riebeeck, echtgenote van Gerard van Oosten (1693-1723) Rijksmuseum SK-A-813.jpeg, Elisabeth van Riebeeck, Van Riebeeck's daughter

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riebeeck, Abraham Van 1653 births 1713 deaths 18th-century Dutch explorers R Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies People from Cape Town 18th-century Dutch East Indies people 17th-century Dutch businesspeople 18th-century Dutch businesspeople Infectious disease deaths in Indonesia deaths from dysentery