Charlotta Elisabeth van der Lith (21 November 1700, in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

– 5 August 1753, in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...

), was a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

owner in Dutch Surinam; married to three

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

s in 1724–1737 and the leader of the opposition party of the settlers, Cabale, in 1742–1753.

Life

Daughter of the Lutheran priest Diederich van der Lith (1660–1723)

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, and Elisabeth Baldina Helvetius (1679–1748). Married in 1722 to

Hendrik Temminck Hendrik Temminck, sometimes also Temming ( 1680 – 17 September 1727) was from 1 March 1722 to 17 September 1727, governor of the Dutch plantation colony of Surinam. Temminck was born in Arnhem around 1680. He studied law. After his promotion ...

(1680–1727) governor in Surinam; in 1729 to Charles Emilius Hendrik de Cheusses, (1702–1734), governor in Surinam; in 1737 to Joan Raye (1698–1737), governor in Surinam; in 1742 to Antoine Audra, priest; and in 1748 in Paramaribo to priest Martin Louis Duvoisin (d. 1751). Lith became a successful planter through the plantation she inherited from her father. She remained in the governor's residence after the death of her first two spouses and every time married the new governor upon his arrival. From 1742, she acted as the leader of the Cabale party, created by the Dutch colonists, leading the opposition against governor Jan Jacob Mauricius; in 1747, Cabale party under the leadership of "the famous madame du Voisin" appointed the lawyer Solomon du Plessis (1705–1785), father of

Susanna du Plessis Susanna du Plessis (1739–1795) was a plantation owner in Dutch Surinam. She is a legendary figure in the history of Surinam, where she has become a metaphor of a cruel and sadistic slave owner. She is the subject of songs, plays, fairy tales and l ...

, to speak for them in the Netherlands, which led to the deposition of Mauricius in 1751.

References

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Lith, Charlotta Elisabeth van der (1700-1753)
Huygens Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis (formerly Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis)
Anna de Haas, Lith, Charlotta Elisabeth van der
at , 13/01/2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lith, Charoltta Van Der Surinamese businesspeople People from Paramaribo Dutch emigrants to Suriname 1700 births 1753 deaths 18th-century Surinamese people 18th-century Dutch businesspeople Dutch slave owners Surinamese planters 18th-century women landowners Dutch planters Women slave owners