Cornelis Caesar (–1657) was a Dutch merchant and

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 ...

official, serving as

Governor of Formosa The governor of Formosa ( nl, gouverneur van Formosa; ) was the head of government during the Dutch colonial period in Taiwan, which lasted from 1624 to 1662. Appointed by the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in Batavia (modern-day ...

from 1653 to 1656.Andrade, Appendix B.

Early career

After joining the

, Caesar arrived for his first position in

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 1629.Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek, p. 239. During his first spell in Asia he worked in

Quinam Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

Hirado is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The component ...

and finally Tayouan (the capital of

Dutch Formosa The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as ''Formosa'', was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presence ...

), rising to Chief Merchant (''opperkoopman''). In 1641 he resigned his position in Formosa to take up another in Hirado, but en route the Dutch were forced to relocate their factory to the artificial island of

Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...

by the Japanese government. His work took him back to Formosa, then again to Japan, where he ordered a military action on the west coast of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, which at the time was under enemy (Spanish) control. In 1647 he requested leave, which was granted, and he returned to the Netherlands.

Governor of Formosa

After returning to Asia in 1651, Caesar was stationed in Batavia. When

Nicolas Verburg Nicolaes or Nicolaas Verburg (also Verburgh, Verburch) (c. 1620, Delft – November 1676, Netherlands) was the Dutch Governor of Formosa from 1649 to 1653 and Director General of the VOC council in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, from 1668 to 1675. ...

was to be recalled from Formosa in 1653 it looked as if Carel Hartsinck was set to take over as

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 ...

of the island. However, Hartsinck's patron Governor-General

Carel Reyniersz Carel Reyniersz (1604–1653) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1650 until 1653. Reyniersz (or ''Reiniersz'') was born in Amsterdam in 1604 (or perhaps 1602). He left for the Indies in 1627 as Upperbuyer (''opperkoopman'') on th ...

died on April 18 that year, with his successor preferring Caesar as the new Governor of Formosa. Caesar took office on May 24, becoming the 11th Dutch Governor of the colony. He served for three years, being relieved on June 30, 1656 by

Frederick Coyett Frederick Coyett (), born in Stockholm c. 1615 or 1620, buried in Amsterdam on 17 October 1687, was a Swedish nobleman and the last colonial governor for the Dutch colony of Formosa. He was the first Swede to travel to Japan and China and became ...

, who was to be the last Governor. Caesar returned to Batavia, where he died on October 5, 1657.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar, Cornelis 1610s births 1657 deaths Colonial governors of Dutch Formosa People from Goes