Gerard Pietersz Hulft (12 December 1621 in Amsterdam – 10 April 1656 in Colombo), was a Dutch general. In 1655 he was sent with a fleet to Ceylon and died in action.

Life

Hulft was born as the youngest son of the brewer Pieter Hulft, and member of the Civic Guard at the

Lastage Lastage is a neighborhood in the Centrum borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located between the Geldersekade and Oudeschans canals, just east of old medieval city. Today, the neighbourhood is also known as Nieuwmarktbuurt due to the fact tha ...

, a neighborhood near the port of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. After concluding his law studies Gerard Hulft was made Secretary to the

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

in 1645, a position he held until 1653. He served under Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, and

Cornelis de Graeff Cornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van (Zuid-)Polsbroek (15 October 1599 – 4 May 1664) was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age and a powerful Amsterdam regent after ...

. In 1652, a merchant vessel in which he had invested a fortune, was captured by the British. In the ensuing war Hulft hired and kept at his own expense a group of 24 sailors. After the war he lost his job as Secretary due to an administrative conflict with the

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chie ...

s, when he refused to change the wording. He seemed to have been a friend of

Govert Flinck Govert (or Govaert) Teuniszoon Flinck (25 January 16152 February 1660) was a Dutch painter of the Dutch Golden Age. Life Born at Kleve, capital of the Duchy of Cleves, which was occupied at the time by the United Provinces, he was apprenticed by ...

, who painted his portrait before his departure to the East. Kandy Lake, Sri Lanka

Enlisting with the

VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus ...

, where his brother Joan was a governor, he left for

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 April 1654, carrying letters nominating him either as Governor-General or Director-General of the Indies. Upon his arrival in Batavia in October, after a six-month journey, he joined the Council of Indies. In August 1655 the shrewd

Joan Maetsuycker Joan Maetsuycker (14 October 1606 – 24 January 1678) was the Governor of Zeylan during the Dutch period in Ceylon and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1653 to 1678. He was appointed as Governor of Zeylan on 24 March 1646 and was ...

sent him with eleven ships and 1120 soldiers to Ceylon. His mission was to crush the Portuguese utterly. Hulft arrived in mid-September in

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

. During his staying in Ceylon he maintained cordial relations with

Rajasinghe II of Sri Lanka King Rajasinghe II, also known as Rajasingha II (pre coronation, Prince Deva Astana), was a Sinhalese King, reigned 1629 – 6 December 1687; third king of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Rajasingha requested Dutch aid to help expel the Port ...

, the most powerful king of the island. Hulft marched from Maggona and fought the Portuguese in the vicinity of the Panadura Moya Kata. The Dutch took the fort of

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

by surprise and laid siege to the city of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

, in October 1655. On their first attack on 12 November, the Dutch lost 300 people, and 350 were seriously wounded. Half a year later Hulft died in action, being hit from the townwall by an

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

in his right shoulder. This happened a month before the surrender of Colombo and two weeks after his visit to the Royal Palace, as described by the Dutch minister and orientalist

Philippus Baldaeus Philips Baelde or Father Philippus Baldaeus, (baptized on 24 October 1632, Delft – 1671, Geervliet) was a Dutch minister. He went to Jaffna during the Dutch period in Ceylon with an invading Dutch force. As the second European after Abr ...

. His corpse was decorated with flowers and fruits and transported to

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

. His

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Pieter de Bitter Pieter de Bitter (15June 1666) was a 17th-century Dutch officer of the Dutch East India Company ( nl, Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, commonly abbreviated to VOC). On 12August 1665 (New Style) he won the Battle of Vågen against an English ...

brought the news to Batavia.

Bibliography

DE SILVA, Rajpal Kumar, BEUMER, Willemina G. M. ''Illustrations and views of Dutch Ceylon, 1602-1796: a comprehensive work of pictorial reference with selected eye-witness accounts'', London: Serendib Publications, 1988.
*RIBEIRO, João. "História trágica da ilha de Ceilão". Lisboa: Publicações Alfa, Biblioteca da Expansão Portuguesa, 1989 *BALDEUS, Philippus. "A true and exact description of the most celebrated East India coasts of Malabar and Coromandel and also of the isle of Ceylon with their adjacent kingdoms and provinces". Amsterdam: 1672

References

External links

vocwarfare.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulft, Gerard Pietersz. 1621 births 1656 deaths Royal Netherlands East Indies Army generals Royal Netherlands East Indies Army officers Sailors on ships of the Dutch East India Company Kandyan period People of the Dutch–Portuguese War Military personnel from Amsterdam Dutch military personnel killed in action

Life

See also

Bibliography

References

External links