Gerrit Pieter Bicker (1554–1604) was a Dutch merchant, patrician, and one of the founders of the

Compagnie van Verre The Compagnie van Verre (''long-distance company'') was one of the forerunner companies that were later merged (united) into the Dutch East India Company. History It was set up in 1594 by nine citizens of Amsterdam, to break Portugal's monopoly ...

and its successor 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 ...

Family

Born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Gerrit Bicker was the son of Pieter Pietersz Bicker (1522–1585), a brewer and Amsterdam

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Danzig, and Lijsbeth Benningh, Banninck (an ancestor of

Frans Banninck Cocq Frans Banninck Cocq (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Banning), ''lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam'' (1605–1655) was a burgemeester (mayor), knight and military person of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century. He belonged to the wealthy and powerful ...

). His brothers were

Laurens Bicker Laurens may refer to: Places United States * Laurens County, Georgia * Laurens, Iowa, a city * Laurens (town), New York * Laurens (village), New York * Laurens, South Carolina, a city * Laurens County, South Carolina * Fort Laurens, an Amer ...

, Jacob Bicker (1555–1587) and his sister was Dieuwer Jacobsdr Bicker (1584–1641). He belonged to the powerful

Bicker family Bicker (also: Bicker van Swieten and Bicker Caarten) is a very old Dutch patrician family (''since 1390''). The family has played an important role during the Dutch Golden Age. They were at the centre of Amsterdam oligarchy from the beginning of ...

of ''

regenten In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the regenten (the Dutch plural for ''regent'') were the rulers of the Dutch Republic, the leaders of the Dutch cities or the heads of organisations (e.g. "regent of an orphanage"). Though not formally a heredi ...

''. In 1580 Gerrit Bicker married to Aleyd Andriesdr Boelens, descended from

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 chief m ...

Andries Boelens Andries Boelens (Amsterdam, 1455 – there, 1519), also: ''Boelenz'', ''Boelensz., Andries Boel Dircksz.'' or ''Andries Boelen Dircksz'', was an alderman and mayor of Amsterdam. In the period from 1496 to 1517 he was mayor fifteen times. The ter ...

, making him brother in law to burgomaster Jan Claes Boelens. The couple had four children:

Andries Andries is a Dutch and Afrikaans masculine given name or surname equivalent to Andrew. Given name People with this name include * Andries van Artvelt (1590–1652), Flemish painter * Andries Beeckman (1628–1664), Dutch painter * Andries Bekk ...

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

Jan Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

and

Cornelis Bicker Cornelis Bicker van Swieten (25 October 1592 – 15 September 1654), heer (lord) Van Swieten and of Kasteel Swieten, was an Amsterdam regenten, regent of the Dutch Republic during the Dutch Golden Age, Golden Age and a governor of the Dutch West I ...

.Johan Engelbert Elias, De Vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795, p 174
/ref>

Life

In 1585 Bicker was one of the richest merchants in Amsterdam, initially living on the

Oudezijds Achterburgwal The Oudezijds Achterburgwal, often abbreviated to ''OZ Achterburgwal'', is a street and canal in De Wallen, the red light district in the center of Amsterdam. Location and characteristics Just like the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, the OZ Achterburgwa ...

and later on the Niezel. In 1590 he was elected to the town council and six years later he not only became one of the founding directors of the Compagnie van Verre but also invested in Uilenburg, whilst also involved in the sale of plots of land. In 1597 he and his brother Laurens established the Compagnie van Guinee to trade with

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and on the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

in South America. In 1601 Gerard le Roy and Laurens Bicker led the twelfth Dutch expedition to the east Indies, paid for by the Vereenigde Zeeuwse Compagnie (United Zeeland Company), a 'voorcompagnie'.De Vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795, p 173
/ref> In 1590 Bicker was appointed

Schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

and member of the

Vroedschap The vroedschap () was the name for the (all male) city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a ''vroedman'', literally a "wise man". An honorific title of the ''vroedschap'' was the ''vroede vaderen'', ...

of Amsterdam. In he sold his father's brewery. In 1602 he became one of the first financial backers of the

, contributing 21,000

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

. He was also one of the first Dutch traders to trade with the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

. In 1603 he became

of Amsterdam. His son laid the foundation stone of the

Zuiderkerk The Zuiderkerk (, "southern church") is a 17th-century Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembrandt and was the subject of a painting by Cla ...

. In 1604 Gerrit Bicker was appointed ' ambachtsheer' of

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages o ...

Nieuwer-Amstel Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages o ...

.Bestuurders van Amstelveen
/ref>

Sources

* Zandvliet, Kees, ''De 250 rijksten van de Gouden Eeuw. Kapitaal, macht, familie en levensstijl'' (2006 Amsterdam; Nieuw Amsterdam Uitgevers), 73

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bicker, Gerrit Mayors of Amsterdam 1554 births 1604 deaths 16th-century Dutch people 17th-century Dutch people

Gerrit Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "''brave with the spear''", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. People with this name include: * Gerrit Achterberg (1905–1962), Dutch poet * Gerrit van Arkel (1858–1918), Dutch architect * Gerrit Badenh ...

Businesspeople from Amsterdam