Gillis Hooftman van Eyckelberg, (german: Ägidius Hauptmann; 1521 – 19 January 1581,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

) was a Dutch merchant, trader, banker, and shipbuilder from the

Duchy of Limburg The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an Enclave and exclave, excla ...

. Hooftman was one of richest men of his time in the prosperous city of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, the trading center of the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

Life and work

Gillis Hooftman was the son of Erken (Arnold) Arnt Hauptmann (d. 1545), a bailiff of the Lathof in the Stockem neighborhood of Eupen, and of Tryntgen (Katharina) Hoesch. The family originated from the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, and its earlier name of ''Eichelberg'' was changed to a Limburger form, van Eyckelberg. A fiefdom in Eupen-Stockem named after Hauptmann, as is the "Hauptmann Column" was erected to help travelers find their way through the marshlands of the High Fens. The international trade in

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

was the key to the success of his trading house. His business contacts reached as far as Russia, and eventually Hooftman was in a position to purchase several trading vessels. Sources state that Hooftman may have owned more than 100 ships at his peak. These ships sailed to ports in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, and also pioneered Dutch trading with ports of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, and North Africa. By 1559, Hooftman had become one of the richest men in Antwerp, and was living on the "Steenstraat", near the

Het Steen Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. The surviving structure was built between 1200 and 1225 as a gateway to a larger castle of the Dukes of Brabant which was demolished i ...

fortress. In 1578 he bought the "Pulhof" quarter in Berchem, and in 1580, he acquired the Van Affinghem Abbey's retreat in the Mattestraat. That same year he also acquired the Cleydael Castle, and became the Landlord of Cleydael and

Aartselaar Aartselaar (, old spelling: ''Aertselaer'') is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Aartselaar proper. In 2021, Aartselaar had a total population of 14,455. The total area is 10.93& ...

. He became active in local politics, and for many years, he was a member of the Antwerp City Council.

Family

Hooftman married three times. Hooftman married firstly Maria Petitpas with no issue. Hooftman married secondly his niece Anna van Achterhout (died 1562), the daughter of his brother Heinrich, with issue 4 children including: * Johanna Hooftman (1555–97) who married the cloth merchant Antonio Anselmo. Martin de Vos painted portraits of the couple, which appear in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. On 14 February 1568 in Antwerp Cathedral, Hooftman married thirdly Margaretha van Nispen (1545–1598), a sister of

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

' brother-in-law, with issue 7 children including: * Anna Hooftman who married firstly the financier Sir Horatio Palavicino (1540-1600) and secondly, as a widow,

Sir Oliver Cromwell Sir Oliver Cromwell ( – 28 August 1655) was an English landowner, lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1625. He was the uncle of Oliver Cromwell, the Member of Parliament, general, and Lord Pr ...

(cir 1562-1655, the uncle of the Lord Protector) *Beatrice Eichelberg Hooftman (died 1644) who married Philips de Soete de Laecke, Heer van Villers On 19 January 1581, Hooftman died at Antwerp.

References

* Willi Berens: ''Ein großer Eupener: Gillis Hooftman'' In: Eupener Geschichts- und Museumsverein (Hrsg.): ''Geschichtliches Eupen.'' Band II. Markus-Verlag, Eupen 1968. pp. 56–81

Notes

External links

Kurzbiografie
- A brief biography

Deux Médailles à l'Effigie de l'Armateur Anversois Gillis Hooftman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooftman, Gillis 16th-century Dutch businesspeople 1521 births 1581 deaths Dutch bankers Businesspeople from Antwerp People of the Eighty Years' War