Hans Claessen or Claesz (1562–1623) was an influential merchant from

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 ...

. He was a founding member and CEO of both the

New Netherland Company New Netherland Company () was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Following Henry Hudson’s exploration of the east coast of North America on behalf of the Dutch East India Company in 1609, several Dutch merchants sent ships to trade wit ...

and the Greenland Company. Claessen lived at the Keizersgracht 118-120 and is buried in the Nieuwe Kerk on the

Dam Square Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country. Location and description ...

Claessen was involved in the fur trade and had commercial interests on the Bay of Biscay. He also shipped large quantities of wood from Sweden to Spain, as well as salt from Riga. His organisation, the Hans Claesz Compagnie, had a patent from the Staten Generaal to trade near the Hudson area. In August 1613 Hans Claessen had a meeting with Prince Maurits, which in 1614 eventually led to a merger of all the Amsterdam companies into the New Netherlands Company. Hans Claessen had one daughter, Susanna Claessen (1599). She married the

mayor of the Hague Below is a list of mayors of The Hague since it was decided in 1824 that only one mayor at a time would govern the city. List 1824–1956 1957–present : : : : See also * Timeline of The Hague References {{Reflist The Hague The H ...

Abraham Le Fever (1585-1655) who was also one of the leaders of the contra-remonstrants. They are among the ancestors of many families in both the former

New Netherlands New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

colonies and the Caribbean, and of North-American

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

descendants.http://caribischegenealogie.org

References

16th-century Dutch businesspeople 17th-century Dutch businesspeople 1562 births 1623 deaths Burials at the Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam Businesspeople from Amsterdam People of New Netherland {{Netherlands-business-bio-stub