Hubertus Varlet (5 December 1810 – 4 October 1853) was a Dutch architect and colonial administrator, who served on the

Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. ...

. In his capacity as master of works and stores, he rebuilt

Fort Crèvecoeur Fort Crevecoeur ( French: ''Fort Crèvecœur'') was the first public building erected by Europeans within the boundaries of the modern state of Illinois and the first fort built in the West by the French. It was founded on the east bank of the ...

in Accra in 1839. Following the promotion of

Anthony van der Eb Anthony van der Eb (born 3 January 1813 – 21 September 1852) was a Dutch civil servant, who made a career in the administration on the Dutch Gold Coast. Biography Van der Eb was born in Rotterdam on 3 January 1813 to Hendrik van der Eb and ...

to governor of the Dutch Gold Coast, Varlet succeeded him as the second vice governor for the Ahanta protectorate, which the Dutch had proclaimed following the conclusion of the

Dutch–Ahanta War The Dutch–Ahanta War was a conflict between the Netherlands and the Ahanta between 1837 and 1839. Beginning with a mere economic dispute between the Ahanta and the Dutch, who were based at the Dutch Gold Coast, the conflict ended with the hang ...

Biography

Hubertus Varlet was born in

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

, the Netherlands, to Hubertus Varlet senior, a ship carpenter, and Johanna Scholten. He studied architecture at the and graduated in 1835. He was appointed master of works and stores on the

in 1836. In this capacity, he rebuilt

in Accra in 1839, which had been left in a ruinous state ever since

Shirley's Gold Coast expedition In 1781, Great Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic, opening the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. As part of its offensive strategy, the British organized an expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghan ...

of 1781. As a private architect, he built several merchant houses on the Herenweg, nowadays Liverpool Street, in Elmina. During major

Jan Verveer Jan Verveer (27 August 1775 – 22 August 1838) was a major general of the Royal Netherlands Army. Biography Jan Verveer was born in Rotterdam to Johannes Verveer and Anna Maria van Alphen. Verveer joined the army in 1797. In 1803, he was sent to ...

's campaign against Ahanta in June and July 1838, Varlet commanded a group of Euro-African volunteers. He was made commandant of Fort Batenstein and vice governor for the Ahanta protectorate after the first vice governor

was promoted to governor of the Dutch Gold Coast on 11 March 1840. While vice governor of Ahanta, Varlet submitted highly detailed plans of several Dutch forts to the Dutch Colonial Office. Varlet retired from the colonial administration in 1850 and was awarded a pension. He remained on the Gold Coast until his death in Elmina on 4 October 1853.

Personal life

Varlet married Maria Amba Bartels, daughter of the wealthy Gold Coast Euro-African merchant

Carel Hendrik Bartels Carel Hendrik Bartels (29 September 1792 – 10 February 1850) was the wealthiest and most important Euro-African trader and businessman on the Dutch Gold Coast in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. Apart from his entrepreneurial ...

, on 25 June 1838. They had at least five children, of whom two sons, Carel Hendrik Varlet (1845–1881) and Hubertus Varlet (1850–1878) reached adulthood. Both sons were sent to the Netherlands for education, where they lived with their uncle Cornelis Varlet. Hubertus junior would eventually become schoolmaster, working in Warmond and

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

. Carel Hendrik Varlet followed in his father's footsteps and was appointed assistant on the Gold Coast in 1864. He returned to the Netherlands after one-and-a-half years, however, and later settled as a merchant in

Assinie Assinie-Mafia is a coastal resort town in south-eastern Ivory Coast. It is a sub-prefecture of Adiaké Department in Sud-Comoé Region, Comoé District. Geography Assinie-Mafia is located 80 kilometres east of Abidjan along the coast of th ...

on the French Gold Coast. He returned to the Netherlands in 1881 and died shortly after at a friend's place in Weesp. After Hubertus Varlet's death in 1853, Maria Amba Bartels remarried Albert Viala, who moved into the houses that Varlet had built for his family. These houses are to this day known as the Viala houses in Elmina. Both Maria Amba Bartels and her son Hermanus Albert Viala are buried in this house. Liverpoolstreet, derde huis - 20651683 - RCE.jpg, Viala House 1 in 1966. Liverpoolstreet, woonhuis - 20651780 - RCE.jpg, Viala House 2 in 1966.

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References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varlet, Hubertus 1810 births 1853 deaths Dutch Gold Coast people People from Medemblik Dutch architects