Isabella Simons (

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,

, 16 November 1694 - 17 January 1756) was a banker in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

. She married Jan Baptist Cogels (1694-1733), son of the founder of the Cogels bank in Antwerp, Jan Baptist Cogels the Elder (1663-1734). After the death of first her spouse and then her father-in-law, she took over the management of the bank in 1734 and never remarried, as she could legally only have managed her own affairs as a widow. During her management, the bank focused on the financing of the national debt in the Austrian Netherlands. Her bank thrived during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

. She had good relations with Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

and managed to have her spouse ennobled posthumously in 1753. She left the bank to her son, Jan Baptist Cogels III.

References

*Petra Rebmann, Het Rivierenhof, vijf eeuwen parkgeschiedenis, Lanno, Tielt, 1997, {{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Isabella 1694 births 1756 deaths Belgian bankers Nobility of the Austrian Netherlands Businesspeople from Antwerp Businesspeople of the Austrian Netherlands Women bankers 18th-century businesswomen Women of the Austrian Netherlands

See also

References