IJsbrand Godske (also spelled Isbrand, Usbrand, Goske, or Godsken) ( 1626 – after 1689) was the second Governor of the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...

. After the death of Governor Pieter Hackius's on 30 November 1671, Godske was appointed to succeed him with the title of Governor and Councillor Extraordinary of India. For the time it took him to arrive at the Cape, first the Political Council and from 23 March 1672 to 2 October 1672, the secunde,

Albert van Breugel Albert van Breugel was the acting commander of the Cape of Good Hope between April 1672 and 2 October 1672. He succeeded Governor Pieter Hackius after his death on 30 November 1671. Between Hackius's death and Breugel's appointment, the admini ...

, acted as governor.

Early life

Godske was the eldest son of Johan Goske of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

, an armourer to the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

, and his wife Aefgen Ijsbrants of the Hague. His birthday is unknown, but, in a legal document dated 12 September 1671, his age is given as forty-five.

Career

In November 1654, Godske was holding the rank of merchant in the

VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus ...

and a member of a mission to the king of

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. From 1656 to 1661 he commanded the important VOC office at

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

, Ceylon. Godske left the Company's service in 1661, but then decided to take part in the conquest of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

under

Rijckloff van Goens Rijcklof Volckertsz. van Goens (24 June 1619 – 14 November 1682) was the Governor of Zeylan and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He was the Governor of Zeylan from 12 May 1660 to 1661, then in 1663 and finally from 19 November 1664 ...

and only returned to the Netherlands in September 1662. Godske also distinguished himself as a soldier in the sieges of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

and

Mannar Island Mannar Island ( ; ta, மன்னார் தீவு, Maṉṉār tīvu; si, මන්නාරම් දූපත, Mannāram dūpata), formerly spelt Manar Island, which lies off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka, is part of Mannar D ...

. In March 1664 Godske again left for the East Indies and while at the Cape, in 1665, recommended a suitable site for the new fort or castle which was to replace the existing

Fort de Goede Hoop The Fort de Goede Hoop ('Fort of Good Hope') was the first military building to be erected in what is now Cape Town. It was built in 1652, and was in use until 1674 when it was superseded by the Castle of Good Hope. History The Fort was bu ...

. On 11 November 1665, two days after his arrival at

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, he became commander of

Dutch Malabar Dutch Malabar (Dutch; ''Nederlandse Malabar''. Malayalam; ''ഡച്ച് മലബാർ''.) also known by the name of its main settlement Cochin, was the title of a commandment of the Dutch East India Company on the Malabar Coast between ...

and on 1 September 1668 director of the VOC factory at

Gamron Bandar Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās ( fa, , , ), is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz (just across from Musan ...

in Persia, a position he held until 1670. As commander of the return fleet he arrived again at the Cape in 1671. During his three and a half weeks stay at the Cape, he made several decisions concerning the fortification of the settlement and made many recommendations about administration in the instructions which he left for Commander Pieter Hackius. This experience led to his appointment as Governor in October 1672. During his tenure, the

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

was finished and the

Hottentots-Holland The Hottentots Holland Mountains are part of the Cape Fold Belt in the Western Cape, South Africa. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Cape Town metropolitan area and the southern Overberg coast. The range is primarily composed of Ta ...

district was opened on the western edge of settled lands with its own cattle station. He also waged early battles in the Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars with the raiding

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...

chief

Gonnema Gonnema was a Khoekhoe chieftain of the Cochoqua people in 17th century South Africa. He was the primary antagonist of the Dutch East India Company in the Second Khoikhoi–Dutch War. Despite the Company's opposition to war with the Khoekhoe, ind ...

. He served for four years and started off concentrating on social legislation, including establishing the first Orphan Chamber (, a body dedicated to resolving estate issues) in 1674. Godske was sent to preserve the peace at the time of

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

. Needed in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

after the war's end, he returned there in 1676.

References

Sources

* Büttner, H.D. (1980). ''Kennis: die eerste Afrikaanse ensiklopedie in kleur'', vol. 8., pp. 1474–1475. Cape Town:Human & Rousseau. {{DEFAULTSORT:Godske, IJsbrand Governors of the Dutch Cape Colony People from The Hague 17th-century Dutch colonial governors

Early life

Career

See also

References

Sources