Jacob Borghorst, also Borchorst, was the fourth Commander 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 ...
from 1668 to 1670, succeeding Cornelis von Quaelberg. He was in ill health for most of his period as Commander, and left most of the administration to his subordinates. Borghorst and his family returned to the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
in 1670.
Background
Borghort's family came from
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
. He entered service with the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) as an assistant in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and was promoted to ''onderkoopman'' (junior merchant) in 1646. In 1653, he left to become a merchant in Ceylon, leaving in March 1663 as a second-in-command. He served briefly as administrator in
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 several briefings to
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company.
Life
Early life
Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg, as the son of a surgeon. He ...
in 1655 bear his signature.
On 24 December 1664, after a successful career in the service of the VOC, he left
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 ...
for the Netherlands on the , serving as vice-commander on one of the ships in
Pieter de Bitter
Pieter de Bitter (15June 1666) was a 17th-century Dutch Republic, Dutch officer of the Dutch East India Company ( nl, Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, commonly abbreviated to VOC). On 12August 1665 (New Style) he won the Battle of Vågen agai ...
's return fleet. The fleet stayed in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
from 11 March to 22 April 1665 to resupply. During their return voyage, the
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...
broke out, and the valuable merchant fleet sought shelter in the neutral harbor of
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, but the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
did not respect the neutrality treaty and blockaded the port. In the resulting
Battle of Vågen
The Battle of Vågen was a naval battle between a Netherlands, Dutch merchant and treasure fleet; and an England, English flotilla of warships in August 1665 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The battle took place in Vågen, Bergen, Vågen ...
, De Bitter defeated the English but the latter captured the ''Phoenix'' on 13 September 1665.
Borghorst was plundered of eight bags of gemstones, which he had purchased in Europe to carry all the fortune he had built up over the year. This likely required him to start over with the VOC, who appointed him to the Cape as Commander in 1667.
Tenure as Commander
Borghorst left
Texel
Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of De ...
, Netherlands, for the Cape on 27 December 1667, aboard the transport ship , commissioned by the full Lords Seventeen of the VOC in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. The ship carried 268 on a difficult journey: poor weather forced two stays in English harbors (only 6 months after the end of the war) as well as in
Cape Verde
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
, at the time a
Portuguese colony
The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
. Most of the crew got sick and 25 of them died during the voyage.
Borghorst arrived at the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
on 16 June 1668,
feeling weak and sick. On Sunday the 17th, Commander
Cornelis van Quaelberg
Cornelis van Quaelberg, also written as van Quaelbergen or van Quaalberg (1623 – 3 February 1687)[Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...](_blank)
. Borghorst found the task unbearable and petitioned for dismissal immediately after arrival. The VOC appointed Jan van Aelmonden, a Batavia merchant, as his successor, but he could not arrive in time. Therefore, Hackius was appointed as such and Borghorst continued to serve as commander.
During his tenure as Commander, expeditions were launched inland and down the coast: a small village was founded near
Saldanha Saldanha may refer to:
Places South Africa
* Saldanha Bay, a bay in Western Cape
* Saldanha, Western Cape, a town on the bay
* Saldanha Bay Local Municipality, the unit of government that administers the Saldanha Bay region
Other countries
* Sal ...
. Borghorst encouraged
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
cultivation and raised
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
himself, but was accused of taking the side of the
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 ...
in disputes with settlers. He finished the
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
from
Zacharias Wagenaer
Zacharias Wagenaer (also known as ''Wagener'', ''Wagenaar'' and ''Wagner'') (10 May 1614 – 12 October 1668) was a German-born Dutch clerk, illustrator, merchant, member of the Court of Justice, opperhoofd of Deshima and the only German governo ...
's reservoir to the harbor, part of which was rediscovered during the building of the
Golden Acre shopping center
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
.
Departure
Hackius and his family arrived on board the ship on 18 March 1670,
and formally took office on the 25th of that month. On 17 April Borghorst formally resigned and left for the Netherlands on the .
Borghorst apparently was a bachelor in the Cape, and it is unknown if he ever married.
Sources
*
Böeseken, Dr. A.J. (1938). ''Nederlandse commissarissen aan de Kaap''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
* Büttner, H.D. (1980). ''Kennis: die eerste Afrikaanse ensiklopedie in kleur'', vol. 8, pp. 1474-1475. Cape Town: Human & Rousseau.
* Catalogue of the Archives of the Dutch Central
* Government of Coastal Ceylon (1640–1796).
* Journal of Fort Batavia – 31 March 1663; 17 May 1664
*
Krüger, Prof. D.W. (September 1958). “Jacob Borghorst.” ''Historia''.
* Krüger, Prof. D.W. (ed.) (1972). ''Suid-Afrikaanse Biografiese Woordeboek''. Cape Town: Tafelberg-Uitgewers.
* Picard, Hymen W.J. (1972). ''Masters of the Castle''. Cape Town: C. Struik (Pty) Ltd.
* Molsbergen, EC Godée (1916). ''Reizen in Zuid-Afrika in de Hollandse tijd''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
* Van Dam, P. (1939). ''Bescrijvinge der O.I.C.'' The Hague.
* Warnsinck, J. C. M. (1929). ''De Retourvloot van Pieter de Bitter''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borghorst, Jacob
Dutch East India Company people
17th-century Dutch colonial governors
Commanders of the Dutch Cape Colony
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown