Jan de la Fontaine ( 1684 – 6 May 1743) was governor of the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

from 1729 to 1737, after also acting as governor in 1724 to 1727.

Career

De la Fontaine started his career 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) in 1708 when he was sent to Batavia. In 1710 he was re-employed to the Dutch Cape Colony and arrived at the Cape in March 1710. At the Cape he was appointed assistant and junior merchant and progressed through the ranks to member of the council of policy in 1713 and in 1717, was given the rank of merchant. On the death of governor,

Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes (1654 – 8 September 1724) was governor of the Dutch Cape Colony from 1714 till 1721. Early life Maurits (or Mauritz) Pasques de Chavonnes was born in The Hague and baptized on 23 July 1654 in de Grote Kerk, The Hag ...

on 8 September 1724, De la Fontaine was appointed acting governor. He served in this capacity until 25 February 1727, when the new governor, Pieter Gysbert Noodt, assumed office. De la Fontaine then applied for discharge from the service of the VOC, but his request was rejected, and the company gave him a promotion to senior merchant and increased his salary substantially. When Noodt died in 1729, De la Fontaine again was appointed acting governor on 24 April 1729 and on 8 March 1730 the Lords XVII (

Heren XVII 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 co ...

) confirmed his appointment as governor and he took the oath on 21 March 1731. During his administration, De la Fontaine endeavoured to expand the Cape settlement into the interior. In July 1734, he travelled to the vicinity of

Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...

and although he thought little of the harbour, he claimed the bay for the VOC and proclaimed the Great Brak River as the eastern boundary of Cape. New outposts were also established in 1734, at

Riviersonderend Riviersonderend is a village in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, about east of Cape Town. It is located on a loop of the Sonderend River, from which it takes its name. In the census of 2011 it was recorded as having a popula ...

, at Rietvlei on the

Buffeljags River Buffeljagsriver (Afrikaans for "buffalo hunt") is a river that originates where two other rivers meet, one being the Grootvadersbos River (Afrikaans for ''Grandfather's woods'') and the other the Tradou River. The confluence is just east of a smal ...

, and at

St Helena Bay Saint Helena Bay ( af, St. Helenabaai) is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Nicknamed by locals as ''Agterbaai'',''St Helena Bay.'' CapeWestCoast.org. http://www.capewestcoast.org/regi ...

. In 1736 De la Fontaine again asked to be released, in part because he wanted to ensure good education for his children. His request was granted and in August 1737 he handed his duties to his successor, Adriaan van Kervel.

Personal

De la Fontaine was the eldest of the four children of Jacques (Jacob) de la Fontaine and Barbara van der Burgh and was baptized in Amsterdam on 23 April 1684. At the Cape he married Maria Elisabeth de Man on 10 May 1711, who was born and died at the Cape and they had a son and a daughter. In February 1738, De la Fontaine and his family sailed for Holland, where he bought Westerhout, a farmstead at

Wijk aan Zee Wijk aan Zee ( literally ''Neighborhood at Sea'') is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Coru ...

and lived there until his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de la Fontaine, Jan 1684 births 1743 deaths Dutch East India Company people from Amsterdam 18th-century Dutch colonial governors Governors of the Dutch Cape Colony

Career

Personal

See also

References