Johannes Thedens (1680 – 19 March 1748) was
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...
from 6 November 1741 until 28 May 1743.
Thedens, born in a largely Dutch settlement in
Friedrichstadt
Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum.
History
The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Du ...
,
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...
, sailed on 17 December 1697 as a soldier aboard the ''Unie'' to the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
. In 1702 he was appointed to the post of 'Assistant' in 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 ...
and in 1719, to 'Buyer' (''koopman''). He then progressed (between 1723 and 1725) up through the ranks to 'Chief Buyer' (''opperkoopman'') then 'Head of Post' (''
opperhoofd'') at
Deshima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...
in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
[Historiographical Institute. (1988). ''Historical documents relating to Japan in foreign countries,'' Vol. I, pp. 36, 131, 136.]
In 1731, he was co-opted to the
Council of the Indies and in 1736, he was made a full member (''Raad-ordinair of Indie''). In 1740 he was appointed by the Directors as a 'First Councillor and Director General' of the Indies. On 6 November 1741, following the dismissal of
Adriaan Valckenier (whom he had arrested and placed in prison in the castle at Batavia), he became 'interim'
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
. He continued in office up to 28 May 1743, and was able to overcome the Chinese insurrection and put the sugar trade on a better footing. He was succeeded by
Gustaaf Willem baron van Imhoff
Gustaaf Willem, Baron van Imhoff (8 August 1705 – 1 November 1750) was a Dutch colonial administrator for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He served as Governor of Ceylon from 1736 to 1740 and as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies fr ...
. He died in
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 ...
See also
*
VOC Opperhoofden in Japan
Notes
References
* '. (1963). ''Historical documents relating to Japan in foreign countries: an inventory of microfilm acquisitions in the library of the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo.'
OCLC 450710* Paulus, J., Graaff, S. d., Stibbe, D. G., Spat, C., Stroomberg, J., & Sandbergen, F. J. W. H. (1917). ''Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië''. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff
* Putten, L.P. van, 2002 ''Ambitie en onvermogen : gouverneurs-generaal van Nederlands-Indië 1610-1796''.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thedens, Johannes
1680 births
1748 deaths
18th-century Dutch people
Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies
18th-century Dutch colonial governors
Dutch chiefs of factory in Japan
People from Friedrichstadt