Louis van Assenburgh (also Assenborch, Assenburg), ( 1657 – 27 December 1711), Governor of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

between 1708 and 1711.

Early life

Van Assenburgh was the son of Pieter van Assenburgh and his wife, Susanna Houwens and was baptized on 23 December 1657 in the

Westerkerk The Westerkerk (; en, Western Church) is a Reformed church within Dutch Protestant Calvinism in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the most western part of the Grachtengordel neighborhood (Centrum borough), next to the Jordaan, between ...

, Amsterdam. Before he joined 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 * ...

, Van Assenburgh served under the 'Kaiser of the Donou'.

Career

Van Assenbugh was appointed as successor to Governor W. A. van der Stel and he left the Netherlands on 19 May 1707. As the ship sailed via Brazil, he only reached the Cape only 25 January 1708 and on the 1st of February he was introduced to the inhabitants of Cape by the secunde and acting governor,

Johan Cornelis d'Ableing Johan Cornelis d'Ableing (also spelled Joan, Jan, d'Ablaing) (20 November 1663 – 21 May 1721), was secunde and acting governor at the Cape. Career D'Ableing joined the VOC as assistant with the chamber of Amsterdam and departed for Batavia ...

. At the beginning of his term as governor, Van Assenburgh had the difficult task at appease the anger of the dissatisfied burghers caused by the revolt and dismissal of W. A. van der Stel and he had to ensure that the people adhere to the commands of 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 ...

). Among other things, he dealt with disputes between burghers and officials, stopped smuggling, introduced new licensing conditions for auctions and made improvements in the care of the sick. The people of the Cape were generally satisfied with his actions. However, the former governor-general, Joan van Hoorn, who visited the Cape in 1710, criticized Van Assenburgh's rule in a letter addressed to his father-in-law,

Abraham van Riebeeck Abraham van Riebeeck (; 18 October 1653 – 17 November 1713) was a merchant with the Dutch East India Company and the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1709 to 1713. Biography Abraham van Riebeeck was born on 18 October 1653 in th ...

. Van Hoorn accused Van Assenburgh, who was unmarried, of consorting with women of ill repute, being fond of frivolous entertainments and that the Cape had a general air of neglect. Although Van Assenburgh was accused of indecisive and improper conduct, it was because of his efforts that the Cape burghers became reconciled once again to the authority of the VOC.

Death

Van Assenburgh was bed-ridden for eight months before his death. He signed his last will and testament exactly a month before he died on 27 December 1711.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van Assenburgh, Louis 1657 births 1711 deaths Dutch East India Company people from Amsterdam 18th-century Dutch colonial governors Governors of the Dutch Cape Colony

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References