''Opperhoofd'' is a
Dutch word (plural ''opperhoofden'') that literally translates to "upper-head", meaning "supreme
headman". The
Danish equivalent ''overhoved'', which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch or
Low German
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word, is also treated here.
In modern Dutch, ''opperhoofd'' remains in use for a native
tribal chief, such as a ''
sachem'' of
Native Americans. Despite the superlative etymology, it can be applied to several chiefs in a single native community.
However this article is devoted to its more former, historical use as a
gubernatorial title, comparable to the English
chief factor, for the chief executive officer of a Dutch ''factorij'' in the sense of trading post, as led by a factor, i.e. agent.
The etymologically cognate title of Danish ''opperhoved'' (singular) had a similar gubernatorial use (sometimes rendered in English as
station chief), notably in the
Danish Gold Coast (in present
Ghana). The German cognate is ''oberhaupt''.
Dutch colonial ''opperhoofden''
In Asia
The factory established on 20 September 1609 at
Hirado by the
Dutch East India Company (''Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie'', VOC), next in 1641, as the Dutch ''factorij'' was moved by order of the
shogunate
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
thereto, on
Dejima (Desjima in purist Dutch, or
Latinized as Decima) Island, in
Nagasaki Bay. The trading post was maintained under the Dutch state after the 1795 end of VOC administration till on 28 February 1860 Dejima was abandoned.
In Africa
*The Dutch
Fort Lijdzaamheid
Fort Patience (Dutch: ''Fort Lijdzaamheid'', or, in 17th-century spelling, ''Fort Leydsaemheyt'') is a Dutch-built fort located in the township of Apam, in the Central Region of Ghana. Originally built in 1697, it served as a defensive fortificati ...
(Lydsaamheid),
was established by the VOC in March 1721 as a naval support point at
Delagoa Bay, near modern-day Mozambique's capital
Maputo. It was subordinate to the
Dutch Cape colony. The Dutch abandoned the post on 27 December 1730.
*
Mauritius, since 1638 a
Dutch colony under the
chartered VOC, was governed by an ''opperhoofd''/''
commandeur'' until it was abandoned on 17 February 1710. In September 1715, the island was claimed for France and renamed ''Île de France'' by the passing French sailor Guillaume Dufresne D'Arsel.
See also
*
Captain-major
Notes
References
* {{Cite book , last=Screech , first=Timon , title=Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822 , date=2006 , publisher=Routledge , location=London , author-link=Timon Screech
Gubernatorial titles
Dutch East India Company