Pieter Dircksz. Hasselaar (

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, 1554–

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 ...

, August 1616) was an Amsterdam brewer and

schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

(alderman), and one of the founders of 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 ...

. He is famous, along with his aunt

Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer (1526–1588) was a wood merchant of Haarlem, who became a legendary folk hero for her fearless defense of the city against the Spanish invaders during the siege of Haarlem in 1573. Biography She was the daughter ...

, for courageous actions during the

siege of Haarlem The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From 11 December 1572 to 13 July 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the prev ...

in 1573. In 1578, after the

Alteratie The Alteratie (Eng: Alteration) is the name given to the change of power in Amsterdam on May 26, 1578, when the Catholic city government was deposed in favor of a Protestant one. The coup should be seen in the context of the greater Dutch Revolt th ...

, he moved to Amsterdam and by 1583 was manager of the brewery of Andries Boelens. In 1587 he bought a brewery, the ''Eagle'', between

Nieuwendijk Nieuwendijk is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is a part of the municipality of Altena, and lies about 8 km south of Gorinchem. History The village was first mentioned in 1468 as Nyewendijck, and means "new dike". Nieu ...

and

Prins Hendrikkade Prins Hendrikkade (Dutch language, Dutch for "Prince Henry's Quay") is a major street in the centre of Amsterdam. It passes Amsterdam Centraal station, Amsterdam Central Station, intersects the Damrak at the mouth of the Amstel river, and forms th ...

. He also acted as a merchant in Portugal and Spain. In 1594 he joined the Amsterdam

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and was one of the governors of the

Compagnie van Verre The Compagnie van Verre (''long-distance company'') was one of the forerunner companies that were later merged (united) into the Dutch East India Company. History It was set up in 1594 by nine citizens of Amsterdam, to break Portugal's monopoly ...

. In 1597, he started the

Company of Guinea A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

. He bought maps, books and stationery for

Willem Barents Willem Barentsz (; – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer. Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. He reached as far ...

, who would sail to Nova Zembla. In 1602 he was one of the investors in the

,. In 1608 he traded on the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

and

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

. He owned land in

Heerhugowaard Heerhugowaard (; West Frisian Dutch: ''Heerhugoweard'', ''Heregeweard'' or ''De Weard'') is a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West Friesland. Heerhugowaard was previously a municipality, which merged w ...

and Texel. In 1611 he started a brewery ''Witte Arent'' on the

Lastage Lastage is a neighborhood in the Amsterdam-Centrum, Centrum borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located between the Geldersekade and Oudeschans, Amsterdam, Oudeschans canals, just east of old Middle Ages, medieval city. Today, the neighbourhoo ...

. The brewery went over to his son

Nicolaes Nicolaes is a given name that is spelled Nicolaas in modern Dutch. Notable people * Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1620–1683), Dutch Golden Age painter * Nicolaes Boddingius (1605–1669), Dutch schoolmaster, writer and minister *Nicolaes Borrem ...

, and after he died, to his daughter Balichgen and son-in-law Peter Everstz Hulst, known for his portrait in 1639 by

Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as t ...

. His son Pieter Pietersz Hasselaer (1582–1651) was mayor eight times between 1635 and 1649, son Dirck succeeded him at the East India Company, and his son Nicolaes was captain-major of the civic guard. Together with

Albert Burgh Albert Coenraadsz. Burgh (1593 – 24 December 1647) was a Dutch physician who was mayor of Amsterdam and a councillor in the Admiralty of Amsterdam. Biography Burgh was born into a rich brewer's family. He studied medicine in Leiden in 161 ...

Andries Bicker Andries Bicker, ''lord of Engelenburg'' (Amsterdam, 1586 – 24 June 1652) was a powerful Amsterdam regent and Dutch politician during the Dutch Golden Age. He was the leader of the Bickerse league and controlled the city's politics in close c ...

and Abraham Boom, Hasselaer received

Marie de Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasselaer, Pieter Founders of the Dutch East India Company People from Haarlem Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) 1554 births 1616 deaths