Pieter Linthorst (circa 1757 – 21 July 1807) was a Dutch writer of plays and political pamphlets, politician, and colonial administrator on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, who served as governor-general of the Dutch Gold Coast between 16 June 1805 and his death on 21 July 1807.

Biography

Pieter Linthorst was born in

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 ...

to Pieter Linthorst senior and Jannetje Cristoffels. He was baptised in the

Amstelkerk The Amstelkerk ( en, Amstel Church) is a Reformed church building in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the southern part of the Grachtengordel neighborhood, near the Amstel River, between the Prinsengracht, Reguliersgracht and Keizersgr ...

on 16 February 1757. Linthorst was a writer of plays and political pamphlets and was a member of the provincial government of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

between 1796 and 1798. He was then elected member of the Representative Body of the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...

, where he first represented the constituency of

Soestdijk Soestdijk () is a neighbourhood of Soest and a hamlet in the municipality of Baarn. Both are part of the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. The village gives its name to Paleis Soestdijk, which from 1937 to 2004 was the residence of Princess and ...

and later

-VIII. For some reason, Linthorst continued his political career as a colonial administrator on the

Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch, beginning in 1612. ...

. He kept a journal of his journey to the Gold Coast, which he intended to publish. The manuscript he sent to his friend Antonie Lodewijk Heijstek in the Batavian Republic was confisquated by the British, however, and never reached Heijstek. Linthorst was appointed resident of Fort Crèvecœur in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

on 20 April 1802 and served there until he took over as governor-general of the Dutch Gold Coast on 16 June 1805, after his predecessor Isaac de Roever repatriated to the Batavian Republic to recover from illness. His appointment proved controversial, as it was done by the Small Council in Elmina, without the presence of the resident of

Fort Saint Anthony Fort Saint Anthony (Portuguese: ''Forte de Santo António''; Dutch: ''Fort Sint Anthony'') was a fort built by the Portuguese in 1515 near the town of Axim, in what is now Ghana. In 1642, the Dutch captured the fort and subsequently made it part ...

Jan Frederik König, who was the more senior resident on the Gold Coast and the more logical successor of De Roever. König protested the procedure, but nevertheless accepted the decision made. All doubts on the legitimacy of Linthorst's rule were taken away, however, when he was officially appointed as governor-general by the authorities in the

on 5 August 1805. During Linthorst's time in office the

Ashanti–Fante War The Ashanti–Fante War (1806–1807) was a war fought between the Ashanti Empire and the Fante Confederacy in the region of what is currently the Republic of Ghana. The Ashanti Empire became the most powerful of the interior after finally defea ...

broke out, which among other things resulted in the Fante occupation of Fort Amsterdam. Linthorst blamed this on the lack of military supplies from the metropole, which at the time was going through a turbulent period in which the French client state of the

was replaced by a

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( nl, Holland (contemporary), (modern); french: Royaume de Hollande) was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrowing the Batavian Republic in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Emperor ...

headed by

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

as king. In 1807, he sent a proposal for colonisation of the Gold Coast to The Hague. Pieter Linthorst died in office on 21 July 1807.

Personal life

Pieter Linthorst was married to Catharina Christina Kestlij, who died in 1799. After her death, he married Maria de Jongh (1779–1841) in 1802.

Publications

Plays

*''De herëeniging: tooneelspel in 5 bedrijven'' *''De patriotten van zeventien honderd zeven-en-negentig: tooneelspel in drie bedryven'' *''De majoor Breekijzer op het vrede feest te Nederoord: blijspel in 5 bedrijven'' *''Deugd en ondeugd, of De gevaarlyke gevolgen van de dweepzucht: tooneelspel in vyf bedryven''

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Linthorst, Pieter 1750s births 1807 deaths Colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast