The Reijnst family was a family of soldiers and politicians in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. Their surname was also spelled Reynst or Rijnst. The family played an important role 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 ...

, the Navy, Amsterdam government and as Art collectors. The family owned the Reynst collection from which the

Dutch Gift The Dutch Gift of 1660 was a collection of 24 mostly Italian Renaissance paintings, four by Dutch Masters, and twelve classical sculptures. The gift was presented to newly-restored King Charles II of England on 16 November by envoys of the St ...

came.

History

The origins of the family can be found in the 15th century when they were merchants in the city of Amsterdam. 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 ...

of Amsterdam (1578) the Reynst came into government where the family achieved huge influence and prestige during the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

period. J.C. Reijnst (1798-1871) was given noble status and the rank of

jonkheer (female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...

or jonkvrouw in 1840. This branch became extinct in 1972. Today there are still family members from a non-ennobled branch.

Family members

Gerard Reynst Gerard Reynst (1560s – 7 December 1615) was a Dutch merchant and later the second Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Biography All that is known of his early years is that he was born in Amsterdam, the son of Pieter Rijnst (ca.1510– ...

(† 1615), Co-founder of the

, Governor general of

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 ...

Gerrit Reynst Gerrit Reynst (1599 – 29 June 1658) (also known as Gerard Reynst) was, like his younger brother Jan (1601–1646), a Dutch merchant and art collector from Amsterdam, with his brother owner of the Reynst Collection. He was an alderman and me ...

(1599–1658), member of the Amsterdam Vroedschap, art collector, owner of the Reynst collection from which the

came *

Jan Reynst Jan Reynst (26 October 1601 – 29 June 1646) was a Protestant Dutch merchant in Amsterdam and, with his elder brother Gerrit, an art collector and owner of the Reynst collection. Life Reynst was born in Amsterdam, the son of the merchant Ge ...

(1601–1646), merchant, art collect or (Reynst Collection, Dutch Gift) *

Lambert Reynst Lambert Reynst (1613–1679) was a Dutch regent and politician of the Golden Age. Born in Amsterdam, he belonged to the "republican" Dutch States Party. Family He came from the patrician Reynst family and was the son of Hendrick Reynst and his wi ...

(1613–1679), burgomaster of Amsterdam * Jacob Reynst (1685-1756), Vice admiral of Holland and West-Friesland * Pieter Hendrik Reynst (1723-1791), Vice admiral of Holland and West-Friesland * Jhr.

Joan Cornelis Reynst Joan Cornelis Reynst (23 January 1798 – 11 October 1871), member of the Reynst family, was acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies in 1844–1845.Reynst, Jhr. Joan Cornelis, ''Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek The ''Nieuw ...

(1798–1871), acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies

Gallery

File:Anonymous Portrait of Gerard Reynst circa 1650.jpg, Governor-general

File:Lambert Reynst.jpg, Regent

, painted by

Pieter van Anraedt Pieter van Anraedt (c.1635 – 13 April 1678) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of history scenes and portraits. Biography Little is known about the circumstances of his life. According to the RKD he was born in Utrecht (city), but trained in De ...

File:Pieter Hendrik Reijnst.jpg, Vice admiral Pieter Hendrik Reijnst File:Amsterdam - Herengracht 500.JPG, Herengracht 500 File:Bartholomeus van der Helst - Four aldermen of the Kloveniersdoelen in Amsterdam eating oysters.jpg, Gerard Reynst,

Cornelis Jan Witsen Cornelis Jansz. Witsen (bapt. 8 September 1605, Amsterdam – 12 March 1669, Amsterdam) was a counsellor and mayor of the city of Amsterdam. He was the father of Nicolaes Witsen and the son of Jan Witsz(en) and Grietje Claes. Biography The W ...

, Roelof Bicker, and Simon van Hoorn.J. van Gent, in: N. Middelkoop, ''De oude meesters van de stad Amsterdam. Schilderijen tot 1800'', Bussum/Amsterdam, 2008, p. 112
/ref>

References

Sources

* ''

Nederland's Adelsboek Nederland’s Adelsboek, informally known as ''Het Rode Boekje'' (the red book), is a book series published annually since 1903, containing the genealogies of Dutch noble families. It is issued by the Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie in The Hague. ...

'' 91 (2004-2005), pp. 286–294. *{{in lang, nl Joh. E. Elias,
De vroedschap van Amsterdam
', 1903–1905. Dutch noble families