Simon Hendrik Frijkenius ( 1747 — 6 June 1797), was a sailor, naval officer and Commissioner-General of 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 * ...

Career

Frijkenius received naval training and in 1776 was made a lieutenant at the Admiralty College in Amsterdam. A year later he became a naval captain first in the admiralty of West Friesland and later a lieutenant-colonel and naval captain in the service of 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 ...

. Frijkenius was in 1791 appointed Commissioner-General in charge of the possessions of the VOC, together with

Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh (7 March 1762 – 3 August 1811) was a Dutch statesman, first advocate and Commissioner General of the Dutch East India Company. Early life and career Nederburgh was the son of Advocate Herman Nederburgh, from The H ...

and two others. Frijkenius and Nederburgh arrived at the Cape on 18 June 1792 where they remained for a year-and-a-half. The two commissioners always acted together, with Nederburgh apparently taking the lead most of the time. At the Cape they did away with certain governmental posts, combated smuggling and imposed new taxes, in an attempt to reduce expenditure and increase income. The increasing of taxation aroused a great deal of dissatisfaction, and the measure of free trade they introduced did not have the desired effect owing to the scarcity of shipping. Other important changes were the establishment of Colony's first bank, the introduction of whale and other fishing as a private as distinct from a government enterprise, and improvements were also made in the feeding of cattle. On 1 September 1793, they handed over the administration to

Abraham Josias Sluysken Abraham Josias Sluysken (3 December 1736, Deventer - 18 January 1799, The Hague) was the last Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony before British occupation in 1795. Sluysken was born in the Netherlands, and in 1765 became governor of the Dutch tra ...

and the next day they left for

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, where they formed an association of four with Governor-General

Willem Arnold Alting Willem Arnold Alting (11 November 1724 – 7 June 1800) was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1780 to 1797. Born in Groningen, Alting studied in his hometown and graduated in law. He l ...

and the newly appointed Director-General, Johannes Siberg. Frijkenius was also appointed commandant of the country and of the VOC's maritime power in the Dutch East Indies. Frijkenius regularly disagree with the actions of Alting and Nederburgh and was often overruled in the committee. He eventually asked for his discharge in December 1795.

Personal

Frijkenius was the son of Lambertus Bernhardus Frijkenius, mayor of Wijk bij Duurstede, and his wife, Anna Catharina Rademaker. He was born in

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 ...

and baptized there on 28 March 1747. On 19 November 1780 he married Anna Elizabeth Hooft, and they had a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frijkenius, Simon 1740s births 1797 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Utrecht (province) Commanders of the Dutch Cape Colony

Career

Personal

See also

References