Theophilus Cazenove, or Theophile Cazenove (13 October 1740 – 6 March 1811), was a Dutch financier and one of the agents of the
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam who in 1792 and 1793 purchased the western two-thirds of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, an area that afterward was known as the Holland Purchase ...
.
Life and career
Theophilus Cazenove was baptized in the
Westerkerk
The Westerkerk (; en, Western Church) is a Reformed church within Dutch Protestant Calvinism in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. It lies in the most western part of the Grachtengordel neighborhood (Centrum borough), next to the Jordaan, between ...
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 ...
as the son of Théophile Cazenove (–1760) and Marie de Rapin-Thoyras, both French/Swiss
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...
. The couple had seven children.
His grandfather was
Paul de Rapin
Paul de Rapin (25 March 1661 – 25 April 1725), sieur of Thoyras (and therefore styled de Rapin de Thoyras), was a Huguenot historian writing under English patronage. His ''History of England'', written and first published in French in 1724– ...
, a historian, who fled to the Netherlands. His father was a merchant-banker who traded on Bordeaux, Saint Petersburg,
Archangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near i ...
, Stockholm, and the West Indies. In 1759 he lost four ships loaded with sugar and coffee, which were taken by a Bristol
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
. In 1760, the elder Théophile gave up his business and his sons Charles and Theophile the Younger assumed control of the company. In 1762 Charles was involved in a fight with
Marc-Michel Rey
Marc-Michel Rey (; 5 May 1720 – 8 June 1780) was an influential publisher in the United Provinces, who published many of the works of the French '' philosophes'', including Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
In his day, he was the largest and most important ...
, the publisher of Rousseau.
Career
Cazenove spent his early career in commercial transactions in France and Russia, but went almost bankrupt during the
Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763
The Amsterdam banking crisis of 1763 in the Netherlands followed the end of the Seven Years' War. At this time prices of grain and other commodities were falling sharply, and the supply of credit dried up due to the decreased value of collateral ...
, collaborating with
L.P. de Neufville and
Hope & Co
Hope & Co. was a Dutch bank that existed for two and a half centuries. The bank was located in Amsterdam until 1795; originally it concentrated on Great Britain. From 1750 it played a major part in the finances of the Dutch East India Company ( ...
. Only a few weeks later he married Margaretha Helena van Jever (1747–1833), the daughter of a tradesman in Russia, and a member of the
vroedschap
The vroedschap () was the name for the (all male) city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a ''vroedman'', literally a "wise man". An honorific title of the ''vroedschap'' was the ''vroede vaderen'', ...
.
The couple lived at
Raamgracht
The Raamgracht (Frame Canal) is a canal in central Amsterdam that runs from the Kloveniersburgwal to the Zwanenburgwal.
The Groenburgwal, Verversstraat and Zanddwarsstraat lead to the Raamgracht.
Bridge 225 over the canal is beside the Klovenier ...
with a view on
Zuiderkerk
The Zuiderkerk (, "southern church") is a 17th-century Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembrandt and was the subject of a painting by Cla ...
, but in 1766 they sold the house and his mother, who remarried in 1763, had moved to
Vevey
Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used.
It was the seat of the district of ...
. Theophile was involved in a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in
Surinam with his father-in-law. In 1770, he had his portrait painted by
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau
Jean-Baptiste Perronneau (c. 1716 – 19 November 1783) was a French painter who specialized in portraits executed in pastels.
Biography
Perronneau was born in Paris. His exact date of birth is unknown, but posthumous accounts suggest tha ...
. In 1788, he collaborated with
Étienne Clavière
Étienne Clavière (29 January 17358 December 1793) was a Genevan-born French financier and politician of the French Revolution. He was French Minister of Finance between 24 March and 12 June 1792, and between 10 August 1792 and 2 June 1793. ...
and
Jacques Pierre Brissot
Jacques Pierre Brissot (, 15 January 1754 – 31 October 1793), who assumed the name of de Warville (an English version of "d'Ouarville", a hamlet in the village of Lèves where his father owned property), was a leading member of the Girondins dur ...
, who both traveled to the United States.
In November 1789, Cazenove was retained by
Pieter Stadnitski
Pieter Stadnitski (2 April 1735 – 29 November 1795) was a Dutch broker and financier who invested in the United States, including federal and state debt, canal companies, and land speculation, especially the Holland Land Company. He was the fi ...
to travel to the United States to act as an investment agent for Stadnitski and other Dutch investors (
Nicolaas and Jacob Van Staphorst, Pieter & Christiaen
Van Eeghen van Eeghen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Isabella Henriette van Eeghen (1913–1996), Dutch historian
* Esmée van Eeghen (1918-1944), Dutch resistance fighter in World War II
* Mark van Eeghen (born 1952), American footba ...
, and Ten Cate & Vollenhoven). Casenove settled in at
Market Street Market Street may refer to:
*Market Street, Cambridge, England
*Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
* Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia
*Market Street, Manchester, England
*Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, where he dealt with financier
Robert Morris; his fellow traveller
Gerrit Boon
Gerrit Boon (May 15, 1768 in Delft – December 2, 1821 in Gouda) was the son of a Lutheran minister Johan Michiel Boon. His father studied in Helmstedt and moved in 1752 from Amersfoort to Delft and in 1774 to Rotterdam. Gerrit Boon becam ...
later went north. Boon believed that harvesting
maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...
could be a year-round activity, so slavery on the
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s could be avoided.
In 1792, Cazenove invested his clients' money in development bonds issued by the new states and the federal government, after
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795.
Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
promised to pay the debt in full. Another venture included investing in large tracts of undeveloped land in
Genesee County, New York
Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; A WHIG JO ...
, which included the
Holland Purchase
The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of of land in what is now western New York State from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for $1,000,000 ( £300,000), to be paid in three annual installments, and the pre-emptive right to t ...
. In order to implement these large and difficult purchases (sometimes complicated by the claims of Native Americans), he employed the advisory services of Hamilton and, later,
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
.
Cazenove lived well as a "grand seigneur" and was known for his extreme carelessness. His business dealings in maple syrup and canals were not particularly successful and the investors barely made any profit, even losing money in the Pennsylvania land dealings which he organized with
James Wilson James Wilson may refer to:
Politicians and government officials
Canada
*James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada
* James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...
. He was also hard-pressed to account for funds that were under his control. During this period he helped his cousin from Geneva,
Antoine Charles Cazenove, settle in Philadelphia.
Alexander Baring wrote: "Cazenove is a sad dirty fellow and does all the mischief he can." In 1798, he hired
Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott (November 1, 1760 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – August 19, 1826 in New York City) was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.
Life
Ellicott was born in Bucks Cou ...
,
to survey the Holland Land Purchase;
Paul Busti
Paul Busti, or ''Paulus Busti'' or ''Paolo Busti'' (baptised 17 October 1749 – 23 July 1824), was the chief operating officer of the Holland Land Company from 1797 until his death. He was one of the first prominent real estate operators in the ...
became his successor in 1799.
Although he became an American citizen in 1794, Cazenove returned to Europe in 1799.
In Amsterdam, he began to archive purchase of land for the financiers. He left the employment of the Dutch investors in 1802 and sought a position under
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (, ; 2 February 1754 – 17 May 1838), 1st Prince of Benevento, then Prince of Talleyrand, was a French clergyman, politician and leading diplomat. After studying theology, he became Agent-General of the ...
, who he had met in Philadelphia in 1795.
Cazenove died on 6 March 1811 in Paris at the
Hôtel de Galliffet
The Hôtel de Galliffet is a historic hôtel particulier in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France.
History
The hotel was built from 1776 to 1792, for Alexandre de Galliffet, the President of the Parlement of Aix-en-Provence who also built the ...
, 84
rue du Bac
Rue du Bac is a street in Paris situated in the 7th arrondissement. The street, which is 1150 m long, begins at the junction of the quais Voltaire and Anatole-France and ends at the rue de Sèvres.
Rue du Bac is also the name of a station on ...
, owned by Talleyrand.
Legacy
Cazenove's correspondence, along with the records of the Holland Land Company, is held in the
Amsterdam City Archives
The Amsterdam City Archives ( nl, Stadsarchief Amsterdam) preserves documents pertaining to the history of Amsterdam and provides information about the city. With archives covering a shelf-length of about 50 kilometres, the Amsterdam City Archives ...
.
A number of places in New York are named after him, including the
Village of Cazenovia,
Town of Cazenovia,
Cazenovia College
Cazenovia College is a private college in Cazenovia, New York. Founded as the Genesee Seminary in 1824 and sponsored by the Methodist Church, in 1894 the college adopted the name of Cazenovia Seminary. It was reorganized in 1942 after church spon ...
,
Cazenovia Lake
Cazenovia Lake () is a lake in Madison County, New York. It is located southeast of the city of Syracuse. The village of Cazenovia is located southeast of the lake.
History
The lake resides in a valley created by sub-glacial runoff during the ...
, and
Cazenovia Creek.
External links
Théophile_Cazanove,_1799_by_Charles_Balthazar_Julien_Févret_de_Saint-Mémin_.html" ;"title="Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin">Théophile Cazanove, 1799 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
">Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin">Théophile Cazanove, 1799 by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
Portrait by Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller of Cazenovia’s namesake]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cazenove, Theophilus
1740 births
1811 deaths
Dutch emigrants to the United States
Businesspeople from Amsterdam
Cazenovia, New York