Willem Godschalck van Focquenbroch (1640 – June 1670) was a Dutch

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. Aside from

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

and

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

plays and poetry, he also wrote more serious works in a

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...

ic tradition. Whereas there was little attention for Focquenbroch in the nineteenth century, interest in him renewed in the twentieth century.

Biography

Willem Godschalck van Focquenbroch 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 Paulus van Focquenbroch, a merchant originally from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, and Catharina Sweers, the daughter of an Antwerp

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

. He was baptised on 26 April 1640 in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. Focquenbroch studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam. He studied theology with professor Hoornbeek at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

between about 1658 and 1661. His studies in Leiden were sponsored by the Walloon Church.H.J. de Jonge: 'Willem Godschalck à Focquenbourg (Focquenbroch). Student theologie te Leiden en bursaal in het Collège Wallon (ca. 1658-1661)'. In: ''Fumus'' (2003), p. 2-15
/ref> He promoted in 1662 at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

on research on

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

s. He then worked in Amsterdam as a doctor for the poor. He wrote his first play, "" in 1663. In 1668 however, Focquenbroch applied for a job at the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

. He was designated fiscal 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. ...

. On 17 July 1668, Focquenbroch left for Africa. Two years later, in June 1670, Focquenbroch succumbed to a disease epidemic on the coast.

Works

* "''De verwarde jalousy, Blyspel''". Amsterdam: Jacob Lescaille, 1663. * "''Klucht van de weyery''". Amsterdam: Jacob Vinckel, 1665. * "''Klucht van Hans Keyenvresser''". Amsterdam: Jacob Vinckel, 1665. * "''Thalia, of geurige sanggoddin''". Amsterdam: Johannes van den Bergh, 1665. * "''Een Hollandsche vuystslagh, op een Brabandsche koon''". Z.pl.

665 __NOTOC__ Year 665 ( DCLXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 665 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...

* "''Verdubbelt zegensangh, der negen musen''". Amsterdam: Johannes van den Bergh, 1666. * "''De herderssangen van Virgilius Maro''". Amsterdam: Johannes van den Bergh, 1666. * "''Thalia, of geurige zanggoddin, tweede deel''". Amsterdam: Johannes van den Bergh, 1668/1669. * "''Min in't lazarushuys, Blyspel''". Amsterdam: Jacob Vinckel, 1674. * "''Afrikaense Thalia, of het derde deel van de geurige zanggodin''". Amsterdam: Jan ten Hoorn, 1678. St Jago.JPG,

Elmina Castle Elmina Castle was erected by the Portugal, Portuguese in 1482 as Castelo de São Jorge da Mina (''St. George of the Mine Castle''), also known as ''Castelo da Mina'' or simply ''Mina'' (or ''Factory (trading post), Feitoria da Mina''), in presen ...

in Ghana. Focquenbroch worked here for two years. DirckWilreElmina.JPG, Governor Dirck Wilre at

(1669), with (probably) Focquenbroch standing far right

References

External links

*
DBNL profile of Van Focquenbroch
*
Website about Van Focquenbroch by Jan Helwig
{{DEFAULTSORT:Focquenbroch, Willem Godschalck van 1640 births 1670 deaths 17th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Dutch physicians 17th-century Dutch poets 17th-century male writers Dutch Gold Coast people Dutch male poets Dutch male dramatists and playwrights Sailors on ships of the Dutch West India Company Utrecht University alumni Writers from Amsterdam