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Willem Verstegen (c. 1612 – 1659) was a merchant in service of 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 ...
and
chief trader of factory in
Dejima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...
.
Life
Willem Verstegen was born around 1612 in
Vlissingen, Netherlands. In 1629, he completed his apprenticeship, and following a short stay in
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 ...
, he was sent to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1632. There he was first employed at the
factory (trading post)
Factory was the common name during the medieval and early modern eras for an entrepôt – which was essentially an early form of free-trade zone or transshipment point. At a factory, local inhabitants could interact with foreign merchants, o ...
in Firando (present-day
Hirado, Nagasaki
is a city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The part historically named Hirado is located on Hirado Island. With recent mergers, the city's boundaries have expanded, and Hirado now occupies parts of the main island of Kyushu. The components ...
). In 1633, he became
factor
Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to:
Commerce
* Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent
* Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate
* Factors of production, suc ...
and was assigned to Dejima, where he met several other Hollanders who were survivors of the shipwrecked galleon ''De Liefde''. They had remained there since 1609 and were trading independently. The most prominent among them was
Melchior van Santvoort, who had married a Japanese women and with whom he begot a daughter. Not long after arriving in Dejima, Verstegen asked Santvoort's daughter to marry him.
[P.H. Pott, ''Willem Verstegen, een extra-ordinaris Raad van Indië als avonturier in India in 1659'', Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 112, 1956, no: 4, Leiden]
Portable Document Format (PDF)
In 1635, he was appointed to the position of trader. On December 7 of that year, Verstegen wrote to Governor
Antonie van Diemen
Anthony van Diemen (also ''Antonie'', ''Antonio'', ''Anton'', ''Antonius'') (1593 – 19 April 1645) was a Dutch colonial governor.
Early life
He was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands, the son of Meeus Anthonisz van Diemen and Christina Hoe ...
that he had learned of some Japan's islands (at around the
37th parallel north
The 37th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 37 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
At this latitude the Su ...
) where almost everything was made of gold and silver. This report of the gold and silver islands so captured their imagination that two expeditions were later outfitted in order to find the islands.
[
In 1639, all Japanese wives with European husbands were ordered by the '']shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
'' to leave the country along with their children. So, Willem Verstegen married Santvoort's daughter on Formosa
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
on their way to Batavia.[ After their arrival, an expedition under command of ]Matthijs Quast
Matthijs Quast (died 6 October 1641) was a Dutch explorer in the seventeenth century. He had made several voyages for the Dutch East India Company to Japan, China and Siam.
Pacific Expedition
Matthijs Quast has become known for an unsuccessful ex ...
was outfitted to search the gold and silver islands, but was unsuccessful and abandoned the search. A second expedition led by Maarten Gerritsz Vries
Maarten Gerritszoon Vries, or Fries, also referred to as de Vries, (18 February 1589, Harlingen, Netherlands – late 1647, at sea near Manila) was a 17th-century Dutch cartographer and explorer, the first Western European to leave an account of ...
and Hendrick Cornelisz Schaep departed in 1643. Schaep and nine of his crew were taken prisoner in Yamada
Yamada (山田, ) is the 12th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*, Japanese model, actress and idol
*, Japanese field hockey player
*, Japanese illustrator and manga artist
*, Japanese rugby union player
*, Ja ...
when they tried to supply their ship with fresh water.
Willem Verstegen replaced Renier van Tzum
Renier van Tzum also known as Tzom or Reijnjer van't Zum, (c. 1600/1606 in Tzum – September 21, 1670 in IJlst), was a merchant/trader and official of the Dutch East India Company (''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie'' or VOC).Historigraphical I ...
as chief trader ( VOC Opperhoof) in the factory of Dejima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, it ...
and remained in this function from October 28, 1646, to October 10, 1647. He paid an obligatory visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially.
Visit may refer to:
*State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country
*Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visit ...
to ''Shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...
in Edo, bringing with him two camels, a civet
A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity ...
, a cassowary
Cassowaries ( tpi, muruk, id, kasuari) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'' in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones) and are native to the tropical forest ...
, two cockatoo
A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the ord ...
s, 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 ...
, and a ''perspectiefkast'' (a miniature diorama
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...
in a chest or peepshow box, possibly by Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten
Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten (2 August 1627, in Dordrecht – 19 October 1678, in Dordrecht) was a Dutch painter of the Golden Age, who was also a poet and author on art theory.
Biography
Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten trained first with his fat ...
who was known for this craft). Verstegen's report of his trip to Edo is extremely detailed: he mentioned the names of places, described the landscape, recounted what he saw and heard. The Swede Frederick Coyett
Frederick Coyett (), born in Stockholm c. 1615 or 1620, buried in Amsterdam on 17 October 1687, was a Swedish nobleman and the last colonial governor for the Dutch colony of Formosa. He was the first Swede to travel to Japan and China and became ...
became his successor as chief trader in Dejima.
In 1651, Verstegen was appointed to Commissioner in Tonkin
Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...
, Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, where he discovered a large network of private trading. Afterwards, he was sent to Formosa and resided in Fort Zeelandia to examine the bookkeeping. Zacharias Wagenaer
Zacharias Wagenaer (also known as ''Wagener'', ''Wagenaar'' and ''Wagner'') (10 May 1614 – 12 October 1668) was a German-born Dutch clerk, illustrator, merchant, member of the Court of Justice, opperhoofd of Deshima and the only German governo ...
was his clerk, who later also was appointed as chief trader in Deshima.[Wolfgang Michel]
''Zacharias Wagner und Japan (I) – Ein Auszug aus dem Journal des Donnermanns'' (The Autobiography of Zacharias Wagner)
July 1987
Verstegen gained an extraordinary position on the Counsel of India (central governing body of the Dutch Asian colonies), but was recalled in 1652 back to the Netherlands. Not much is known of this period until February 1658, when Verstegen was in Dutch Suratte
Suratte or Soeratte was a directorate of the Dutch East India Company between 1616 and 1795, with its main factory in the city of Surat. Surat was an important trading city of the Mughal Empire on the river Tapti, and the Portuguese had been tradin ...
, accompanied by both his sons Geraerdt and Melchior, his daughter, and a niece. On January 11, 1659, he packed a few wagons, hired some people, and travelled to Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
to enlist himself in the army of Dara Shikoh
Dara Shikoh ( fa, ), also known as Dara Shukoh, (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659) was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' ("Prince of High Rank" ...
. Shikoh was embroiled in a succession war and had promised great riches to European cannoneers. As reported on October 6, 1659, Verstegen was killed during a battle near Ajmer
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...
.[
]
See also
* VOC Opperhoofden in Japan
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verstegen, Willem
17th-century Dutch explorers
1610s births
1659 deaths
Dutch chiefs of factory in Japan
People from Vlissingen
Year of birth uncertain