Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande (12 October 1704 – 14 August 1775) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

governor of the colonies of Essequibo and

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

from 1743 to 1772. He turned Demerara in a successful plantation colony, and the borders of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

are mainly based on his expeditions into the interior. He is also noted for his treatment of the Amerindians.

Biography

Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande was born in

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

in a patrician family who were hereditary members of the Council of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

since 1270. At the age of 17, he joined the army. In October 1737, he started to work for the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

(WIC), the governing authority of the western colonies, and was assigned to Fort Zeelandia in Essequibo as a secretary. In 1738, he established the College of Kiezers, an electoral college for the colony. After the death of Hermanus Gelskerke, the Commander of Essequibo, Storm van 's Gravesande was appointed Commander of the colony on 13 April 1743. In 1745,

was created as a separate colony, even though it was located on an unoccupied part of Essequibo, because the people from the province of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

wanted to settle there and Essequibo was part of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

. Demerara was initially governed from Essequibo. In 1750 he appointed his son Jonathan as Commander of Demerara. After a conflict with the West India Company, he left for the Netherlands, but was reappointed as Director General of Essequibo and Demerara in 1752. In Demerara he instituted an open-door policy. He befriended

Gedney Clarke Gedney may refer to: Places *Gedney, Lincolnshire, a village in England near Boston * Gedney Island (Washington), a small island in Possession Sound, off of the coast of Everett, Washington Other uses * Gedney (surname) * Gedney Clarke, name of s ...

, a Barbados merchant and plantation owner who owned many plantations and had many contacts. In 1755, Clarke requested political representation, therefore as separate administration for Demerara was established of the island of

Borsselen Borsselen (also Borslem) is an island in the Demerara River of Guyana, and was the capital of Demerara between 1755 and 1782. History In 1745, Demerara was created as a separate colony out of Essequibo, and was initially governed from Essequibo. ...

. The colony of Demerara started to flourish. In 1763, a slave uprising took place in neighbouring

Berbice Berbice () is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 and 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. Governor van 's Gravesande formed an alliance with the Amerindian tribes and prevented the uprising from spreading to his colonies. In 1763, he asked to be replaced, and repeated the request in 1766 and 1770, until he was finally replaced on 27 November 1772. On 14 August 1775, Laurens Storm van 's Gravesande died on his plantation Soesdyke.

Legacy

Storm van 's Gravesande started to focus on the economic development of the plantations instead of trade. Another focus was on exploration projects in the interior and setting up trade posts with the Amerindian. The current borders of

as defined by

Robert Hermann Schomburgk Sir Robert Hermann Schomburgk (5 June 1804 – 11 March 1865) was a Holy Roman Empire-born explorer for Great Britain who carried out geographical, ethnological and botanical studies in South America and the West Indies, and also fulfilled diplo ...

were mainly based on the reports of the explorations carried out during this period. Storm van 's Gravesande started an

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

policy based on respect and friendly relations, and forging alliances with the tribes during times of crisis. His open door policy resulted a majority of English and Scottish planters among the white population. Historians have often praised his rule of the colonies; however, his reign was also marked by

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

by appointing sons and sons-in-laws in important positions. His treatment of the Amerindians contrasted with the slaves. A telling anecdote is that on 9 August 1767, 20 slaves of his plantation ''Soesdyke'' made a failed attempt at escape. In his letters he wrote that he could not understand it, because they were well fed, and only punished for good reason.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Storm van 's Gravesande, Laurens 1704 births 1775 deaths 18th-century Dutch colonial governors Governors of Demerara Governors of Essequibo People from 's-Hertogenbosch