Paulus Roelof Cantz'laar (22 November 1771 – 15 December 1831) was a Dutch naval officer and colonial governor. He served as Governor of

Curaçao and Dependencies Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

from 16 November 1820 until April 1828, and Governor of the Dutch West Indies from 20 May 1828 tot 15 December 1831.

Biography

Cantz'laar was born on 22 November 1771 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. He joined the navy in 1790 as

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

and was promoted to lieutenant in 1793. In 1795 the entire service of sea officers was dismissed and he rejoined the navy of the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

in 1799. He was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on 23 August 1800 and to

captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Fin ...

on 23 November 1804. In 1808 he got the title of lieutenant colonel. After a sea battle on 21 October 1813, he was taken to England as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

. After the November revolution, the French rule of the Netherlands ended, and Catlz'laar was released. In 1814 Cantz'laar was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and commander of a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

he raised that same year. In 1815 he was named governor of

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses ...

and

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

, of which he took control on 6 January 1816. He would remain here until 1820, when he was promoted

schout-bij-nacht () is a naval rank of Dutch origin. The was responsible for ensuring that a fleet continued to sail in the prescribed order at night. The title comes from the title of the officer who replaced the admiral at night, from the Middle Low German sc ...

. On 16 November 1820, he was appointed governor of

and served until April 1828. On 20 May 1828, he became the first

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of the combined Dutch

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

possession, and left for

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

. Cantz'laar died on 15 December 1831 in Paramaribo, at the age of 60.

References

Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch West-Indië
M. Nijhoff, E.J. Brill, Den Haag/Leiden, 1914–1917. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantz'laar, Paulus Roelof 1771 births 1831 deaths Royal Netherlands Navy officers Governors of Sint Maarten Governors of Suriname Dutch military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel from Amsterdam