Petrus Theodorus baron Chassé (30 November 1758 – 21 July 1831) was a Dutch colonial administrator, who was ''opperhoofd'' of

Dejima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

under the

VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus * ...

and governor of Dutch Celebes at

Makassar Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...

under 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 ...

, and who ultimately became a member of the High Government of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

Life

Personal life

Chassé was the son of Carel Johan Chassé and Maria Helena Johanna Schull, and the brother of

David Hendrik Chassé David Hendrik, Baron Chassé (Tiel, 18 March 1765 – Breda, 2 May 1849) was a Dutch soldier who fought both for and against Napoleon. He commanded the Third Netherlands Division that intervened at a crucial moment in the Battle of Waterloo. In ...

. He married Anna Elisabeth Palm in 1789. They got the following children: Carolina Maria Frederica Chassé (1794), Johannes Theodorus Chassé (1795), Wijnandina Elisabeth Henriëtte Chassé (1802), Anna Petronella Elisabeth Chassé (1804), Juliana Cornelia Theodora Chassé (1805), and Petrus Henricus baron Chassé (1806). COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Het_fort_Rotterdam_in_Makassar_TMnr_3728-858

COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Het_fort_Rotterdam_in_Makassar_TMnr_3728-858

Career

Chassé entered the service of the

at a young age and made a rapid career. He reached the rank of ''opperkoopman'' (Chief merchant). He was ''opperhoofd'' (Chief trader) of the VOC trading post in

from 13 November 1790 to 13 November 1792. He became governor of Dutch Celebes at

in 1800, where (after the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...

) he proposed to open a free port there to Governor-General Johannes Siberg in 1803, but this suggestion was not followed up, due to the resumption of hostilities between the

and Great Britain in that year. He remained in that office for twelve years. Under Governor-General

Herman Willem Daendels Herman Willem Daendels (21 October 1762 – 2 May 1818) was a Dutch military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1808 to 1811. Early life Herman Willem Daendels was born on 21 October 1 ...

he was made Director-General of the government in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, and a member of the

Council of the Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

. After the British takeover in 1811 he lost that post, but after the restoration of Dutch power under the Commissioners-General of the Dutch East Indies in August, 1816, he was sent to Celebes as a commissioner to take over that island from British control (under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814). Afterwards he fulfilled a number of other important missions, which earned him the praise of Commissioner-General Cornelis Theodorus Elout. In 1819 he was appointed to the new Council of the Indies that together with Governor-General

Godert van der Capellen Godert Alexander Gerard Philip, Baron van der Capellen (Utrecht, 15 December 1778 – De Bilt, 10 April 1848) was a Dutch statesman. He held several important posts under the Kingdom of Holland and the Sovereign Principality of the United Net ...

formed the High Government of the Dutch East Indies.Mijer, p. 102 He survived the other members of the High Government,

Herman Warner Muntinghe Herman Warner Muntinghe (24 April 1773, Amsterdam - 24 November 1827, Pekalongan) was a Dutch chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Dutch East Indies and a colonial official who had great behind the scenes influence in the successive colonial g ...

, Reinier d'Ozy and

Jacob Pieter van Braam Jacob Pieter van Braam (Werkhoven, 27 October 1737 – Zwolle, 16 July 1803) was a Dutch States Navy officer. Van Braam joined the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1748 as a midshipman. In 1751 he was captured by Barbary corsairs and would be a slave un ...

, who were appointed at the same time, and retired in 1830. King

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

then created him Baron, just like his brother David had been. He died on 21 July 1831 in Batavia.

Notes

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chassé, Petrus Theodorus 1758 births 1831 deaths 19th-century Dutch East Indies people Dutch colonial governors and administrators Dutch barons