List of colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast
This article lists the colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast. During the Dutch presence on the Gold Coast, which lasted from 1598 to 1872, the title of the head of the colonial government changed several times:[1]
- 1675–1798: Director-General (Dutch: directeur-generaal)
- 1798–1810: Governor-General (Dutch: gouverneur-generaal)
- 1810–1815: Commandant-General (Dutch: commandant-generaal)
- 1815–1819: Governor-General (Dutch: gouverneur-generaal)
- 1819–1838: Commander (Dutch: kommandeur)
- 1838–1872: Governor (Dutch: gouverneur)
List
Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office.
Direct Dutch rule (1612–1621)
Before the establishment of the Dutch West India Company on 3 June 1621, Dutch traders nominally were at the direct control of the Dutch government. Initially, the regulation of trade was left to the traders themselves, but after the building of Fort Nassau at Mouri in 1612, a general was installed to administrate the new colony.
| Name | Title | Took Office | Left Office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Adriaensz Clantius | General of the Coast | 1612 | 1614 | |
| A.J. Roest | General of the Coast | 1614 | ? | |
| Arent Jacobzen van Amersfoort | General of the Coast | ? | ? |
Dutch West India Company rule (1621–1791)
| Name | Title | Took Office | Left Office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adriaen Jacobzoon | Director-General | 1624 | 1629 | Based at Fort Nassau, Mouri |
| Nikolaas van Ypren | Director-General | 1629 | 18 July 1639 | Based at Fort George, Elmina, from 1637 |
| Arend Jacobszoon Montfort | Director-General | 18 July 1639 | 6 January 1641 | |
| Jacob Ruyghaver | Director-General | 6 January 1641 | 18 December 1645 | 1st term |
| Jacob van der Well | Director-General | 18 December 1645 | 9 April 1650 | |
| Hendrik Doedens | Director-General | 9 April 1650 | 11 June 1650 | |
| Arent Cocq | Governor | 11 June 1650 | 15 March 1651 | |
| Jacob Ruyghaver | Director-General | 15 March 1651 | 24 January 1656 | 2nd term |
| Johannes van Valkenburgh | Director-General | 24 January 1656 | 27 April 1659 | 1st term |
| Casper van Heussen | Director-General | 27 April 1659 | 7 April 1662 | |
| Dirck Wilré | Director-General | 7 April 1662 | 23 December 1662 | 1st term |
| Johannes van Valkenburgh | Director-General | 23 December 1662 | 2 June 1667 | 2nd term |
| Huybert van Ongerdonk | Governor | 2 June 1667 | 12 December 1668 | |
| Dirck Wilré | Director-General | 12 December 1668 | 12 June 1675 | 2nd term |
| Johan Root | Director-General | 12 June 1675 | 13 September 1676 | |
| Abraham Meermans | Director-General | 13 September 1676 | 26 March 1680 | |
| Daniël Verhoutert | Director-General | 26 March 1680 | 1 August 1683 | |
| Thomas Ernsthuis | Director-General | 1 August 1683 | 15 July 1685 | |
| Nikolas de Sweerts | Director-General | 15 July 1685 | 29 January 1690 | |
| Joël Smits | Director-General | 29 January 1690 | 25 March 1664 | |
| Jan Staphorst | Director-General | 25 March 1664 | 9 June 1696 | |
| Jan van Sevenhuysen | Director-General | 23 December 1662 | 9 June 1696 | |
| Willem de la Palma | Director-General | 9 June 1696 | 5 November 1705 | |
| Pieter Nuyts | Director-General | 5 November 1705 | 10 October 1708 | |
| Henrikus van Weessel | Governor | 10 October 1708 | 14 August 1709 | |
| Adriaan Schoonheidt | Director-General | 14 August 1709 | 16 April 1711 | |
| Hieronimus Haring | Director-General | 16 April 1711 | 11 June 1716 | |
| Robberts Abraham Engelgraef | Director-General | 11 June 1716 | 9 April 1718 | |
| Willem Butler | Director-General | 9 April 1718 | 14 October 1722 | |
| Abraham Houtman | Director-General | 14 October 1722 | 28 May 1723 | |
| Mattheus de Kraane | Governor | 28 May 1723 | 14 December 1723 | |
| Pieter Valkenier | Director-General | 14 December 1723 | 11 March 1727 | |
| Robert Norris | Director-General | 11 March 1727 | 6 March 1730 | |
| Jan Pranger | Director-General | 6 March 1730 | 13 March 1734 | |
| Antonius van Overbeke | Director-General | 13 March 1734 | 21 February 1736 | |
| Martinus François des Bordes | Director-General | 15 October 1736 | 16 March 1740 | |
| François Barbrius | Governor | 16 March 1740 | 7 March 1741 | |
| Baron Jacob de Petersen | Director-General | 8 March 1741 | 11 April 1747 | |
| Jan van Voorst | Director-General | 11 April 1747 | 14 July 1754 | |
| Nicolaas Mattheus van der Noot de Gietere | Director-General | 14 July 1754 | 24 October 1755 | |
| Roelof Ulzen | Governor | 24 October 1755 | 16 January 1758 | |
| Lambert Jacob van Tets | Director-General | 16 January 1758 | 12 March 1759 | |
| Jan Pieter Theodoor Huydecoper | President of the Council | 13 March 1759 | 2 March 1760 | 1st Term |
| David Pieter Erasmi | Director-General | 2 March 1760 | 11 July 1763 | |
| Hendrick Walmbeeck | Governor | 11 June 1763 | 31 August 1764 | |
| Jan Pieter Theodoor Huydecoper | Director-General | 11 September 1764 | 8 June 1767 | 2nd Term |
| Pieter Woortman | President of the Council | 8 June 1767 | 10 June 1769 | |
| Pieter Woortman | Director-General | 10 June 1769 | 11 April 1780 | |
| Jacobus van der Puye | President of the Council | 10 May 1780 | 30 December 1780 | |
| Pieter Volkmar | Director-General | 30 December 1780 | 12 March 1784 | |
| Gilles Servaas Gallé | President of the Council | 15 March 1784 | 14 February 1785 | 1st Term |
| Adolph Thierens | Director-General | 14 February 1785 | 26 May 1786 | |
| Gilles Servaas Gallé | President of the Council | 2 June 1786 | 24 August 1787 | 2nd Term |
| Lieve van Bergen van der Grijp | President of the Council | 8 September 1788 | 19 March 1790 | 1st Term |
| Jacobus de Veer | Director-General | 19 March 1790 | 31 December 1791 |
Direct Dutch rule (1792–1872)
The Dutch West India Company was dissolved in 1791, and its colonies reverted to the rule of the States-General of the Dutch Republic on 1 January 1792. The last Director-General installed by the Dutch West India Company, Jacobus de Veer, became the first Director-General under the direct authority of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch Republic was succeeded by the Batavian Republic and the Kingdom of Holland, which all inherited the rule over the colony.
Although the Kingdom of Holland was incorporated into the First French Empire, the colony on the Gold Coast was never occupied by either France or Great-Britain.[2] Dutch rule continued under the Kingdom of the Netherlands proclaimed in 1815, until the cession of the possessions on the Gold Coast to the United Kingdom in 1872.
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 19 March 1790 to 23 March 1794 | Jacobus de Veer, Director-General | |
| 26 May 1794 to 10 January 1795 | Lieve van Bergen van der Grijp, President of the Council | 2nd Term |
| 10 January 1795 to 3 June 1796 | Otto Arnoldus Duim, Governor | |
| 10 August 1796 to 1 May 1798 | Gerhardus Hubertus van Hamel, Director-General | |
| 8 May 1798 to 1801 | Cornelius Ludewich Bartels, Director-General | |
| 1801 to 28 April 1804 | Cornelius Ludewich Bartels, Governor-General | |
| 28 April 1804 to 15 June 1805 | Izaak de Roever, Acting Governor-General | |
| 16 June 1805 to 21 July 1807 | Pieter Linthorst, Governor-General | |
| 21 July 1807 to 11 August 1808 | Johannes Petrus Hoogenboom, Acting Governor-General | |
| 12 August 1808 to 23 February 1810 | Jan Frederik Koning, Acting Governor-General | |
| 23 February 1810 to 1 March 1816 | Abraham de Veer,Commandant-General | |
| 1 March 1816 to 22 April 1818 | Herman Willem Daendels, Governor-General | |
| 22 April 1818 to 10 January 1820 | Frantz Christian Eberhard Oldenborg, Governor-General | |
| 10 January 1820 to 27 July 1821 | Johannes Oosthout, Commander | |
| 27 July 1821 to 11 January 1823 | Frederick Frans Ludewich Ulrich Last, acting Commander | 1st Term |
| 11 January 1823 to 6 May 1823 | Librecht Jan Temminck, acting Commander | |
| 6 May 1823 to 14 May 1824 | Willem Poolman, Commander | |
| 14 May 1824 to 25 December 1824 | Hendrik Adriaan Mouwe, Jr., acting Commander | |
| 25 December 1824 to 2 January 1825 | Johan David Carel Pagenstecher, acting Commander | |
| 2 January 1825 to 12 November 1826 | Frederick Frans Ludewich Ulrich Last, acting Commander | 2nd Term |
| 12 November 1826 to 4 October 1828 | Jacobus van der Breggen Paauw, acting Commander | |
| 4 October 1828 to 17 April 1833 | Frederick Frans Ludewich Ulrich Last, Commander | 3rd Term |
| 17 April 1833 to 17 May 1833 | Jan Thieleman Jacobus Cremer, acting Commander | |
| 17 May 1833 to 2 February 1834 | Eduard Daniel Leopold van Ingen, acting Commander | |
| 2 February 1834 to 16 March 1834 | Martinus Swarte, acting Commander | |
| 16 March 1834 to 2 December 1836 | Christian Ernst Lans, Commander | |
| 2 December 1836 to 28 October 1837 | Hendrikus Jacobus Tonneboeijer, acting Commander | |
| 29 October 1837 to 5 August 1838 | Anthony van der Eb, acting Commander | |
| 5 August 1838 to 7 March 1840 | Hendrik Bosch, Governor | |
| 7 March 1840 to 1846 | Anthony van der Eb, Governor | 1st Term |
| 1846 to 1847 | Willem George Frederik Derx, Governor | 1st Term |
| 1847 to 1852 | Anthony van der Eb, Governor | 2nd Term |
| 1852 to 1856 | Hero Schomerus, Governor | |
| 1856 to 1865 | Petrus Jacobus Runckel, Governor | |
| 1856 to 1857 | Willem George Frederik Derx, Governor | 2nd Term |
| 1857 | Jules Felicine Romain Stanislas van den Bossche, Governor | |
| 1857 to 1862 | Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas, Governor | 1st Term |
| 1862 to 1865 | Henry Alexander Elias, Governor | |
| 1865 to 1866 | Arend Magnin, Governor | |
| 1866 to 1867 | Willem Hendrik Johan van Idzinga, Governor | |
| 1867 to 1869 | Georg Pieter Willem Boers, Governor | |
| 1869 to 1871 | Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas, Governor | 2nd Term |
| 1871 to 1871 | Jan Albert Hendrik Hugenholz, Governor | |
| 1871 to 21 February 1871 | Jan Helenus Ferguson, Lieutenant-Governor |
See also
Notes
- ↑ Michel Doortmont. "Category:Governors of the Dutch Gold Coast". GCDB-Wiki. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ↑ Nagtglas 1863, p. 4
References
- Nagtglas, Cornelis Johannes Marius (1863). Een woord aangaande de vraag: "Wat moet Nederland doen met zijne bezittingen ter kuste van Guinea?". The Hague: H.C. Susan, C.Hz.
- "Ghana". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
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