Willem Adriaan van der Stel | |
|---|---|
 Portrait ofSimon van der Stel and his son Willem Adriaan. The original was destroyed in a fire in 1962; a replica was created based on photographs | |
| 2nd Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony | |
| In office 2 November 1699 – 3 June 1707 | |
| Preceded by | Simon van der Stel |
| Succeeded by | Johan Cornelis d'Ableing (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 August 1664 |
| Died | 11 November 1733(1733-11-11) (aged 69) |
| Nationality | Dutch |
Willem Adriaan van der Stel (24 August 1664 – 11 November 1733) was an Extraordinary Councillor of the Dutch East Indies,[1] andGovernor of the Cape Colony, a way station for theDutch East India Company (VOC), from 23 January 1699 to 1707. He was dismissed after a revolt and was exiled to theNetherlands.
Willem van der Stel was the eldest of six children ofSimon van der Stel (1639–1712) and Johanna Jacoba Six (1645–1700), who were prominent members of theDutch merchant class. He was baptized in Haarlem and had a younger brother Adriaan (1665-1720). His paternal grandfather had been the VOC commander ofMauritius, and his grandmother amestizo. His mother was related toJacob J. Hinlopen andJan Six and who was involved in thesilk trade and a friend ofRembrandt. Willem was fifteen when he went to the Cape in 1679 with his father and aunt (Cornelia Six); his mother stayed behind.[2] He worked for the company as bookkeeper. In 1684, he married Maria de Haze,[3] and returned to Amsterdam where he would have four children baptized but two died. (Her late fatherFrançois de Haze worked for the Dutch East India Company as anopperhoofd onDeshima, and inPersia andBengal, and was also involved in the silk trade).
Willem Adriaan van der Stel held the lordship ofNieuw andOud-Vossemeer on the island ofTholen, probably through his wife. In 1691, he became anschepen of Amsterdam. He did not return to the Cape until January 1699 when he was appointed to succeed his father as Governor of the colony.[4][5]
Van der Stel displayed an interest inhorticulture andagriculture and conducted extensive farming experiments. He sent quite a fewaloes to theHortus Botanicus Amsterdam. He was the author of one of South Africa's earliest gardening almanacs.[6] Van der Stel expanded the VOC's gardens and sent expeditions into the interior to the north to explore the rest of the country. He established the "Land van Waveren", now known asTulbagh,[7] and laid the cornerstone for theGroote Kerk inCape Town.[6]
Van der Stel's legacy is however stained by his apparent greed and extravagance.[6] In 1705, during his rule, Van der Stel was viewed as corrupt and dictatorial.[8][9]
Van der Stel owned a private estate,Vergelegen, which was the foundation of the present daySomerset West and its wine route. The land was granted to him in 1700, and he spent much of the VOC resources on its development. This allowed him an unfair advantage and led to strained relationships with the local “free burghers” (independent farmers).[6]
His unilateral actions determining who could participate in the monopoly of wine and meat[4] triggered a revolt amongst the farmers. In 1706Adam Tas, Willem van Zijl and Henning Husing drew up a petition objecting to Van der Stel's activities. Some 63 (out of 550) burghers signed the document and it was sent to the VOC headquarters in Amsterdam.
The petition was at first rejected. Van der Stel had Tas arrested, tried and imprisoned—in the "Black Hole", an infamous dungeon at theCastle of Good Hope.
Because 31 of the signatories wereHuguenots, and since the Netherlands was at war withFrance, the failed petition continued to cause concern in Amsterdam. Fearing that the discontent might cause some burghers to become spies for the French, the VOC dismissed Van der Stel, and ordered his return to the Netherlands (23 April 1707).[10] He left the colony in 1708 and returned to the Netherlands where he spent the rest of his life in exile. Subsequently, no VOC employees were allowed to own land in the colony.[4]Louis van Assenburgh (1708–1711) became his successor.[11]
Three years after his dismissal,Vergelegen was sold and divided into four separate farms, and the homestead was ordered to be demolished.[12][13]
There is some disagreement regarding Van der Stel's legacy. Although most sources agree that his rule at the Cape was authoritarian, beset by favouritism, and characterised by misuse of company assets, others claim that this was in no way unique to Van der Stel's tenure as governor.[4][14]
Some point to the scale of his plans and activities in agriculture and horticulture as evidence of a man of great vision and imagination.[12][14] Others note his role in the development of the uniqueCape Dutch architecture,[5] and see him as a martyr.[15][16]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
