Mauritius
was discovered in 1505 by a Portuguese navigator (Domingos Fernanadez) and named
"Ilha do Cerne". The Portuguese used the island as a reserve of fresh food for
the ships directed to India.
The first Dutchman visiting the island was in 1598, Wybrant Warwijck that renamed the
island after the Dutch stadholder Maurits.
During the first 40 years of Dutch activity in the East, Mauritius was often used by the
VOC ships in search of fresh food as a call station, but they never built, during these
years, a permanent settlement.
The greatest raw materials of the island were ebony and wild animals like the notorius
Dodo, pigs, goats and tortoises.
In the 1630s. the presence of a permanent Dutch settlement in Mauritius was judged
necessary by the VOC to prevent the occupation of the island by the French or the English
companies.
Finally the Hollanders settled on the East coast of the island in the south-eastern
harbour which they called "Haven van Warwijck", where the town of Vieux Grand
Port now stands. Here, in May 1638, they built a square wooden fort with bastions and
cannons at each corner, which was named Fort Frederik Hendrik. This fort was garrisoned,
at first, by a force of 25 Dutchmen under the command of the first governor: Cornelis
Gooyer. The fort was finished on 29 August 1638.
In 1639 a new chief ("Opperhoofd") was appointed, he was Adriaen van der Stel,
the father of the then famous governor of the Cape of Good Hope: Simon van der Stel, that
was born in Mauritius during his father government of the island. The new chief rebuilt
the fort and armed it with 14 cannons, the garrison was enlarged to 80 men, the first
slaves were imported from Madagascar and in order to develop this "trade" in
1642 a Dutch factory was established in the Bay of Antongil (N-E Madagascar) this factory
was closed at the end of the year 1646. During van der Stel government, were also did
several attempt to develop agricolture (sugar cane, vegetables, fruit trees), but because
of rats all they failed.
In 1645, Adriaen van der Stel was transferred and Jacob van der Meersch became the new
chief, during his government the wood-cutting of ebony trees was developed, a five km road
was built in Flacq in order to improve it, and several burghers settled in the
island. In 1655, during the government of Reiner Por there were, in the three settlements
of the island (Grand Port Bay, Flacq and Trou d'Eau Douce), 100 peoples amongst planters
with theirs families and slaves, and 60 VOC employes, a new attempt to introduce
agricolture in a bigger scale was done, but too this time the cultivations were destroyed
by the rats, this was the coup de grace to the weak economy of the island, actually, in
1658 the VOC decided to abandon the colony. The last "Opperhoofd" Abraham
Evertsz in 1658 destroyed the fort Frederik Hendrik and with the remaining 40 inhabitants
abandoned Mauritius.
The Dutch
settlements in Mauritius.
OPPERHOOFD
YEARS
Cornelis Gooyer
1638-1639
Adriaen van der Stel
1639-1645
Jacob van der Meersch
1645-1648
Reiner Por
1648-1653
Maximiliaan de Jongh
1653-1656
Abraham Evertsz
1656-1658
NO DUTCH OCCUPATION
1658-1664
Jacobus van Nieuwlant
1664-1665
George Wreede
1665-1673
Hubert Hugo
1673-1677
Isaac Lamotius
1677-1692
Roelof Diodati
1692-1703
Adriaan Momber van der Velde
1703-1710
Between
1658 to 1664 Mauritius was uninhabited, except for several shipwrecked victims.
In 1663, the VOC ordered the governor of the Cape colony to restablished the Dutch
settlement in Mauritius. In the summer of the 1664, a ship under the new governor Jacobus
Nieuwlant anchored in the "Haven van Warwijck" were there were the ruins of the
old fort Frederik Hendrik. Nieuwlant government was short, he died at the end of May 1665.
George Wreede was appointed as "Opperhoofd", he start again the ebony-cutting
and attempt were made to develop farming.
In 1673, after the dead of Wreede, Hubert Hugo became "Opperhoofd", he was an
excellent commander, he developed farming, repaired the fort, built a new church, a saw
mill, a tannery and 16 km of road (in Flacq). The population of the island incresed. The
Burghers had settled around the island: in the present area of Flacq (the main
settlement), Black River and Port Louis.
In 1677, Isaac Lamotius was appointed as new "Opperhoofd" of Fort Frederik
Hendrik, the garrison was 55 soldiers and slaves, the Burghers were 32. During the
Lamotius government were killed the last Dodos.
In 1692, Roelof Diodati became "Opperhoofd", he was of Swiss-Italian descent.
In 1695, a big hurricane devasted the island, several of the Burghers lost all theirs
crops, many left the island.
In 1703, was appointed the last Dutch "Opperhoofd" of Mauritius: Adriaan Momber
van der Velde, during his government, the island economy tried by misfortune was reduced
in extreme poverty, the VOC, in 1706 finally decided to evacuate the island, at that time
the Dutch population was of 48 VOC servants, 32 Burghers (5 were living in Black River, 15
in the North-Western harbour and 12 in Flacq) with 24 wives and 69 children, there were
also 71 slaves; in total 244 persons.
In February 1710, the last Dutchman left Mauritius.
Bibliography:
- AA. VV. "Fort Frederik
Hendrik on Mauritius"
Internet article, 2000
- Moree, P.J. "A coincise history of Dutch Mauritius 1598-1711: a fruitful and
healthy land"
127 pp. 27 illustrations and maps, Kegan Paul International & IIAS, 1998, London, U.K.
Very interesting, it's one of the few books on this subject.
The years 1598-1638, the first period of occupation 1638-1658, the years 1658-1664, the
second period of occupation 1664-1710.
