Admiral Joris van Spilbergen (1568 – 1620)

In May 1602, Admiral Joris van Spilbergen was the first Dutch seafarer arriving at Ceylon, just prior to the founding of the VOC. He was the commander of a small fleet, dispatched by the rich Dutch/Flemish merchant Balthazar de Moucheron and consisting of three ships with the curious names of: “Schaep” (Sheep), “Ram” (Ram) and “Lam” (Lamb).  He was authorised by Prince Maurits, the Dutch Stadtholder to promise King Vimala Dharma Suriya, King of Kandy Dutch military assistance against the Portuguese, who occupied part of the island. He concluded an agreement with the King, leaving behind at his court two musicians: Hans Rempell and Erasmus Matsberger. The latter became secretary to the King and translator.

Admiral Adam Westerwold (1580 – 1639)

Adam Westerwoldt, Admiral of the Dutch naval squadron which decimated a Portuguese fleet off the coast of Goa in January 1638. After this encounter Westerwoldt sent Vice Admiral Willem Jacobszn Coster to Ceylon who conquered the fort of Trincomalee. A few months later he came to Ceylon himself with a strong fleet and took the fort of Batticaloa. He concluded on 23 May 1638 a ‘Treaty of Friendship’ with King Raja Singha of Kandy. The Treaty became a source of contention between the King and the Dutch as the Portuguese copy of the text differed from the Dutch one. Both parties later accused each other of deception. Westerwoldt died in September 1639 on its way to the Shah of Persia after contracting a fatal fever.
 

Vice Admiral Sebalt de Weert (1567 – 1603)

Sebalt de Weert, a well educated and experienced seafarer, known to have discovered the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), called a few months after the visit of Joris van Spilbergen with a fleet of three ships at Ceylon, These ships were part of a fleet consisting of 14 ships of the VOC under Admiral Wybrandt Van Warwijck which sailed to the Indies in 1602. He met the King of Kandy with whom he became very friendly and promised Dutch aid to oust the Portuguese. In May 1603 he returned with a considerable force of seven ships and captured several Portuguese vessels. He treated the captured sailors decently and released them as promised. Mainly for this reason, the enraged King of Kandy had him unexpectedly killed together with 53 of his companions who happened to be ashore. This act poisoned the relations between the Dutch and the Kandyan Kingdom for a long time afterwards.

Commander Willem Jaconszn Coster
(1640 – Commander of the Fort of Galle)

Coster was born in Akersloot, Holland, around 1605.  He became in 1638 Vice-Admiral of the Dutch fleet under Admiral Adam Westerwoldt and participated in the fight against the Portuguese on Ceylon. In March 1640, after the occupation of Batticaloa and Trincomalee on the East coast of Ceylon, Coster’s soldiers successfully stormed the Fort of Galle in March 1640. Shortly thereafter, he was murdered at village called Nilgala by his Singhalese escorts together with four of his Dutch companions when returning from a mission to Kandy to protest against the lack of support by King Rahja Singha in the war effort against the Portuguese. The King denied any complicity.
 

General Gerard Pieterszn Hulft (1621 – 1656)

Afrter his law studies, Gerard Hulft, became secretary to the Town Council of Amtsedam at the age of 24. In 1653 he volunteered in the war against England, commanding (at his own expense) a company of 24 men. The VOC nominated him Director General of Trade and send him to Batavia in 1654. Governor-General Maatsuyker distached him to Ceylon as commander of the Dutch forces to fight the Portuguese. He entertained amicable relations with the Kandyan King Raya Singha. Unfortunately he was killed by a stray bullet during the siege of Colombo in 1656. A district in Colombo near Pettah still bears his name: Hulftdorp.

Governor Rijkloff van Goens Senior
(1619 – 1682)

On 1628, only 9 years old he left Holland with his parents on board the VOC ship “Beuren” for Batavia. After two years in the Indies, both parents died but the VOC age took the young orphan into service at the age of 15. He made a very fast career and returned to Holland as a rich man, 35 years old.
Already two years, in 1656, he returned to the East Indies as an Extraordinary Member of the Council of the Indies, together with his wife and 14-year old son. He became army commander and admiral of the Dutch forces in Ceylon and India and captured Jaffna, Mannar and Cochin from the Portuguese. He became Governor of Ceylon in 1662/1663 and after a period in Batavia returned to Colombo for a second period which lasted from 1675 till 1685. He emphasized the importance of Ceylon which he wanted to make the centre of the VOC administration in East Asia. He was succeeded by his son Rykloff van Goens Junior. He was Governor General of the Dutch Indies from 1676 – 1680.

(Paining Martin Palin, 17th century, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
 

Governor Joan Maetsuyker (1606 – 1678)

The young Maetsuycker studied law at Leuven University in the Spanish Netherlands. Despite his Catholic origins he was nominated Pensionaris at the Court of Justice in Batavia in 1636. He was an excellent administrator and diplomat. He was sent to Ceylon to mediate between King Raja Singha and Governor Jan Thijssen, who had vowed revenge after the murder of his predecessor Willem Jacobsz. Coster and had declared warfare against the Singhalese. He replaced Thijssen as Governor in 1646 and stayed to 1650. He agreed land boundaries in Ceylon with the Viceroy of Goa while the stalemate between Singhalese, Portuguese and Dutch continued. He returned to Batavia and became in 1653 one of the most successful Governors-General of the Dutch East Indies.

(Painting J.J. Koeman, 17th century, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam).

 

Governor Stephanus Versluys (1694 – 1736)

Most of the Dutch Governors of Ceylon were capable administrators who were selected on the basis of their qualities. Almost all have risen from the ranks. In the beginning of the 18th century, there were some exceptions. The lawyer Petrus Vuyst , Governor from 1726 – 1729, was executed for (legal ) murder by the VOC in Batavia and his properties were confiscated. His successor Stephanus Versluys (Governor 1729 – 1732) was arrested and recalled, suspected of corruption while Diederick van Domburgh, who was Governor from 1732 – 1735 was also suspected of corruption.  After him the incorruptible Gustaaf Willem Baron van Imhoff became Governor.

(Paining, unknown artist, see Governor’s Palace in the background, Zeeuws Museum, Middelburg).
 

Acting Governor Jacob Christiaan Pielat

When Governor Versluys left Ceylon in disgrace, the Counsellor of Dutch India Pielat was nominated commissioner to investigate the situation and restore order. He conducted his work successfully with the result that also the newly appointed Governor Van Domburgh was summoned to Batavia. Pielat deputised for him until his return. After being discharged from his duties, he returned to Holland.

 

Governor Gustaaf Willem Baron van Imhoff
(1705 – 1750)

Governor Van Imhoff was a brilliant administrator and strategist. He started working for the VOC on an early age and in 1736 became Governor of Ceylon in, 31 years old. Within one year he was able to restore order in the Dutch Maritime Provinces after a period of general confusion and rebellions.
He eliminated corruption and promoted education. He realised that the VOC and the Kandyan Kingdom had to work together and should share the country’s trade on a more equal basis. However, his attempts to compromise were rejected by both the Kandyans and the VOC headquarters in Batavia. He returned in 1740 to the Dutch East Indies to become Governor-General in 1742.

Governor Julius Valentijn Stein van Gollenesse (1691 – 1755)
Founder of the Wolvendaal Church

Van Gollenesse, born at a country estate in Göldenitz, Germany, entered into the service of the VOC in 1723 as a sergeant. After 7 years in the East Indies he was promoted Captain. From 1734 – 1743 he was employed as Commander of the Dutch settlements along the Malabar coast in India. He was a close friend and supporter of Baron Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, whom he knew from the time both worked for the VOC in Batavia. They had the same background: both were raised on country estates in the north of Germany and had a Protestant/Lutheran education. In 1743 he became Governor of Ceylon in a time that Van Imhoff had been nominated  Governor-General in Batavia. He stayed on the island until 1751.
Van Gollenesse promoted and continued the initiatives of Van Imhoff in the areas of education and the promotion of the Protestant religion. The school system was improved and the schoolmasters were obliged to follow a course at the new seminary in Colombo (currently the Dutch Period Museum). His lasting contribution to Sri Lankan history was the construction of the magnificent Wolvendaal Church in Colombo, which started in 1749. After becoming Director-General of the High Government, Van Gollenesse died in Batavia in 1755, two years prior to the official inauguration of the church by his successor Jan Schreuder. His initials IVSVG still can be seen on the gable above the southern entrance of the building.   

Governor Lubbert Jan Baron van Eck
(1719 – 1765)

Baron Van Eck came from a military family. His father was the colonel-commander of a cavalry regiment in Arnhem, Holland. He came to the East Indies in 1741 and made a fast career in the VOC. In 1761 he was nominated Governor of Ceylon where he tried to repulse ever increasing Singhalese attacks on the Dutch controlled areas. When peace could not be achieved and pressure from the English was mounting, Dutch forces under Van Eck attacked the Kingdom of Kandy for the first time in hundred years and during the second campaign succeeded in capturing its capital during a few months. The war exhausted both parties. Van Eck died unexpectedly from malaria shortly after the second campaign.  No image of him could be found but his tombstone in the Wolvendaal Church reads “ …rijk van Candia met dies Hoofdstad in perzoon voor d’Çompagnie ingenomen en dies Koning op de Vlugt verdreeven te hebben” (… who has occupied in person the Kingdom of Kandy with its capital and put to flight the King of Kandy).
 

Governor Iman Willem Falck (1736 – 1785)

Falck was born in Colombo. His father, Frans Willem Falck was Dissava (Provincial Governor) of Matara, where his tombstone still can be seen in the Matara Church. He studied law at the University of Utrecht, Holland. In 1765, during the war with the Kandyan Kingdom, he succeeded Governor Baron Van Eck who had suddenly died .
He conducted the war against Kandy more intelligently than is predecessor and concluded in 1766 an advantageous treaty with the King of Kandy after long and difficult negotiations.
During his long tenure he was confronted with ever increasing aggression of the English, especially during the disastrous 3rd Dutch-English war of 1780-1782 which erupted due to the support of the Dutch for the American Revolution. He kept peace with the Kandyans despite their reluctance to accept the Treaty of 1766. He is considered one of the best Governors during the Dutch period in Ceylon. His tombstone can be found in the Wolvendaal Church.
 

Governor Johan Gerard van Algelbeek
(1727 – 1799)

Van Angelbeek had the bad luck to become Governor in 1794, in a time that Holland became a vassal state of the French and British colonial expansion was in full swing. Although Governor Falck had wisely strengthened military defence of Dutch Ceylon, Van Angelbeek was too much a bureaucrat to offer intelligent resistance to the aggressive British commander Lord Hobart. A complicating factor was also the political struggles between the “patriots” who favoured a democratic government and the “orangists” who supported the old regime under the (weak) Prince William V of the House of Orange. Prince William had put the Dutch colonies “in trust” of the British to “protect” them against French incursions. This further weakened the will of Van Angelbeek to resist the British attack. On the 15th of February 1796 the Fort of Colombo capitulated with minimal resistance. The British also took over Dutch settlements In India and Malacca, while not much later they occupied the Cape Colony.