Jacob Theodoor Cremer (born 30 June 1847 in Zwolle – died 14 August 1923 in Amsterdam) was a tobacco magnate and administrator for the Deli Company in Sumatra. He was from the Netherlands. He also became a politician and was a member of the Lower House (1884–1894 and 1901–1905). From 1897 – 1901 he was Minister of Colonies. He was President Dutch Trading Company, Amsterdam (1907–1912).[1]

Portrait (1918)
Cremer in the Nicolaas Pierson government (seated bottom right)

Cremer began working the Dutch East Indies for the Dutch Trading Company in Batavia (now Jakarta).[2]

Cremer bought the Duin and Kruidberg estate in Santpoort and lived in the "House of Columns" in Amsterdam during the winter. He co-initiated of the Coolie Ordinance (1880) which restricted workers from changing employers and allowed corporal punishment. The ordinance was revoked in 1931 after the United States threatened a boycott of Dutch products.[3][4]

He founded the Netherlands Shipbuilding Company, and co-founded the Bouwonderneming Jordan NV, Royal Packet-Society, Dutch Shipbuilding Company and in 1910 the Society Colonial Institute (now Royal Tropical Institute) with Dr. Henri François Rudolf Hubrecht. He authored the first Dutch-Indonesian Mining Law. From 1907 to 1913 he was president of the Nederlandsche Handel-Company. He co-founded the Colonial Institute in Amsterdam in 1910.[1]

In 1912 he sold his house on the Herengracht to Cornelis Johannes Karel van Aalst, and lived permanently in Santpoort.[citation needed] In 1920 he became a member of the Dutch Senate. Cremer served as ambassador to the United States from van 17 October 1918 until May 1921.[2]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Jacob Cremer Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
  2. ^ a b "J.Th. Cremer". Dutch Parliament (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Koelie-ordonnantie". Nederlands Indie. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Poenale Sancties". Nederlands Indie. Retrieved 26 January 2022.