Jacobus van der Puije (c. 1754 – 24 June 1781) was an administrator of the Dutch West India Company. He became President of the council (acting Director-General) of the Dutch Gold Coast in 1780.[1]

Jacobus van der Puije
President of the Council of the Dutch Gold Coast
In office
11 April 1780 – 30 December 1780
Preceded byPieter Woortman
Succeeded byPieter Volkmar
Personal details
Bornc. 1754
Middelburg, Netherlands
Died24 June 1781(1781-06-24) (aged 26–27)
Dutch Gold Coast

Biography

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Jacobus van der Puije was born in Middelburg to a family that originally came from Sint-Maartensdijk.[2] His father was William van der Puije (born 1703).[3] He was governor of Fort Crèvecoeur in Accra from 1776 till 1780, when he succeeded Pieter Woortman as the colonial governor of the entire Dutch Gold Coast.[4]

Jacobus van der Puije had a daughter named Anna van der Puije with an enslaved African woman named Asoewa. Anna van der Puije herself was also enslaved and freed for 1 mark of gold, paid for by Jacob Rühle, who subsequently married her.[4] He also had a son, Peter van der Puije (born c. 1775), with a local Ga woman from Accra by the name of Madam Ayeley Ablah.[3]

Legacy

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Jacobus van der Puije is the direct patrilineal ancestor of the Vanderpuije (sometimes spelt as Vanderpuye) family in Ghana.[1] Descendants include politicians Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye and Isaac Nii Djanmah Vanderpuye, newsreader Claudia-Liza Armah-Vanderpuije, actor William Vanderpuye, and musician Joseph Bartlett-Vanderpuye.

Citations

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  1. ^ a b Doortmont 2004, p. 69.
  2. ^ Van der Rijt, Franka (2009-11-30). "Dit voelt voor mij als warme thuiskomst". BN De Stem. Archived from the original on 2009-12-02. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Jacobus van Der Puije". www.myheritage.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  4. ^ a b Doortmont, Everts & Vrij 2000, p. 519.

References

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