Hendrik Caspar Romberg
Encyclopedia
Hendrik Caspar Romberg also known as Johannes Caspar Romberg, was a Dutch
merchant-trader and diplomat.
Romberg travelled from Europe to work in East Asia with the Dutch East Indies Company (or Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch). At this point in Japanese history, the sole VOC outpost (or "factory") was situated on Dejima
island in the harbor of Nagasaki
on the southern island of Kyushu.
Romberg was four times sent to Japan as Opperhoofd
or chief negotiant and officer of the VOC trading post.
Romberg traveled five times to Edo.
In this period, the company registers in Leiden also listed him as chief warehouseman and paymaster. He was the head of VOC activities in Japan during four discrete periods:
In the off-years, he spent time in Batavia, which was at that time the VOC headquarters in the East Indies.
Romberg's account of the Sangoku-maru is a scant record of the brief attempt by the Tokugawa shogunate to create a sea-going vessel in the 1780s. The ship sank; and the tentative project was abandoned when the political climate in Edo shifted.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
merchant-trader and diplomat.
Romberg travelled from Europe to work in East Asia with the Dutch East Indies Company (or Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch). At this point in Japanese history, the sole VOC outpost (or "factory") was situated on Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
island in the harbor of Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
on the southern island of Kyushu.
Romberg was four times sent to Japan as Opperhoofd
Opperhoofd
Opperhoofd is a Dutch word which literally means 'supreme head'.The Danish equivalent Overhoved, which is derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch word, is also treated here....
or chief negotiant and officer of the VOC trading post.
Romberg traveled five times to Edo.
In this period, the company registers in Leiden also listed him as chief warehouseman and paymaster. He was the head of VOC activities in Japan during four discrete periods:
- 27. October 1783 - _.August 1784
- November 84 - 21 November 1785
- 21 November 1786 - 30 November 1787
- 1 August 1789 - 13 November 1790
In the off-years, he spent time in Batavia, which was at that time the VOC headquarters in the East Indies.
Romberg's account of the Sangoku-maru is a scant record of the brief attempt by the Tokugawa shogunate to create a sea-going vessel in the 1780s. The ship sank; and the tentative project was abandoned when the political climate in Edo shifted.
External links
- De VOC site: Dejima history, opperhoofden