Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten (19 February 1755,
Bergen op ZoomBergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands.-History:Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1266. In 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate...
- 22 August 1801, Batavia) was
Governor-General of the Dutch East IndiesThe Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies represented the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949.The first Governors-General were appointed by the Dutch East India Company...
from 1796 until 1801. He was the last Governor-General of the
Dutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
, which was dissolved, bankrupt in 1799, but he remained in post as the
Dutch stateThe 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...
took over ruling its territories in the
IndiesThe Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and...
. In that sense, he was also the first state appointed
Governor-General of the Dutch East IndiesThe Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies represented the Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949.The first Governors-General were appointed by the Dutch East India Company...
.
Van Overstraten was appointed member-extraordinary of the Council of Justice (Raad van Justitie) in Batavia/Jakarta in 1780. He arrived in there in 1781. Subsequently, he was promoted to full member. In the same year, he was made interim Advocate-Fiscal. He was made Second Secretary to the High Government of the Indies in 1784. He was promoted in 1786 to First Secretary. He became Counsellor-extraordinary to the Dutch Council of the Indies in 1789. By 1791 he was Governor and Director of Java's Northeast CoastJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, in which post he greatly distinguished himself. During his time in the Northeast Coast, he was instrumental in getting Hamengkubuwono IHamengkubuwono I, born Raden Mas Sujana , was the first sultan of Yogyakarta.Sujana, the Crown Prince, was known as Prince Mangkubumi prior to becoming sultan of Yogyakarta Sultanate. As a son of Sultan Sunan Prabu of Mataram Mataram ruler, and brother to Prince Heir Apparent Pakubuwono II of...
established as the first SultanSultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
of YogyakartaYogyakarta Sultanate is a Javanese monarchy in the province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.-History:...
. He wrote an historically important memoir for his successor containing information about that area during his term of office.
On 16 August 1796 Pieter van Overstraten was selected as Governor-General. On 17 February 1797,
Willem Arnold AltingWillem Arnold Alting was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1780 until 1797.Alting was born in Groningen on 11 November 1724. He studied in his hometown and graduated in law....
resigned as Governor-General and Commissioner of Police (
Commissaris-General). He handed over his offices to Van Overstaten. The appointment was confirmed in the
NetherlandsThe 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...
on 22 January 1798. When the High Government of the Indies was dissolved in 1799, he resigned as Commissioner of Police, but remained as Governor-General serving the
Batavian RepublicThe Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
, which the
NetherlandsThe 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...
had become under Napoleon Bonaparte. He remained in post until his death in Batavia in1801.
During Van Overstraten's term of office, the
Dutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(VOC) was dissolved,
TernateTernate is an island in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It is located off the west coast of the larger island of Halmahera, the center of the powerful former Sultanate of Ternate....
went into British hands, Batavia was blockaded by a British fleet, and the fortifications on the island of
OnrustThe Onrust was a Dutch ship that was built by Adriaen Block and the crew of the Tyger, which had been destroyed by fire. The ship, a yacht, was the first decked vessel to be built entirely in America. The construction took one winter on Manhattan Island...
, and on a few other islands, destroyed.
Sources
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GFDL.
