Willem Arnold Alting (11 November 1724 –7 June 1800) was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1780 to 1797.
Born in Groningen,Alting studied in his hometown and graduated in law. He left on 18 October 1750 for the East Indies on board the De Middelburg as an onderkoopman (underbuyer or undermerchant) for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He spent the rest of his life in the Indies. In 1754 he became koopman (buyer or merchant) and in 1759 First Secretary to the government. In 1763 he became Counsellor-extraordinary (Buitengewoon Raad) and in 1772 full Counsellor (Raad ordinaris). In 1777,he became First Counsellor (Eerste Raad) was named Director-General.[ citation needed ]
From March 1780 he was acting Governor-General,because of the sickness of his predecessor,Reynier de Klerck. Following the death of De Klerck,on 1 September 1780,he was chosen by the Dutch Council of the Indies as provisional Governor-General. He carried on this function for seventeen years.[ citation needed ]
De Klerck had wanted to bring the use of Dutch into the educational system,but Alting revoked this in 1786,so that Malay and Portuguese were once again used. Alting's term of office was marked by a steep decline of the Dutch East India Company and its power in the Indies.
Three months after he took up post,the Netherlands went to war with Great Britain (in the 1780–1784 Fourth Anglo-Dutch War) and a great part of the territory of Dutch East India Company was occupied by the British. The government in Batavia (Jakarta) did not,on the whole,offer much resistance. Following the 1784 Peace of Paris,Britain obtained the right to unhindered trade in the East Indies. The Dutch had to cede Negapatam in India to the British. The image of the Dutch in the eyes of the local rulers was thoroughly shattered.[ citation needed ]
From the Netherlands,three Commissioners-General were sent to work with Alting to reorganise. On the way there,one of them died and Alting managed to get his son-in-law Johannes Siberg to take his place. The Alting-Siberg duo dominated the Commission and,from the reports of one of the other Commissioners,it seems they worked very hard in their own interests. The Commission cost a lot of money but brought no improvement. In 1795,it became known in Batavia that their homeland (in the meantime having become the Batavian Republic) was once again at war with Great Britain.
On 17 February 1797,Willem Arnold Alting resigned as Governor-General and Commissioner-General and handed the post over to Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten. Alting remained as an ordinary citizen,without official position,living on his estate at Kampong Melajoe near Batavia. He died there on 7 June 1800.[ citation needed ]
Adriaan Valckenier served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1737 to 1741. He is primarily known for his role in the 1740 Batavia massacre. Valckenier was arrested for his involvement in 1742 and subsequently died in prison in Batavia almost a decade later.
Johannes Thedens was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 6 November 1741 until 28 May 1743.
Christoffel van Swoll was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 17 November 1713 until his death.
Jacob Mossel went from being a common sailor to become Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1750 to 1761.
Petrus Albertus van der Parra was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1761 to 1775.
Jeremias van Riemsdijk was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1775 to 1777.
Reynier de Klerck (1710–1780) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1778 until 1780.
Pieter Gerardus van Overstraten was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1796 until 1801. He was the last Governor-General of the Dutch East India Company,which was dissolved,bankrupt in 1799,but he remained in post as the Dutch state took over ruling its territories in the Indies. In that sense,he was also the first state appointed Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.
Mattheus de Haan (1663–1729) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1725 to 1729.
Joan van Hoorn (1653–1711) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1704 until 1709.
Willem van Outhoorn was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1691 to 1704. He was born and died in the Dutch East Indies.
Cornelis van der Lijn was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1646 until 1650.
Carel Reyniersz (1604–1653) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1650 until 1653.
Cornelis Janszoon Speelman was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1681 to 1684.
Johannes Siberg (1740–1817) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1801 to 1804,during which time control of the Dutch Indies passed from the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to the Napoleonic Dutch State in the guise of the Batavian Republic which took over much of Dutch territory and broke their monopoly of trade. Local kings and princes took the opportunity of troubled times to try to reassert themselves. The various governments in the homeland tried various means to retrieve matters,including troop reinforcements and reforms,finally formally taking over the government functions of the VOC. Siberg resisted many of the reforms,and continued to do so after being removed from office.
Toko Merah is a Dutch colonial landmark in Jakarta Old Town,Indonesia. Built in 1730,it is one of the oldest buildings in Jakarta. The building is located on the west side of the main canal Kali Besar. The building's red color contributes to its current name.
Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh was a Dutch statesman,first advocate and Commissioner General of the Dutch East India Company.
Simon Hendrik Frijkenius was a sailor,naval officer and Commissioner-General of the VOC.
The Oudgastenpartij was a political faction hostile to the reforms of the Commissioners-General of the Dutch East Indies and to the subsequent rule of governor-general Godert van der Capellen who were active in the first third of the 19th century in the colonial Dutch East Indies.
Hendrik Jan van de Graaff was a Dutch jurist who became a Raad van Indië in 1820,and was an ally of governor-general Godert van der Capellen,until he was recalled in 1826.
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