Former VOC Governor General Joan Van Hoorn Died In Netherlands In Today's History, February 21, 1711

Portrait of the Governor-General of the VOC, Joan van Hoorn who served from 1704 to 1709. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA – Today's history, 312 years ago, on February 21, 1711, former VOC Governor General Joan Van Hoorn passed away. He died after being treated in intensive care by his personal physician. Van Hoorn's death made the entire Dutch trading airline, VOC, grieve.

Previously, Van Hoorn's leadership was considered not much different from other VOC leaders. Instead of being straight, Van Hoorn perpetuated the practice of self-enrichment: corruption. He even continued to do that until he retired.

Joan Van Hoorn's career in the VOC was smooth. The influence of his father, Pieter Van Hoorn is behind it. His father, who served as Council of the Indies, was able to open the door for Van Hoorn's career in the VOC.

Van Hoorn's career took off fast. He got a series of promotions. Although he started his career as a youth assistant to the Council of the Indies. Then, Van Hoorn was at the peak of his career as Governor General of the VOC on August 15, 1704.

His leadership was awaited by many people. He is also famous throughout the island of Java. However, that doesn't mean that Van Hoorn is a flawless figure. He was not much different from other VOC officials. In fact, Van Hoorn is known to be even more cunning.

The remains of an inscription at the Fatahillah Museum, Jakarta which mentions one of the roles of Governor General Joan Van Hoorn while leading in Batavia. (Special)

He was able to perpetuate a fantastic amount of corruption during his tenure. This advantage made Van Hoorn one of the Governor-General who became rich due to corruption. In fact, if we do the math, his salary as governor general is too small, but he can live like a millionaire.

“Van Hoorn in 1704 became Governor General of the VOC replacing his father-in-law, Willem Van Outhoorn who served as Governor General of the VOC from 1691-1704. He took office because of his father-in-law's nepotistic practices.”

“After becoming Governor General of the VOC, he returned to the Netherlands in 1709 as a millionaire. In just five years of his tenure, Van Hoorn returned home with no less than 10 million guilders, an amount that was quite spectacular at that time. In fact, his official salary as Governor General of the VOC was no more than 700 guilders per month," said M. Adnan Amal in the book Kepulauan Rempah-Rempah (2016).

Van Hoorn served as Governor General of the VOC with great joy. Later, he felt that he had made quite a career in the VOC. Van Hoorn resigned in March 1708. He then appointed his father-in-law, Abraham Van Riebeeck as his successor.

Van Hoorn then returned to the Netherlands. He brought with him a physician who was ready to treat his illness. Misfortune can't be denied. His condition worsened when he was in the Land of Windmills. Van Hoorn died on February 21, 1711.

A white and blue VOC Japanese Arita porcelain bottle from the early 18th century with the initials of Governor General Joan van Hoorn, IVH. (Mauritius Images)

“When Van Hoorn submitted a request to resign from the position of Governor-General in March 1708, Van Hoorn then appointed his father-in-law, Abraham Van Riebeeck to replace him. VOC officials in Amsterdam then ordered Joan Van Hoorn to immediately leave Batavia (now: Jakarta).”

"At first, Van Hoorn was indifferent to the order, when in the end he also left for the Netherlands reluctantly. He brought a personal healer who according to the story was a Chinese Sinshe. not long ago in the Netherlands, Joan Van Hoorn died on February 21, 1711, and sinshe then returned to Java," explained Historian Mona Lohanda in the book History of the Sejarah Pembesar Mengatur Batavia (2007).