Philip Julius Lichtenberg also ''van Lichtenberg'', (26 April 1637 - March 1678) was a governor of Surinam. He was governor from 16 February 1669 until March 1671.

Biography

Lichtenberg was born on 26 April 1637 in

Heusden Heusden () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands. It is located between the towns of Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch. The municipality of Heusden, including Herpt, Heesbeen, Hedikhuizen, Do ...

, Netherlands. He studied law first at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

, and later

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

where he received his licentiate. After graduating, he joined the army. In 1666, Captains Lichtenberg and with 225 soldiers were dispatched by the

States of Zeeland The Provincial Council of Zeeland (), also known as the States of Zeeland, is the provincial council of Zeeland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 39 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections. ...

to fight the British in America during the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

. In 1667, under the command of Abraham Crijnssen, they conquered the English colony of Surinam. The soldiers were from Zeeland, therefore, the Province of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

considered Surinam their colony, however the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate (Netherlands), Senate () and the House of Representatives (Netherlands), House of R ...

disagreed. On 22 September 1667, Lichtenberg was awarded a gold medal, and promoted to lieutenant colonel. On 4 December 1668, Lichtenberg was appointed Governor of Surinam by the States of Zeeland, and boarded a ship to Surinam. The States General initially disapproved of the unilateral appointment, however on 16 February 1669, he was sworn in by Abraham Crijnssen. The colony was in bad shape after the war. Crijnssen had made a deal with the Jewish plantation owners in Jodensavanna, however many of the English planters wanted to leave the colony for

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

. Lindenberg had no intention of stopping the planters from leaving, but wanted to minimize the losses for the planters. To govern the colony, Lindenberg created a

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by the ...

consisting of five Dutch councillors chaired by the governor, and a Court of Justice consisting of three Dutch councillors and two English councillors also chaired by the governor. The States of Zeeland insisted on the inclusion of the English in the criminal court. Strict laws were being issued including a death penalty for

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

became the capital of the colony, however the courts would still meet at Torarica, the former capital, as well. Lichtenberg became ill, and asked to be replaced. He decided to remain for his planned meeting with , the former English governor of Surinam, to discuss the planned departure of some of the planters. Lichtenberg left for the Netherlands in March 1671, and became the colonial advisor for the States of Zeeland. Lichtenberg died in March 1678.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenberg, Philip 1637 births 1678 deaths Governors of Suriname People from Heusden 17th-century Dutch military personnel Leiden University alumni