Abraham Patras (22 May 1671 – 3 May 1737) was

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies (, ) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese forces between 1942 and 1945, followed by the ...

from 11 March 1735 until 3 May 1737. He was born in

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

of a refugee

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

family. In 1685, his family fled to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Early career

Patras first took a job in the offices of an

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

merchant named ''Nathaniël Gauthier'' (a fellow Huguenot), but he left for the

Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found i ...

aboard the ''Hobree'' on 4 January 1690, where he is described as a soldier in the employ of the

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade ...

branch of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. In 1691, he sought a change of career and got a temporary post as an agent in Batavia. In 1695 he became assistant/secretary to the ''Chinese estates-management administration'' in

Ambon Island Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon, Maluku, Ambon to the south, and three districts (''k ...

. In 1698 he was put in charge of children and matrimonial matters. He married in 1699 to a daughter of an official of the ''Judicial Council'' in Ambon. His wife died on the 16 December 1700. His only daughter also died young.

Rising through the ranks

Patras was nominated to the ''Council of Justice'' in 1700, and in 1703, he went to work as under-secretary (''onderkoopman'') for the Governor of the

Moluccas Islands The Maluku Islands ( ; , ) or the Moluccas ( ; ) are an archipelago in the eastern part of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located in West Melanes ...

. In 1707, he became the Head (''opperhoofd'') of the trading post at

Jambi Jambi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of i ...

, where his headquarters were attacked. Although severely wounded in the back, he survived. He was merchant, then Chief Factor in

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

in 1711. In 1717, he was promoted to ''Chief Merchant'' (''opperkoopman'') and Office holder (''gezaghebber'') of the west coast of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. It was 1720 that saw him promoted to ''Inspector General of Accounts'' for the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

(''visitateur-generaal van Nederlands-Indië''). In 1721, he was sent as an envoy to

. In 1722, he was appointed deputy-overseer of goods coming in and out of the castle at Batavia. In 1724, he got the very lucrative post of ''Head'' of the

Dutch Bengal Dutch Bengal, was a directorate of the Dutch East India Company in Mughal Bengal between 1610 until the company's liquidation in 1800. It then became a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1825, when it was relinquished to the Britis ...

trading post. In 1731, he was appointed as ''extraordinary'' (i.e. co-opted) member of the ''

Council of the Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

''.

Governor-General

On the 10 March 1735 on the death of Governor-General Dirck van Cloon, ''Patras'' very surprisingly was nominated

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. He had never been a full member of the ''Council of the Indies'', so this was a first, and was caused by him slipping through as a compromise candidate following a stalemate in the voting. He was not keen to take on the post in these circumstances, but agreed to do so until a better candidate could be found. On 11 March 1735 he was nominated interim Governor-General, a decision which was approved by the ''Directors'' of the East India Company. During his short period of office, no significant decisions were made. Although he was a competent leader and had built up a great deal of practical knowledge of the territories, his age (at 64) probably ensured that he was not a very powerful Governor-General. He died two years after his appointment during the night of 3 May 1737. He was buried in Batavia on 6 May 1737. The governor-generalship was taken over by

Adriaan Valckenier Adriaan Valckenier (6 June 1695 – 20 June 1751) 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 su ...

Anthony Patras

Anthony Patras (1718-1764), born in Geneva, was a nephew of governor Abraham Patras. In 1734 Anthony arrived in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. When his uncle died the young man inherited his immense fortune, the collection of books, and art. In 1738 he married a daughter of Isaac van Schinne, an

opperhoofd is a Dutch word (plural ) that literally translates to "upper-head", meaning "supreme headman". The Danish cognate , which is a calque derived from a Danish pronunciation of the Dutch or Low German word, is also treated here. The standard Ge ...

Deshima or Deshima, in the 17th century also called , was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan, that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1858). For 220 years, it was the central con ...

and member of the

Council of India The Council of India (1858 – 1935) was an advisory body to the Secretary of State for India, established in 1858 by the Government of India Act 1858. It was based in London and initially consisted of 15 members. The Council of India was dissolve ...

. After the

1740 Batavia massacre The 1740 Batavia massacre (; ) was a massacre and pogrom of ethnic Chinese residents of the port city of Batavia, Dutch East Indies, (present-day Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies. It was carried out by European soldiers of the Dutch East Ind ...

he returned to Holland. In 1743 he tried to become a member of Sloten's

vroedschap The ''vroedschap'' () was the name for the (all male) city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a ''vroedman'', literally a "wise man". An honorific title of the ''vroedschap'' was the ''vroede vadere ...

, which refused to appoint him. After two years he suddenly became

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

of the Frisian town, succeeding Onno Zwier van Haren. He was a States General representative for this small city until his early death. (In

Wijckel Wijckel () is a village in De Fryske Marren municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 645 in 2017. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century Wicle. The etymology is unclear. Wijckel ...

he bought which was built for

Menno van Coehoorn Menno, Baron van Coehoorn (; March 1641 – 17 March 1704) was a Dutch States Army officer and engineer, regarded as one of the most significant figures in Dutch military history. In an era when siege warfare dominated military campaigns, he a ...

.) Patras died early and probably hardly lived in his new mansion, nowadays known as

Lange Voorhout Palace Lange Voorhout Palace ( ) in The Hague was designed in 1760 by the architect Pieter de Swart for Anthony Patras (1718-1764), a deputy to the States General of the Netherlands. History Patras, born in Grenoble, Kingdom of France, France, was a ...

. His widow was forced to sell the property in 1778.R. Cleverens (1994) Paleis Lange Voorhout, p. 19; Onno Zwier van Haren (1713-1779): staatsman en dichter by Pieter Vliet, p. 105

/ref>

Bibliography

* Paulus, J., Graaff, S. d., Stibbe, D. G., Spat, C., Stroomberg, J., & Sandbergen, F. J. W. H. (1917). ''Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch-Indië''. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff * Putten, L.P. van, 2002 ''Ambitie en onvermogen : gouverneurs-generaal van Nederlands-Indië 1610-1796''.

References

External links

* http://www.vocsite.nl/geschiedenis/personalia/patras.html * for the organisational structure of the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patras, Abraham Governors-general of the Dutch East Indies Directors of Dutch Bengal People from Grenoble 1671 births 1737 deaths