Hendrik Bosch (born 26 February 1776 – 9 March 1864) was a Dutch military officer and colonial government official, who in his later life made a career in the administration on the

Dutch Gold Coast The Dutch Gold Coast or Dutch Guinea, officially Dutch possessions on the Coast of Guinea (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Nederlandse Bezittingen ter Kuste van Guinea'') was a portion of contemporary Ghana that was gradually colonized by the Dutch (et ...

Biography

Bosch was born in

Spanbroek Spanbroek is a small city in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Opmeer, and lies about northwest of Hoorn.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. History Spanbroek was ...

to Bernardus Bosch and Elisabeth Struis. He began his military career in 1800 and participated in various military campaigns. As a soldier in the French Napoleonic Army, he participated in the Russian Campaign of 1812 and in the

German Campaign of 1813 The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...

. He then switched sides and fought for 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 ...

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in Napoleon's

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

. During the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...

, Bosch defended the citadel of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. Major general Jan Verveer, who was asked by the Dutch government to reform the colonial administration of the

in the wake of the Dutch-Ahanta War, recommended Bosch to be installed as governor of the colony: Bosch eagerly accepted the office and was installed by royal decree of 23 March 1838, arriving in

Elmina Elmina ( Fante: ''Edina'') is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region. It is situated on a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Coast.Straight line distances ...

in August of the same year. He did not serve his full term and returned to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

on 13 March 1840. Hendrik Bosch died in Amsterdam on 9 March 1864.

Personal life

Hendrik Bosch married Maria Lohman (born 8 August 1786 in The Hague, died 6 September 1863), with whom he had three sons and one daughter. When their son Bernardus died at the age of 45 in September 1853 in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, both Hendrik and Maria were still alive and residents of Nootdorp. The civil registration for 1850-1880 lists them as living there with their daughter Hentrietta (*1832 Delft; left in 1860), their son Willem (*1829 Luik), and a maid, but does not show a departure or death date for either parent.Hendrik Bosch / Maria Lohman registration
in Nootdorp.

Decorations

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

(Knight) * Metal Cross 1830-1831

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosch, Hendrik 1776 births 1864 deaths Colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast Dutch military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion People from Opmeer