Hermanus 'Herman' Jacobus Coster (30 June 1865 – 21 October 1899) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

lawyer and State Attorney of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek.

Biography

Herman Coster was born on 30 June 1865 in Alkmaar in the Netherlands. He went to school at the H.B.S. in Alkmaar, and the Stedelijk Gymnasium in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

. After, he studied law at the

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 became president of the student corps. His uncle, a Hague-based doctor, T.H. Blom Coster, was the patron of his studies. As a student Herman Coster sympathized with the Young Flemish Movement. He completed his PhD in 1890 writing his thesis on Public Voluntary Auctions. He moved to the South African Republic after his family experienced bankruptcy. Here he became a lawyer, and between 1895 and 1897, at request of President

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...

, he served as state attorney. After Kruger insulted the 'Hollanders', Coster resigned his position and returned to working as a lawyer. During the

South African War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902), Coster joined the Hollanderkorps: a voluntary unit of

Boer foreign volunteers Boer foreign volunteers were participants who volunteered their military services to the Boers in the Second Boer War. Origin Although there was much international sympathy for the Boer cause, there was little official support as governments pr ...

consisting of 130 men and which had been established a mere month earlier. The

Battle of Elandslaagte The Battle of Elandslaagte (21 October 1899) took place during the Second Boer War, and was one of the few decisive victories won by the British during the conflict. At the time, the Boers were invading Natal, and had occupied the railway statio ...

was both the first and last battle that the Corps participated in. Coster, then a lieutenant, was killed at the Battle of Elandslaagte, along with fellow officer

Cars Geerts de Jonge A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

and seven soldiers: P.J. van den Broek, H. van Cittert, J.A. Lepeltak Kieft,

Jan Moora Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

, J.Th. Rummeling, M. Schaink, and F.W. Wagner. Another 35 of others were taken prisoner, among them Willem Frederik Mondriaan (brother of the Dutch artist

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...

). The names of the deceased, including Coster, were inscribed at a monument at the location of the battle. The monument was destroyed by vandals in 2014. After his death, Coster was lauded as a hero in the Netherlands and several hagiographies were published. In 1900 the Herman Coster Fund was established in Leiden for

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

and Dutch students. In November 1901 a plaque commemorating Coster was added to the Leiden Academiegebouw. Hermanus Coster Street in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

was named after Coster in 1904. This street is located in the Transvaal neighbourhood of The Hague that was established at this time. In 1915 the name was changed to Herman Coster Street. Today this is the location of the Haagse Markt. Another Herman Coster Street is located nearby in

Wassenaar Wassenaar (; population: in ) is a municipality and town located in the province of South Holland, on the western coast of the Netherlands. An affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies north of that city on the N44/A44 highway near the Nort ...

. Coster's hometown of Alkmaar also has a street named after him. There are also streets named after Coster in the Transvaal neighbourhoods of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, as well as in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Coster and the Hollanderkorps were featured as part of the exhibition 'Good Hope: South Africa and the Netherlands from 1600' held at the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

in Amsterdam in 2017.

Gallery

File:CollegiumLSC1889.jpg, Collegium of the Leiden Student corps, 1899–1890. Herman Coster is in the centre. File:HJCosterGraf.jpg, Grave of Herman Coster, Battle of Elandslaagte (1899), South Africa. Unknown photographer, probably around 1899. File:Hermanus Jacob Coster State Attorney Church Street Cemetery in Pretoria 031.jpg, Gravestone of Hermanus Jacob Coster, State Attorney at Church Street Cemetery in Pretoria. File:Leiden340.JPG, Plaque at Academiegebouw, Leiden University, commemorating the death of Leiden alumnus Herman Coster at Elandslaagte (South African Republic) in 1899. File:Hollanderkorps Memorial at Elandslaagte.jpg, Hollanderkorps Memorial at Elandslaagte before its destruction in 2014. File:HJCoster.jpg, alt=Portrait of Coster by Johan Antoni de Jonge (Academish Historisch Museum, Leiden University., Portrait of Coster by Johan Antoni de Jonge (Academisch Historisch Museum, Leiden University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coster, Herman 1865 births 1899 deaths Dutch emigrants Dutch military personnel killed in action 19th-century Dutch lawyers Leiden University alumni People from Alkmaar Cape Colony lawyers Immigrants to the South African Republic Foreign volunteers in the Second Boer War South African Republic military personnel killed in the Second Boer War

Biography

Gallery

See also

References