Jacob Boreel (1 April 1630, in

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 ...

– 21 August 1697, in

Velsen Velsen () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, formerly known as ...

) was a dutch ambassador in France, sheriff and

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 ...

in 1696. He Held the titles knight and Vrijheer of Duinbeek, Westhoven, Sint Aecht und Meerestein.

Life

Jacob Boreel was a scion of the Boreel family. His parents were the Dutch Diplomat and English peer Willem Boreel and Jacoba Carel (1607–1657). Between 1664 and 1665 he travelled through

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

with his friend

Nicolaes Witsen Nicolaes Witsen (; 8 May 1641 – 10 August 1717) was a Dutch statesman who was mayor of Amsterdam thirteen times, between 1682 and 1706. In 1693, he became administrator of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). In 1689, he was extraordinary-ambas ...

. In 1679, he became the ambassador in Paris. He is remembered in Velsen as the owner of the ''

buitenplaats A buitenplaats (, ) was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy. Many of them bought country estates, at f ...

'' called Beeckestijn, who financed improvements to the house and gardens to the design that has been kept up until today. In 1690, as a sheriff he was involved in a case with Romeyn de Hooghe. On the day before the mayors were appointed, the house of Boreel on 507

Herengracht The Herengracht () is the second of four Amsterdam canals belonging to the canal belt and lies between the Singel and the Keizersgracht. The Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend) in particular is known for its large and beautiful canal houses. History Th ...

was attacked by the mob. All the furniture, mirrors and expensive porcelain were destroyed, taken home, or thrown into the canal. Boreel, overweight and unwell, had to flee over the neighbor's fence. Boreel had been in contact with persons of the Dutch Golden Age like

Johan de Witt Johan de Witt (24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672) was a Dutch statesman and mathematician who was a major political figure during the First Stadtholderless Period, when flourishing global trade in a period of rapid European colonial exp ...

Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Halen, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , ; ; also spelled Huyghens; ; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution ...

and

Pieter de Graeff Pieter de Graeff (15 August 1638 – 3 June 1707) was a Dutch Republic, Dutch Aristocracy (class), aristocrat of the Dutch Golden Age and one of the most influential pro-state, republican Amsterdam regenten, Regents during the late 1660s and the ...

References

External links

Nottingham University manuscript catalogue
1630 births 1697 deaths Mayors of Amsterdam Diplomats for the Dutch Republic Ambassadors to France {{Europe-diplomat-stub