Jan Helenus Ferguson (born 19 May 1826 – 13 April 1908) was a Dutch colonial government official and diplomat, who made a career in the administration of the

Dutch West Indies The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the New World territories, colonies, and countries (former and current) of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the norther ...

and 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 ...

before becoming consul general of 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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Ferguson also authored several works on international law, sociology and philosophy.

Biography

Jan Helenus Ferguson was born on the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

island of

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

to Jonathan Ferguson from Amsterdam and Helena Elizabeth Martijn from Curaçao. He initially made a career in the colonial administration of the Dutch Caribbean islands, becoming lieutenant governor of

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

in 1866. He was appointed lieutenant governor of

Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...

in June 1871, but never took office as the Dutch government needed someone to hand over the Dutch Gold Coast to the British in 1872 after governor

Cornelis Nagtglas Cornelis Johannes Marius Nagtglas (born 16 May 1814 – 19 January 1897) was a Dutch politician and civil servant, who made a career in the administration on the Dutch Gold Coast. After originally beginning his career at the advanced age of 3 ...

had left the colony. After the Dutch flag was lowered for the last time in Elmina on 6 April 1872, Ferguson was appointed

consul general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of the Netherlands in China. He lived and worked in

Chefoo Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao o ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, before retiring to the Netherlands in 1895. He then lived in

Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a ...

and

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 ...

. He died in

Padang Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...

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 ...

in 1908. Ferguson was a member of the Institut de Droit International. His main publication as an international lawyer was his 'Manual of international law for the use of navies, colonies and consulates' (1884), which was even translated into Chinese. He was awarded recognition by the Chinese emperor in the same year as an officer in the

Order of the Double Dragon The Imperial Order of the Double Dragon () was an Order (decoration), order awarded in the late Qing dynasty. The Order was founded by the Guangxu Emperor on 7 February 1882 as an award for outstanding services to the throne and the Qing court. ...

Personal life

Ferguson married Maria Eleanor Waymouth (1844–1891) from

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 ...

on 22 December 1859 in

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten Philipsburg () is the main town and capital of Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The town is on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Sai ...

. They had thirteen children. After his wife died at the age of 46, he married Maria Margaretha de Jong on 15 September 1899.

Publications

* ''The Red Cross alliance at sea'' (1871); * ''Manual of international law for the use of navies, colonies and consulates'' (1884); * ''De zeden wet der natuur en haar invloed op de ontwikkeling der staatsvormen'' (1886); * ''The philosophy of civilization, a sociological study'' (1889) (translated into Dutch as ''De wetten der maatschappelijke ontwikkeling, met een voorrede van W.H. de Beaufort'' (1893)); * ''Jurisdiction et exterritorialité en Chine'' (1890); * ''Het bimetallisme en de jongste muntverordening van Britsch Indië, eene schets op het gebied der staathuishoudkunde'' (1894); * ''The international conference of the Hague, a plea for peace in social evolution'' (1899); * ''Het kenvermogen van het medegevoel, het instinct van den mensch, verklarende het verband der natuurkrachten met de in den mensch gestelde geestesverwerking, voor de wetenschappelijke beschouwing van het idealisme, het spiritisme en aanverwante voorstellingen in verband met galvanisme, magnetisme, electriciteit en andere etheresche stroomen, tusschen persoonlijke menschelijke geesten met lichamen daarbuiten, onderling'' (1908).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Jan Helenus 1826 births 1908 deaths Colonial governors of the Dutch Gold Coast 19th-century Dutch diplomats Dutch expatriates in China Dutch jurists People from Willemstad