Jan van Elseracq, also known as Jan van Eserack, was a merchant/trader and official 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 ...

(''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie'' or VOC).

Career

Van Elseracq was the VOC ''opperhoofd'' starting 1 November 1641 and ending 29 October 1642. During this period, there were about 20 men at the VOC factory. He was in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

from December 4, 1641, to March 12, 1642. He was also head of the VOC trading post from 8 November 1643 to 24 November 1644. He was in

for a second time in December 1643.

''Breskens'' affair

Van Elseracq was in Japan when sailors from the Dutch ship ''Breskens'' were imprisoned by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

. He played an important role in negotiating their release.Hesselink, Reiner H. (2002)
''Prisoners from Nambu: Reality and Make-Believe in Seventeenth-Century Japanese Diplomacy,'' pp. 123-141

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elseracq, Jan van Dutch chiefs of factory in Japan Year of death uncertain Year of birth uncertain

Career

''Breskens'' affair

See also

References