Johan Isaac Rhenius (1750 – 27 July 1808), Cape official and acting Governor of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

between 1791 and 1792.

Career

Rhenius became secunde at the Cape Colony in August 1786 and after the departure of Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff was appointed acting governor on 24 June 1791. On the 2nd of March 1792, Rhenius signed a proclamation that formed the basis of the establishment of a postal service at the Cape Colony. He acted as governor until 3 July 1792, when authority was taken over by Sebastiaan Cornelis Nederburgh and Simon Hendrik Frijkenius, in their capacity as Commissioners-General. He continued as secunde and when the British occupied the Cape, Rhenius make himself available as an official to serve under the British. In 1795 he was appointed Receiver-General and Treasurer and was also re-appointed as Commissaris-Politiek, a position he had held under the VOC. His task was to represent the government at Church meetings and to ensure that the church did not exceed its powers. In 1803 the Cape Colony was handed over to the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

and Rhenius left the Cape for Germany.

Personal

Rhenius was the son of Johannes Theophilus Rhenius, the first magistrate of

Swellendam Swellendam () is the third oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape D ...

and his wife Helena Maria van der Heuvel. He married Dorothea Hendriks Cruijwagen on 10 September 1786 and the couple had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhenius, Johan 1750 births 1808 deaths 18th-century Dutch colonial governors Governors of the Dutch Cape Colony

Career

Personal

See also

References