Maria van Riebeeck (née de la Queillerie; 28 October 1629 – 2 November 1664) was a

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

who was the first wife of

Jan van Riebeeck Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck (21 April 1619 – 18 January 1677) was a Dutch navigator, ambassador and colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company. Life Early life Jan van Riebeeck was born in Culemborg on 21 April ...

, the Dutch colonial administrator and first commander of the settlement at the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

Life

She was the daughter of Abraham de la Queillerie (1589–1630) from

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and Maria du Bois (born 1594 died unknown) from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Her grandfather Chrétien de la Queillerie (1543-), a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

from the

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

region, had also been a pastor in

Armentières Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fi� ...

, then a military chaplain in the army of Guillaume d'Orange, then a pastor in the Pays- Bas, notably in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

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 ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and

Bergen-op-Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the Brabantian dialect, local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southwestern Netherlands. It is located in the Province ...

. They spoke French and Dutch in her family. She spent her childhood in Leiden. She married Van Riebeeck on 28 March 1649 in

Schiedam Schiedam () is a large town and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of the city Rotterdam, east of the town Vlaardingen and south of the city Delft. In the south, Schi ...

. The couple had eight children, of whom most died young. The couple arrived to the later

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

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 ...

in 1652. The first period, they lived in a tent. Maria acted as the hostess to guests, is said to have entertained with a clavicord, and was described as diplomatically gifted in the company of foreigners. She was from 1658 active as a money lender to the colonists, and used a slave girl as an interpreter to communicate with the native population. Little is known about the personality of Maria de la Queillerie, but in 1660–1661, the French priest Nicolas Étienne stayed ten months in Cape Town after a shipwreck; in a letter, he describes her as very pious (in Protestant faith of course), diplomatic and very intelligent. She died in

Dutch Malacca Dutch Malacca (1641–1825) was the longest period that Malacca was under foreign control. The Dutch ruled for almost 183 years with intermittent British occupation during the French Revolutionary and later the Napoleonic Wars (1795–1815). ...

on 2 November 1664, aged 35, from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

Legacy

She has been referred to as the ancestral mother of the white Afrikaners. The

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prote ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

, the '' SAS Maria van Riebeeck'', was named in her memory. A commemorative plaque of Maria van Riebeeck can be found in the ruins of Saint Paul's Church in Malacca, replacing the original tombstone that was transported to Cape Town in 1915. A statue of Maria van Riebeeck is located in a Cape Town square between Heerengracht Street and Adderley Street, next to that of her husband. It was offered in 1952 by the Dutch State for the commemorations of the 300th anniversary of the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Having no certainty as to the appearance of Maria, the sculptor Dirk Wolbers used his own wife as a model. The statue was unveiled by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands on October 2, 1954. Queen Juliana was not present having told Prime Minister DF Malan that she would not travel to South Africa while apartheid, implemented from 1948, is said to be in force there. The statue was then placed in the garden of the National Art Museum in Cape Town.

References

* 1629 births 1664 deaths Dutch Cape Colony people Dutch East India Company people from Rotterdam 17th-century Dutch Cape Colony people {{Netherlands-bio-stub