Ryk Tulbagh (14 May 1699,

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 ...

– 11 August 1771,

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 ...

) was

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Dutch Cape Colony The Cape of Good Hope () was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) supplystation in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original supply station and the successive states that the area was ...

from 27 February 1751 to 11 August 1771 under the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Tulbagh was the son of Dirk Tulbagh and Catharina Cattepoel, who moved their family to

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 ...

when Rijk was still an infant. There he attended the Latin school. As a 16-year-old he enlisted with 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 ...

and in 1716 sailed as a cadet on the ship ''Huys Terhorst'' to South Africa. His career with the Company advanced rapidly. He was appointed a temporary assistant to the Council of Policy in 1716 and he received a full appointment in 1718. In 1723 he became chief clerk and later in the same year book-keeper. In 1725 he rose to become secretary to the Council of Policy and in 1726 to Junior Merchant. In 1732 he became a merchant. In 1739 he became Secunde (the second highest administrative post) and 27 February 1751 he was appointed Governor. In 1725 Tulbagh married Elizabeth Swellengrebel, the sister of Hendrik Swellengrebel, Governor of the Cape Colony at the time. She died in 1753. Tulbagh himself died in 1771 and was buried in the Groote Kerk in the grave of his wife and father-in-law. Tulbagh was known for importing from Batavia 124-provision

sumptuary law Sumptuary laws (from Latin ) are laws that regulate consumption. '' Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures for apparel, food, furnitu ...

restricting extravagance. The 1755 Cape law, promulgated at the request of Batavia Governor-General Jacob Mossel, declared that only he could decorate his carriage with the colonial

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

and that he and the Council alone could dress their coaches in

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

. Lower officials and their wives were prohibited from carrying

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

s (called ''kiepersol'' or parasols and a major status symbol), and all women were banned from lining dresses with

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

. The then-current fashion of gowns with a

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

was verboten, as were any frippery at funerals. He also codified the Tulbagh Code of colonial slave law, published in 1754. This loosened restrictions somewhat, only imposing the death penalty on those who killed their masters versus forced labor for lesser offences, allowing them to practice a trade to support themselves and buy their freedom as well as others', and placing said free blacks (called ''Fryswartes'') on an equal legal footing with white settlers. Nicknamed "Father Tulbagh" for introducing road maintenance, firefighting, and police among other civil services, Tulbagh did much to temper the

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 ...

epidemics of 1755 and 1767, which wiped out almost the entire

Khoekhoe Khoikhoi ( /ˈkɔɪkɔɪ/ ''KOY-koy'') (or Khoekhoe in Namibian orthography) are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa. They are often grouped with the hunter-gatherer San (literally "foragers") peop ...

population of the area. The first was the worst to hit the white population, bringing it down from 6,110 to 5,123 in spite of high birth rates, and also killed over 500 slaves. The second one killed more than 500 people and was not eliminated until 1770. In 1761, he built the first library in the Cape to house books donated by Joachim Nikolaus von Dessin, secretary of the orphan chamber and therefore guardian of estates. Tulbagh was of an intellectual and benevolent disposition. He wrote Latin and French and enjoyed the company of several foreign intellectuals who visited the Cape during his governorship. These included the astronomers Nicolas-Louis de La Caille, Charles Mason and

Jeremiah Dixon Jeremiah Dixon (27 July 1733 – 22 January 1779), British surveyor and astronomer, created the Mason–Dixon line with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, which became significant during the American Civil War. Early life and education Dixon wa ...

and the French writer Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. Over a long period Tulbagh corresponded with several botanists including

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

and sent him more than 200 specimens of local plants. Linnaeus named the plant '' Tulbaghia'' in his honour. An expedition sent northeast in 1752 was the largest since that of

Simon van der Stel Simon van der Stel (14 October 1639 – 24 June 1712) was the first Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1691), the settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. He was interested in botany, establishing vineyards Groot Constantia, Groot and Klein C ...

in 1685 and traveled through the lands of the Thembu and Xhosa by the Qora River, returning 8 months later. Later, Captain Hendrik Hop journeyed north of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

, in part to determine how far inland cattle farmers had settled. In 1770, Tulbagh declared the Gamtoos River the eastern border of the

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 ...

district and the

Swartberg The Swartberg mountains (''black mountain'' in English language, English) are a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is composed of two main mountain chains running roughly east–west along the northern edge of the sem ...

mountains the northern one, but was unable to defend them. The

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Tulbagh Tulbagh (), previously named Roodezand, then Land van Waveren later in 1804 named after Cape of Good Hope Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Cape Winelands ...

is named after him in 1804 No portrait of Tulbagh is known.

References

Sources

* Büttner, H.D. (1980). ''Kennis : die eerste Afrikaanse ensiklopedie in kleur'', vol 4, p. 681. Cape Town: Human & Rousseau. * De Kock, W.J., and Krüger, D.W. (eds.) (1972). ''Dictionary of South African Biography'', vol. II. Cape Town: Human Sciences Resource Council/Tafelberg, 1972 * * * * 1982. ''Wêreldspektrum'', vol. 27, p. 166-167. Roodepoort: Ensiklopedie Afrikana. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tulbagh, Ryk 1699 births 1771 deaths 18th-century Dutch colonial governors Governors of the Dutch Cape Colony People from Utrecht (city)