Jan Willem Janssens
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2010) |
Jan Willem Janssens | |
|---|---|
._Gouverneur_van_de_Kaapkolonie_en_gouverneur-generaal_van_Nederlands_Oost_Indi%C3%AB_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-2219.jpeg) Portrait by Jan Pieneman, c. 1815–1838 | |
| Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies | |
| In office 15 May 1811 – 18 September 1811 | |
| Monarch | Napoleon Bonaparte |
| Preceded by | Herman Willem Daendels |
| Succeeded by | Robert Rollo Gillespie (as Lieutenant-Governor under British administration) |
| Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony | |
| In office 1 March 1803 – 18 January 1806 | |
| Appointed by | Batavian Republic |
| Preceded by | Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist |
| Succeeded by | David Baird (British administration) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1762 Nijmegen, Dutch Republic |
| Died | 23 May 1838 (aged 75) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Spouses | Anna Barbara Balneavis
(m. 1786; died 1801)Sara Hartsen (m. 1822) |
| Children | with Anna Balneavis
with Sara Hartsen
|
| Parents |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1774–1815 |
| Rank | Divisional general |
| Commands | Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | |
Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens GCMWO (12 October 1762 – 23 May 1838) was a Dutch nobleman, soldier and statesman who served both as the governor of the Dutch Cape Colony and governor-general of the Dutch East Indies.[1]
Early life
[edit]Born in Nijmegen, his military career began at the age of nine when he became a cadet in the Dutch army. He rose through the ranks and by 1793, at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, he held the rank of colonel, and was wounded in the campaign.[1]
Batavian Republic
[edit]The Dutch surrender in 1795 made way for the mostly peaceful establishment of the Batavian Republic, a satellite state of the French First Republic. From 1795 to 1802, Colonel Janssens served mostly as an administrator within the new Batavian Army. He was appointed governor of the Cape Colony upon its return to the Dutch by the British under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Arriving in early 1803, he attempted to strengthen the defences of the colony, but found resources lacking, having few trained troops at his disposal and the political situation tenuous at best. During this time, he was promoted to Lieutenant-General.
The start of the War of the Third Coalition marked another British invasion of the Cape Colony. Janssens was under no impression that he had the ability to defeat the British force, led by Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird, yet he mobilized his forces and engaged the British on 8 January 1806, at the Battle of Blaauwberg, near Cape Town. His force was routed and the Cape Colony was surrendered to the British for the last time on 18 January. Under the terms of the surrender, Janssens was transported back to the Netherlands, arriving at the Hague on 8 June 1806.
By the time Janssens surrendered to the British, the war in Europe had ended with the Treaty of Pressburg. When he returned to the Netherlands, Napoleon had already installed his brother Louis Bonaparte as the king of the newly formed Kingdom of Holland.
Kingdom of Holland and the French Empire
[edit]Louis Bonaparte named Janssens Secretary-General of the Department of War upon his return. He held a series of high-ranking administrative posts within the kingdom until the abdication of Louis Napoleon and the annexation of the Netherlands by France in 1810. On 11 November 1810, he was appointed governor-general of the territory known, before the annexation, as the Dutch East Indies, replacing Herman Willem Daendels. He arrived in Batavia, Java on 15 May 1811 and immediately involved himself in efforts to strengthen the colony's defenses. Java benefited from a larger amount of both Dutch and French troops, as well as better defenses, compared to the Cape Colony. However, the British invasion fleet arrived shortly thereafter, on 30 July, led by Sir Samuel Auchmuty.
Janssens mounted a defense that centered around the existing fortifications, namely Meester Cornelis. However, the French soldiers under his command lacked well-trained officers and as the British laid siege to the fortress, Janssens personally led a futile defense and was forced to retreat to Buitenzorg (later the place of residence of the British governor-general, Sir Stamford Raffles. A large number of French soldiers were captured during the retreat and ensuing pursuit and Janssens was forced to surrender on 18 September 1811. He was imprisoned in Britain until 12 November 1812, when he was repatriated to the Netherlands.
In mid-March 1814, Janssens collected 3,600 French soldiers from various garrisons and successfully marched through Allied-held territory to join Napoleon at Reims.[2] At the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube, his division was assigned to the corps commanded by Marshal Michel Ney.[3] On 21 March 1814, his division was embroiled in a terrific struggle for the village of Grand-Torcy during which he was wounded.[4]
He resigned his post in the French Army on 9 April 1814.
Post-Napoleonic War career
[edit]Janssens was involved with the nascent Kingdom of the Netherlands as the provisional commissary-general of war, but he resigned his post after his request to be posted once again as the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies was denied. He resigned from active duty on 22 May 1815.
He died as a highly decorated veteran in The Hague on 23 May 1838, aged 75.
Decorations and medals
[edit]Source:[5]
- Commander of the Order of the Union, 25 November 1807
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Union, 3 February 1808
- Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, 16 May 1811
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Reunion, 22 February 1812
- Grand Cross of the Military William Order (KB No.16, 8 July 1815)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Van Uythoven 2013.
- ^ Nafziger 2015, p. 306.
- ^ Nafziger 2015, p. 311.
- ^ Nafziger 2015, p. 319.
- ^ w:nl:Jan Willem Janssens
References
[edit]- Nafziger, George (2015). The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-909982-96-3.
- Van Uythoven, Geert (2013). "Lieutenant General Jan Willem Janssens". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
Further reading
[edit]- Wurtzburg, Charles Edward (1953). Raffles of the Eastern Isles. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-582605-0
External links
[edit]
Media related to Jan Willem Janssens at Wikimedia Commons
| Company appointed (1610–1800) |
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| Government appointed (1800–1948) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1762 births
- 1838 deaths
- Royal Netherlands Army personnel
- Governors-general of the Dutch East Indies
- British rule in Indonesia
- 19th-century Dutch military personnel
- Dutch nobility
- People from Nijmegen
- Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William
- Dutch military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
- 18th-century Dutch military personnel
- Governors of the Dutch Cape Colony
- 19th-century Dutch East Indies people
- People from the Kingdom of Holland
- 19th-century Dutch diplomats