Jan Pieterszoon Coen
1587 – 1629 Dutch colonial administrator, governor-general
VOC governor-general who founded Batavia and enforced a brutal spice monopoly.
- Religion
- Dutch Reformed
- Affiliations
- Dutch East India Company
Jan Pieterszoon Coen served twice as governor-general of the Dutch East India Company and founded Batavia, now Jakarta, as its Asian headquarters. He enforced a monopoly on nutmeg and other spices, most notoriously through the near-destruction of the Banda Islands' population. He remains a controversial figure honored in his own time and condemned later for his violence.
Connections
- associate of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt — Championed the VOC charter that Coen would later enforce with ruthless force in the Indies.
In the timeline
- 1619 Batavia founded as the VOC capital in Asia mentioned
- 1619 Batavia founded as the VOC capital mentioned