Commissioners-General of the Dutch East Indies
The Commissioners-General of the Dutch East Indies was a commission instituted by the Dutch king William I of the Netherlands in 1815 to implement the provisions of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 and take over the government of the Dutch Indies from the British lieutenant-governor of Java, John Fendall. The commission consisted of the following three members: Godert van der Capellen, Arnold Adriaan Buyskes, and Cornelis Theodorus Elout. One of their tasks was to implement a new Regeringsreglement for the colony that they carried in draft-form with them. But instead they promulgated a much-amended version of that draft at the end of their mission in 1818. It embodied a transition from the "Trade Colonialism" of the VOC to an embryonic form of "Imperial Power Colonialism", which would come to full fruition during the 19th century. The "constitution" they wrote would remain in force for the Dutch East Indies in the main, though with important amendments, like the institution of the Volksraad, until the end of Dutch colonial rule.
The Dutch East Indies
Visit Zr. Ms. Admiraal Evertsen and Zr. Ms. Nassau to Tidore, by Q.R.M. Ver Huell
Embassy of the VOC to the Shunzhi Emperor 1656, by Johan Nieuhof
Official trade zone (Octrooigebied), allotted by its charter to the VOC
John Fendall was a colonial official in the British East India Company, a member of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and the last British governor of Java.
A half-length portrait by Sir Charles D'Oyly, c. 1812 - 1820 (Courtesy British Library, WD 4070)
An illustration of John Fendall (1762-1825)
Gravestone of John Fendall (1762-1825), South Park Street Cemetery, Kolkata
A half-length portrait vignette of John Fendall (c.1762-1825), Bengal Civil Service by Sir Charles D'Oyly