Frederik s'Jacob

Frederik s'Jacob was born in The Hague on February 25, 1822 to Maria and Frederic Bernard. He was connected to the patrician s'Jacob family through his paternal side, and his mother was the sister of Jan Jacob Rochussen, who also served as governor-general.

s'Jacob educated at the Royal Naval Institute in Medemblik, and was later appointed as midshipman first class. He then served for various positions in the Navy, including participating to fight in the Dutch intervention in Bali, for which he was awarded the Military Order of William.

He only had one surviving son, Frederik Bernard 's Jacob, who later became mayor of Rotterdam in 1893.

s'Jacob started his career in the wealthy business of sugar manufacturing in the Dutch East Indies, around the same time his uncle Jan Jacob was serving his term. He became an active figure during Rochussen's tenure, guiding him on the state of the sugar refineries in the colony. However, s'Jacob was typically absent, having more interest in the Dutch aristocracy.{{cite book|last1=Fasseur|first1=C.|last2=Elson|first2=R. E.|title=The Politics of Colonial Exploitation : Java, the Dutch, and the Cultivation System|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0gURzbnXUv8C|year=1992|publisher=Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University|location=Ithaca|isbn=978-0-87727-707-1}}

On November 1880, King William III, to the shock of the Dutch people, appointed the 58-year-old businessman and sugar manufacturer s'Jacob to be governor-general of the Dutch East Indies.{{cite book|title=Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded|author=Simon Winchester|date=April 1, 2003}}

During his reign as Governor-General, the Dutch East Indies were hit by several devastating diseases and disasters, most notably a cholera outbreak in Java, and an eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait, the latter devastating the islands for decades. However, he achieved industrializing the East Indies, most notably by building a railway network and introducing the telephone to the islands.

In 1883, the English steamship Nisero ran aground off the west coast of Aceh, and the crew was captured and kidnapped. Only after a failed attempt to free them by force did this succeed after difficult negotiations. An interpellation was held in the Lower House about this affair.

In 1883, s'Jacob extended the Billiton Maatschappij's (now known as BHP) concession for tin and oil mining by 75 years; the original concession was for 40 years. This decision - and the approval granted by minister De Brauw - was severely criticized in the Lower House, which led to the De Brauw's resignation. s'Jacob resigned his duties shortly thereafter. A report found further economic ties with King William III and Princess Sophie, and the Dutch government forced the former to end his shares.

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• {{Commons category-inline|Frederik s'Jacob}}

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{{S-bef|before=Johan Wilhelm van Lansberge}}

{{S-ttl|title=Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies|years=1881–1884}}

{{S-aft|after=Otto van Rees}}

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{{VOC Governors}}

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Category:Governors-general of the Dutch East Indies

Category:People from The Hague

Category:Dutch people of French descent

Category:1822 births

Category:1901 deaths

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