Kiliaen van rensselaer biography examples

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (ca. 1580-1643) was a Dutch merchant and colonizer in America. A director of the Dutch West India Company, he was first patroon of Rensselaerswyck Manor in the colony of New Netherland.

Kiliaen Van Rensselaer was born in Amsterdam, probably in 1580.

Kiliaen van rensselaer biography examples wikipedia

His early life is obscure. He entered the employ of a jeweler uncle who eventually retired in his favor, and by 1614 he was a leading Amsterdam diamond and pearl merchant. Prospering in East Indian trade, Van Rensselaer helped promote and found the West India Company, which was chartered in 1621 as a trading monopoly in Africa and America.

As one of its directors, on two occasions he advanced sums to maintain the company's credit.

From the outset Van Rensselaer urged the company's fellow directors to develop New Netherland's agriculture rather than rely solely on the lucrative fur trade.

When the company experienced difficulty securing settlers, Van Rensselaer utilized the Charter of