Jan Willem Janssens

Jonkheer Jan Willem Janssens (October 12 1762 - May 23 1838) was a Dutch soldier and statesman who served both as the governor-general of the Cape Colony and Dutch East Indies.

Early life

Born in Nijmegen, he joined the army at the age of nine and rose through the ranks. By 1793, at the start of the Napoleonic Wars, he held the rank of colonel, and was wounded in the campaign.

Batavian Republic

The Dutch surrender in 1795 made way for the mostly peaceful establishment of the Batavian Republic, a satellite state under Napoleon's growing empire. Colonel Janssens, from 1795 to 1802, served mostly as an administrator within the new Batavian Army. He was appointed as the governor-general 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 defenses 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 January 8, 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 January 18. Under the terms of the surrender, Janssens was transported back to the Netherlands, arriving at the Hague on June 8, 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

Louis Bonaparte named Janssens as the 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 November 11, 1810, he was appointed as the governor-general of the territory formerly known as the Dutch East Indies before the annexation, replacing Herman Willem Daendels. He arrived in Batavia, Java on May 15, 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 July 30, 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 September 18, 1811. He was imprisoned in Britain until November 12, 1812, when he was repatriated to the Netherlands.

He was involved in some minor engagements in the ensuing years, until he resigned his post in the French Army on April 9, 1814.

Post-Napoleonic War career

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 May 22, 1815.

He died as a highly decorated veteran in the Hague, aged 75.

References

* [http://home.wanadoo.nl/g.vanuythoven/Biographies/Janssens.htm Biography by Geert van Uythoven]
** Wurtzburg, Charles Edward (1953). "Raffles of the Eastern Isles". Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195826050