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[[File:Samuel Blommaert (1583-1651).jpg|thumb|Samuel Blommaert (1647)]]

'''Samuel Blommaert''' (''Bloemaert'', ''Blommaerts'', ''Blommaart'', ''Blomert'', etc.; 11 or 21 August 1583 – 23 December 1651) was a Flemish/Dutch merchant and director of the [[Dutch West India Company]] from 1622 to 1629 and again from 1636 to 1642. In the latter period, he was a paid commissioner of [[Sweden]] in the Netherlands and he played a dubious but key role in [[Peter Minuit]]'s expedition that led to the Swedish colonizing of [[New Sweden]]. For years Blommaert was involved in the copper trade and industry. <!-- Perhaps together with his brother-in-law Gerard Thins. Klein, pp. 326, 364.--> In 1645 he was appointed for a third time as a manager of the WIC, being one of the main investors from the beginning.

==Early life==
[[File:Gerard Reynst.jpg|thumb|180px|Portrait of [[Gerard Reynst]], Blommaert's father-in-law]]

Blommaert was born in [[Antwerp]], [[Duchy of Brabant]], in current-day [[Belgium]] but grew up in London. He was the son of Margaretha Hoefnagel (–1585){{Efn|Her grandfather was [[Joris Hoefnagel]] was, the court-painter and diplomat [[Jacob Hoefnagel]] was her father; [[Constantijn Huygens]] was her uncle.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Hoefnagel | title=Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland | date=17 September 2019 }}</ref> In: [https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bij005190801_01/_bij005190801_01_0005.php Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna, 1635-1641.] Joris Hoefnagel was a diplomat supporting [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine]] and accused in Prague of fraudulently dealing with a certain financial matter. Hoefnagel was convicted in absentia in a political process of embezzlement of funds. All his goods were confiscated he was sentenced to death but fled to Sweden?<ref>[http://austria-forum.org/af/AEIOU/Hoefnagel,_Jakob Hoefnagel, Jakob] on Austria-Forum</ref>}} and the wealthy goldsmith/merchant Lodewijk Blommaert (1537–1591),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.genealogieonline.nl/genealogie-peeters-rouneau/I4825.php|title = Gouwer Frittema » Genealogie Peeters-Rouneau » Genealogie Online}}</ref> who in 1581 was [[schepen]] of Antwerp and in 1583 captain at [[Fort Lillo]] on the eastern border of the [[Scheldt]]; he knew the area very well as his ancestors came from [[Bergen-op-Zoom]]. His mother died when Samuel was young and his father moved the family to London when Antwerp was occupied in 1585 by the [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma|Duke of Parma]]. In 1587 he remarried Janneken van Hove but he died four years later. Samuel was apprenticed in [[Stade]] with his aunt Susanne, and in Vienna at his uncle Daniel. In 1601 he became "[[poorter]]" of [[Amsterdam]]. In 1602 he visited [[Benin]].<ref>His account, given to [[Isaac Vossius]] was used by [[Olfert Dapper]] in 1668.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://africanistes.revues.org/document125.html#ftn27|doi = 10.4000/africanistes.125|title = Historiae Oculus Geographia|year = 2005|last1 = Baesjou|first1 = René|journal = Journal des Africanistes|issue = 75–2|page = 101|url-access = subscription}}</ref>

In 1603, Samuel enlisted with the [[Dutch East India Company]] and traveled to the [[Dutch East Indies]] on a ship under admiral [[Steven van der Hagen]]. In the years 1605–1607 he stayed on [[Borneo]]. He was sent by the board ([[Jacques l'Hermite]]) to [[Sukadana]] [[West Kalimantan]] to free merchant Hans Roeff, who had died or left when Blommaert arrived. He returned to Bantam with 633 diamonds he was able to save at the trading post.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://databases.tanap.net/ead/html/1.04.02/index.html?N1437B|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724092207/http://databases.tanap.net/ead/html/1.04.02/index.html?N1437B|url-status=usurped|archive-date=July 24, 2011|title = 1.04.02 - de archieven van de Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, 1602 - 1795 - Guest}}</ref> In 1609/1610 he again stayed on [[Sultanate of Sambas|Sambas]], Borneo and was able to get a monopoly on diamond trade for the VOC.<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, pp. 16–17. In: Bijdragen & Mededeelingen van het Historisch Genootschap, nr. 29.</ref> In September 1610, after seven years, he left sooner than expected and arrived in June 1611 at [[Texel]]. [[Pieter Both]] had to investigate the case.<ref>[https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_bij005190801_01/_bij005190801_01_0005.php Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna, 1635-1641.]</ref> On 5 June 1612, he married the 22-years-old Catharina Reynst, a daughter of [[Gerard Reynst]], governor of the East Indies. Both were living at [[Sint Antoniesbreestraat]] with whom he would have twelve children between 1613 and 1633; two died in an early age.<ref>[https://www.knggw.nl/raadplegen/de-nederlandsche-leeuw/1893-11/72/ De Nederlandsche Leeuw]</ref>

==Early career==
[[File:Café Papeneiland - Amsterdam - 20020095 - RCE.jpg|thumb|In 1615 Gerrit Reynst became the owner of an empty lot, now [[Prinsengracht]] 2; his heirs, two daughters who married Samuel Blommaert and Isaac Coymans sold the lots in 1617, 1618 and 1622.]]

For many years Blommaert was involved in a company which traded in copper from [[Angola]] and the African coast, together with Frans Jacobsz. Hinlopen, and Lucas van der Venne.<ref>Klein, P.W. (1963) De Trippen in de 17e eeuw, p. 146.</ref><ref>Gelderblom, O. (2000) Zuid-Nederlandse kooplieden en de opkomst van de Amsterdamse stapelmarkt, pp. 224, 231.</ref> In 1615 [[Jacob le Maire]] carried a letter from his father [[Isaac le Maire]] to be presented to Governor Reynst, with an offer to smuggle goods to his son-in-law in Amsterdam. Blommaert was investigated in Amsterdam by the board of the East-India Company on 30 January 1616 <ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, pp. 16–17</ref> about a vessel, named ''Mauritius de Nassau'', sailed from a Dutch port, under the command of Jan Remmertszoon from Purmerend. The ship was ostensibly destined for Angola, but from there she was ordered to direct her course for "[[Terra Australis]]." The plan, therefore, was, from the west coast of Africa to sail southward to [[Tierra del Fuego]], and then {{blockquote|"to explore the whole of the coast <!--of Terra Australi-->: as far as the [[Strait of Magellan|Straits of Magellanes]], on the chance of finding an opening that might allow a passage to the South-sea; and on such opening being found, to run into and through the same, in order to discover whether they could in such manner get into the South-sea; should such passage to the South-sea have been found, they had orders to return home forthwith, but in case adverse circumstances should prevent them from doing so, they were to run on for the East Indies."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600571h.html|title = Abel Janszoon Tasman's Journal}}</ref>}}

Around 1619 he settled on [[Keizersgracht]]<!--"de stad Rijssel" now number 158 or 160--> and bought a lot (30x170 ft) where a new house was built, next to [[Laurens Reael]].<!-- now number 137 of 139--> In 1620 Isaac Coymans, a broker, became his brother-in-law.

==New Netherlands==
[[File:Nieuw Nederland and Nya Sverige.svg|thumb|The relative locations of New Netherland (magenta) and New Sweden (blue) in America; modern state boundaries and postal abbreviations are shown]]

By 1621, he invested in the Amsterdam chamber of the [[Dutch West India Company]] and was appointed director in October 1622.<ref>[http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/files/7513/8170/9110/The_Flemish_Influence_on_Nieuw_Nederland_Oct_5_2013_2of2.pdf The Flemish Influence on Nieuw Nederland]</ref> In 1623 he and [[Kiliaen van Rensselaer (Dutch merchant)|Kiliaen van Rensselaer]], [[Samuel Godijn]] en [[Albert Burgh|Albert Coenraetsz. Burgh]] were investigating the possibility of the slave trade in Angola.<ref>K. Ratelband (2006) De Westafrikaanse reis van Piet Heyn 1624-1625, p. LV.</ref> In 1624 his grandfather [[Jacob Hoefnagel]] became one of the three mayors in [[Gothenburg]] and president of the court of justice for a while.<ref name="buk">{{Cite web |date=2024-12-06 |title=Jacob Hoefnagel Attributed to, "Konung Gustaf II Adolf" och "Drottning Maria Eleonora". |url=https://www.bukowskis.com/en/auctions/554/257D-jacob-hoefnagel-attributed-to-konung-gustaf-ii-adolf-och-drottning-maria-eleonora |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Bukowskis}}</ref> [[Louis De Geer (1587–1652)|Louis de Geer]] received the official monopoly on the copper and iron trade in Sweden and decided to settle there. In 1627 Blommaert had an argument with Pieter Trip about 34 Swedish guns.<ref>Klein, P.W. (1963) De Trippen in de 17e eeuw, p. 279.</ref>

In 1628 he collaborated with Van Rensselaer, Godijn and Burgh.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/beleven/verhalenarchief/samuel-blommaert | title=Samuel Blommaert}}</ref> Godyn, Van Rensselaer and Samuel Blommaert sent two persons to New Netherland to inspect the country.<ref>[https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Notification_by_Samuel_Godyn,_Kiliaen_van_Rensselaer_and_Samuel_Blommaert_that_they_send_two_persons_to_New_Netherland_to_inspect_the_country&oldid=10855997 Wikisource]</ref> Gilles Housset and Jacob Jansz Cuyper bargained with the natives for a tract of land reaching from [[Cape Henlopen]] to the mouth of the [[Delaware River]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hetverhalenarchief.nl/image/59|title = Verhalenarchief}}</ref> This was in 1629, three years before the charter of [[Maryland]], and is the oldest deed for land in the state of [[Delaware]]. <!-- Its water-front nearly coincides with the coast of [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]] and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]] coast.{{cn}} --> The purchase was ratified in 1630 by [[Peter Minuit]] and his council at [[Fort Amsterdam]].<ref>''The First Settlers'' ( Delaware Living History) http://www.delawareliving.com/history.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508145209/http://delawareliving.com/history.html |date=2009-05-08}}</ref>

A company was formed to colonize the tract that included Blommaert, Godin, Van Rensselaer, [[Joannes de Laet]] (a geographer), and [[David Pietersz. de Vries|David Pietersen de Vries]]. A ship of eighteen guns was fitted out to bring over the colonists and subsequently defend the coast, with incidental whale-fishing to help defray expenses. A colony of more than thirty souls was planted on Lewes creek, a little north of Cape Henlopen, and its governorship was entrusted to Gilles Housset. This settlement antedated by several years any in [[Pennsylvania]], and the colony at [[Lewes, Delaware|Lewes]] practically laid the foundation and defined the singularly limited area of the state of Delaware, the major part of which was included in the purchase. A [[palisade]]d fort was built, with the "red lion, rampant," of Holland affixed to its gate, and the country was named "Swaanendael" or [[Zwaanendael Colony]], while the water was called [[Delaware Bay|Godyn's Bay]]. The estate was further extended, on 5 May 1630, by the purchase of a tract twelve miles square on the coast of [[Cape May]] opposite, and the transaction was duly attested at [[Fort Amsterdam]].

The existence of the little colony was short, for the Indians came down upon it in revenge for an arbitrary act on the part of Housset, and it was destroyed, not a soul escaping to tell the tale. According to acknowledged precedent, occupancy of the wilderness served to perfect title; but before the Dutch could reoccupy the desolated site at Lewes, the English were practically in possession.<ref>''Isaack de Rasieres to Samuel Blommaert 1628'' (Caleb Johnson. MayflowerHistory.com) {{cite web |url=http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/PrimarySources/IsaacRasieresLetters.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-07-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725132815/http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/PrimarySources/IsaacRasieresLetters.pdf |archive-date=2008-07-25}}</ref>

Because of the ongoing [[Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)]], no grain could be exported through the city of [[Gdańsk|Dantzig]].<ref>[[J.G. van Dillen]] (1970) Van Rijkdom en Regenten, p. 65.</ref> In 1630 the price of grain remained extremely high due to increasing competition. [[Albert Burgh]] tried to ensure a monopoly for the City of Amsterdam in [[Moscovy]]. In 1631 Blommaert bought rye in [[Arkhangelsk]]. Isaac Coymans, his brother-in-law, moved all his furniture to Keizersgracht 139 as Coymans was in trouble for embezzlement.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} In 1631 De Geer had a disagreement with his partner Elias Trip. The quarrel was resolved in 1634?

==New Sweden==
In 1635, he started a brass factory in [[Nacka]], outside Stockholm, to boost the export of copper which could be used for making guns and coins. Blommaert tried to attract workers and experts from [[Aachen]] and [[Stolberg (Rheinland)|Stolberg]].<ref>J. Römelingh (1986) Een rondgang langs de Zweedse archieven, pp. 158, 247, 267</ref> In 1636, Blommaert was reappointed as "bewindhebber" of the WIC after its first [[bankruptcy]], but also became the [[consul (representative)|consul]] for Sweden in Amsterdam.<ref>Klein, P.W. (1963) De Trippen in de 17e eeuw, p. 374.</ref> In 1636 the directors of the WIC could not gather because of an outbreak of plague.<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, p. 174</ref> In 1637 Blommaert secretly invested money in the first Swedish expedition with ''[[Fogel Grip]]'' and ''[[Kalmar Nyckel]]'' to [[New Sweden]]. By doing so, he hoped to avoid paying the Dano-Norwegian [[Sound Dues|Sound Tolls]] on all foreign merchantmen crossing [[Øresund|the Sound]]. He engaged the former diamond cutter [[Peter Minuit]] to command the expedition, without the knowledge or permission of the WIC.{{Efn|Minuit was dismissed by the WIC in 1632.}} Blommaert suggested to Oxenstierna to take part in the WIC, <!--which had a monopoly on salt trade--> and organize from Gothenburg and trade on Spanish and Portuguese ports.{{Efn|In 1649 [[Louis De Geer (1587–1652)|Louis de Geer]] founded the [[Swedish Africa Company]] which led outraged citizens in Amsterdam to riot and in 1650 [[Christina, Queen of Sweden]] hired [[Hendrik Carloff]] to improve trade on [[Swedish Gold Coast|Gold Coast]].<ref>[https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2975217/view Wirta, K.H.(2018) Dark horses of business : overseas entrepreneurship in seventeenth-century Nordic trade in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, pp. 134–135]</ref>}} Blommaert was interested in seizing Spanish ships, which sailed from the East or West-Indies to [[Cádiz]] or Seville, to make his expeditions and colonization more profitable.<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, pp. 93, 136–137, 143, 149, 155.</ref>

In November 1637 two ships belonging to the [[Swedish South Company]] with crew and settlers left Gothenburg.<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, p. 175.</ref> Because of a storm the ships could get around Scotland; after a month at sea one arrived at [[Texel]] the other at [[Medemblik]].<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, pp. 50, 56, 145, 146, 182.</ref> The damage was provisionally repaired; sails and victuals (butter, bread, and beer) needed to be bought. Having arrived on [[Swedes' Landing]] on 29 March Minuit acted as he had done before, he did not conquer the land by force but bought it legally from the [[Lenape]] or [[Minqua]] Indians. What happened next is not very clear. (It seems he was hardly involved in building [[Fort Christina]]). Minuit left the colony mid-June, 1638 and sailed to the Caribbean island of [[Saint Kitts|St. Christopher]] where he arrived in early July to barter salt, a ship's cargo of wine and [[Akvavit|liquor]] for tobacco.<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, p. 158</ref><ref>Ashmead, Henry Graham ''History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania'' (Chapter II, Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co. 1884)</ref><ref>Weslager, C. A. ''A Man and his Ship: Peter Minuit and the Kalmar Nyckel'' (Wilmington, Delaware: Kalmar Nickel Foundation. 1989</ref> (Meanwhile [[Cornelis Jol]] attempted to capture the [[Spanish treasure fleet]] near Cuba with four ships but didn't succeed to the disappointment of Blommaert.) On 5 August 1638 Minuit drowned during a [[list of Atlantic hurricanes in the 17th century#1625–1649|hurricane]] at [[Saint Kitts|St. Christopher]] (today's St. Kitts).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://17thcenturyhollanders.pbworks.com/w/page/120833514/Peter%20Minuit | title=17th Century Hollanders / Peter Minuit }}</ref> About 20 ships drifted out of the harbour. One ship sank near the [[Azores]], the ''Kalmar'' arrived without a mast. A second voyage, which departed on February{{nbsp}}7, 1640, and arrived at Fort Christina on April{{nbsp}}17, brought additional settlers for New Sweden. As the two expeditions turned out to be unprofitable for Blommaert, he withdrew in 1641.

In 1639 Blommaert and Isaac Coymans sold tobacco and sugar; they were accused of cheating as there were a couple of stones in one of the cases and problems with the tobacco.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archief.amsterdam/archief/5075/1280 | title=Inventarissen }}</ref> In 1640 [[Portuguese Restoration War]] improved the situation for the Dutch. Blommaert was involved in mining in [[Dutch Brazil]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archief.amsterdam/archief/5075/956B | title=Inventarissen }}</ref> In 1641 the Zwaanendael Colony was sold to Sweden; all the participants agreed on an equal share.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archief.amsterdam/archief/5075/1284 | title=Inventarissen }}</ref> A ship with 211 slaves arrived in Brazil.<ref>Kernkamp, G.W. (1908) Brieven van Samuel Blommaert aan den Zweedschen Rijkskanselier Axel Oxenstierna 1635–1641, p. 195</ref> In 1642 with collaborated with [[Jan Valkenburgh]] in Angola.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archief.amsterdam/archief/5075/1318 | title=Inventarissen }}</ref> In 1647 he and his wife were portrayed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://rkd.nl/nl/explore/images/143503 | title=Anoniem Noordelijke Nederlanden (Historische regio) 1647 gedateerd }}</ref> He told professor [[Nicolaes Tulp]], stories on [[bestiality]] he heard on Borneo.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nOqtlvwu9-8C&pg=PA41|title=Dearest Pet: On Bestiality|first=Midas|last=Dekkers|date=July 31, 2000|publisher=Verso|isbn=9781859843109|via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1651 Blommaert got ill. He died in Amsterdam on 23 December 1651 and was buried in [[Westerkerk]].<ref>[https://stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl/archieven/archiefbank/indexen/begraafregisters_voor_1811/zoek/index.nl.html Samuel Bloemert was buried in the Westerkerk in 1651]</ref> In 1655 his daughter Constantia (born 1626) married the admiral [[Isaac Sweers]], Catharina married [[Abraham Elzevir]] and Anna moved to Malakka with her husband, director of the VOC.<ref>''Genealogie van Isaak Sweers'', (H. de Voogd v.d. Straaten In: De Nederlandsche Leeuw, No. 9 (1893), pp. 65–67) (in Dutch)</ref>

==Legacy==
Blommaert's thirty-eight letters to [[Axel Oxenstierna]] from 1635 to 1641 are of great importance to the history of New Sweden. They mention [[Willem Usselincx]] one of the founders of the WIC, who had moved to Gothenburg in 1624 and founded the [[Swedish South Company]]; [[:sv:Peter Spiring]] dealt with the Dutch merchants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Odhner |first1=C. T. |last2=Keen |first2=G. B. |date=1879 |title=The Founding of New Sweden, 1637-1642 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20084410 |journal=The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=269–284 |jstor=20084410 |issn=0031-4587}}</ref> These letters were published in ''Repertorium Veterrimarum Societatum Litterariarum'' 1870–1879 of the [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] Historical Society and in ''Bijdragen en Mededeelingen'' (1908).<ref>Journal-Title Abbreviations in Old Journals in the Repertorium Veterrimarum Societatum Litterariarum 1870–1879 [https://web.archive.org/web/20060928060924/http://www.scholarly-societies.org/history/AbbrevsInOldJournals1870_1879.html]</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Primary source==
* [[J. Franklin Jameson|Jameson, J. F.]] editor. ''Narrative of New Netherland 1609–1664'' (Project Gutenberg – from the series: Original narratives of early American history. Original Printing 1909) [https://web.archive.org/web/20031206134310/http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext02/nwnth10.txt Wayback Machine]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blommaert, Samuel}}
[[Category:1583 births]]
[[Category:1654 deaths]]
[[Category:Administrators of the Dutch West India Company]]
[[Category:Sailors on ships of the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Antwerp]]
[[Category:People from New Netherland]]
[[Category:People of New Sweden]]
[[Category:Dutch people of Flemish descent]]
[[Category:Dutch explorers of North America]]
[[Category:Dutch merchants]]
[[Category:17th-century Dutch businesspeople]]