Abraham van Riebeeck

Abraham van Riebeeck was a Dutch merchant and the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1709 to 1713.

Born in the Dutch Cape Colony in South Africa as a son of Jan van Riebeeck, who at that time served as commander of the Cape, Abraham was sent in 1662 along with his brother to Holland on education. Soon after the completion of law at Leiden University, Abraham became devoted to building a mercantile career. He joined the Dutch East India Company and arrived at Batavia, a capital of the Dutch East Indies in 1677. The peak of his career represented the election to the post of Governor- General of the Dutch East Indies that he performed from 1709 until his death.

Besides his mercantile interests and official duties, van Riebeeck was also a keen explorer and he undertook several smaller and a few larger voyages in the Indies.