Andries Bicker

Bicker was born in one of the most powerful and distinguished merchant families of Amsterdam that came to prominence at the time when the Low Countries struggled for independence from Spain. During that period, the Dutch built a large merchant fleet and established a vast colonial empire achieving the golden age of prosperity and culture. His family actively participated in the commercial and political life of the Dutch Republic.

His father was a founding director of the Dutch East India Company, his uncle, Laurens Bicker was one of the first Dutch traders in West Africa, and his brothers were also successfully engaged in trade in various parts of the world. Their dominance in the international trade was so great that they were commonly said to have divided the world among them. Andries specifically dealt in the fur trade with the Grand Duchy of Moscow and in the spice trade with southern Asia. Simultaneously he ran the career in the public sector serving as an alderman of the city council, burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam for nine times, representative of the States-General of the Netherlands and many other public offices. He also held a post of a commissioner of the “Amsterdamsche Wisselbank” (Exchange Bank or Bank of Amsterdam), and the “Banken van Leening” (Banks of Loans). From 1641 until his death he held the position of director of the Dutch East India Company. In 1646, members of the Bicker family, called the Bicker's League, simultaneously held governing positions in Amsterdam, and ran the city’s affairs and determined its policy.

In order to end conflicts that hindered trade, he participated in several diplomatic missions – he negotiated Treaty of Stuhmsdorf (1635) which established peace between Sweden and the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth and worked on establishing of trade agreements among the Baltic peoples.

In the conflict with William II, prince of Orange, the stadtholder (governor) of several of the Dutch provinces, the Bicker family lost some of their offices and prominence.