Hendrik Brouwer

Hendrik Brouwer was a Dutch explorer, admiral, merchant, and colonial administrator both in Japan and the Dutch East Indies.

Brouwer was in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) probably from 1606. In 1610, while sailing to the Indies he devised the Brouwer Route, a route from South Africa to Java that reduced voyage duration from a year to about 6 months by taking advantage of the strong westerly winds in the latitudes between 40° and 50° south. Until then, the Dutch followed a route copied from the Portuguese via the coast of Africa, Mauritius and Ceylon. By 1617, the Brouwer route became standard for the VOC’s ships.

From August 28, 1612 to August 6, 1614, Breouwer was opperhoofd, a chief merchant, at Dejima, Japan. During his tenure he visited the Japanese court at Edo, and laid the foundation for the Dutch trade with Siam. His career in the Indies reached its height in 1632 when Brouwer became Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. He held the post until 1636, when he was succeeded by his assistant, Anthony van Diemen.

Brouwer’s next big mission was organizing the joint venture of the VOC and the Dutch West India Company (WIC) to Chile to establish a base for trading gold at the abandoned ruins of Spanish Valdivia. The join fleet of the VOC and the WIC sailed from Dutch Brazil in 1642, where John Maurice of Nassau provided them with supplies. However, on August 7, 1643 Brouwer died before arriving, and was succeeded by his vice-admiral Elias Herckman.