Johan van Scharphuizen

Johan van Scharphuizen was a colonizer, Dutch plantation-owner and slave merchant who served as a judge in Suriname and governor of the Society of Suriname (1689-1696).

Originating from Zeeland, van Scharphuizen was related to the prominent plantation-owners with business interests in Suriname. From 1678-1684 he was active in Holland where he guarded the interests of the planter class in Suriname. Furthermore, van Scharphuizen was counseled in 1682 to develop a patent to the Society of Surinam, a Dutch private company established the next year to profit from the Dutch colony in the Guianas. In 1688 he was appointed governor of the colony and sailed for South America.

During his tenure, the Jodensavanne – an agricultural community in Suriname initially founded by the persecuted Spanish Jews ─ received the legal status of settlement. However, as a true Calvinist, van Scharphuizen forbade the Jewish planters to have their slaves from Angola work on Sundays.

Van Scharphuizen also allowed his slaves to sell their products and small allotments on the market due to the high prices and lack of fresh vegetables. In his will he clearly expressed that his slaves had to work only five days a week, allowing them to grow and sell vegetables for their own income in the rest of the week.