Christoffel van Swoll, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetChristoffel van Swoll
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
Date of Birth: 25-Apr-1668
Place of Birth: Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Date of Death: 12-Nov-1718
Profession: politician
Nationality: Netherlands
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About Christoffel van Swoll
- Christoffel van Swoll (25 April 1668 – 12 November 1718) was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 17 November 1713 until his death. He was born in 1668 in Amsterdam.
- On 19 December 1683, he left for Batavia on board the Juffrouw Anna as an assistant in the service of the Dutch East India Company.
- He arrived in Batavia on 19 June 1684 and began working in the General Secretariat.
- He was regularly promoted.
- In 1686 he was promoted to Accountant, in 1690 to First Clerk to the General Secretariat, and in 1691 to Buyer.
- In 1696, he was appointed as Secretary to the High Government (de Hoge Regering).
- In 1700 he became Raad extra-ordinair (Counsellor extraordinary) and President of the College van Weesmeesteren (an orphanage).
- In 1701 he was named Raad ordinair van Indië (Full Counsellor of the Indies).
- On 3 May 1703 he became President of the College van Schepenen (Aldermen) at Batavia.
- Following the death of Governor-General Abraham van Riebeeck, the Council (Raad) chose van Swoll, by a slim majority, as Governor-General (on 17 November 1713).
- This proposal was sent to the 17 Lords of the Indies (de Heren XVII) on 18 May 1714 who confirmed his appointment in 1715, despite his difficulty character.
- His honesty was the deciding factor in those times of corruption and maladministration. As Governor-General, he put a lot of energy into dealing with the private, or unofficial, trade.
- In this he was not really successful.
- In general, there was nothing particularly remarkable about his time in office.
- He was no great promoter of development, such as extending coffee farming.
- He was also against extending the territory of the Company, because he thought it would then become ungovernable.
- He suddenly dropped the price the Chinese got for tea by a third.
- The result was that the trade in tea (and porcelain) collapsed for years.Four years after his provisional appointment as Governor-General, he died in Batavia on 12 November 1718.
- He was buried in the Church of the Holy Cross (Kruiskerk).
- His successor was named as Hendrick Zwaardecroon.
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