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Kiliaen van Rensselaer (; approximately 1586, Hasselt, Overijssel – buried 7 October approximately 1643, Amsterdam)〔Janny Venema, ''Kiliaen van Rensselaer (1586-1643): designing a new world'', State Univ of New York Press, January 2011, ISBN 90-8704-196-9〕 was a Dutch diamond and pearl merchant from Amsterdam who was one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company, being instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland. He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New York's Capital District. His estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent War. Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in the province of Overijssel to Hendrick Kiliaensz van Rensselaer, a soldier from Nijkerk in the ''States army of the duke of Upper Saxony'', and Maria Alberts Pafraet, daughter of a printer in Hasselt.〔 To keep from risking his life in the army like his father, he apprenticed under his uncle, a successful Amsterdam jeweler. He too became a successful jeweler and was one of the first subscribers to the Dutch West India Company upon its conception. The concept of patroonships may have been Kiliaen van Rensselaer's; he was likely the leading proponent of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, the document that established the patroon system. His patroonship became the most successful to exist, making full use of his business tactics and advantages, such as his connection to the Director of New Netherland, his confidantes at the West India Company, and his extended family members who were eager to emigrate to a better place to farm. Van Rensselaer married twice and had at least eleven children. When he died sometime after 1642, two succeeded him as patroons of Rensselaerswyck. Van Rensselaer had a marked effect on the history of the United States. The American van Rensselaers all descend from Kiliaen's son Jeremias and the subsequent Van Rensselaer family is noted for being a very powerful and wealthy influence in the history of New York and the Northeastern United States, producing multiple State Legislators, Congressmen, and two Lieutenant Governors in New York. ==Early years== Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in Nijkerk, Gelderland, Netherlands〔(Van Rensselaer ) (1888), p. 2〕〔(Netherland Chamber of Commerce in America ) (1909), p. 28〕 or Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands〔 sometime in the late 16th century. The exact year of his birth is not agreed upon by historians. He was the son of Hendrick van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet, both from Amsterdam.〔(Van Laer ) (1908), p. 43〕 His father was a captain in the Dutch army until his death at the Siege of Ostend in early June 1602.〔〔(Van Laer ) (1908), p. 42〕 With his father usually not home (and eventually meeting his death) because of a military career, van Rensselaer's mother sent him to apprentice with his uncle, Wolfert van Bijler, a jeweler and diamond merchant. At the time, the gem trade was a prosperous enterprise to join, being a well-developed craft. In those days, the diamond trade was nearly always combined with the trade in pearls, other articles of luxury, and rarities of every description. Dutch jewelers found a ready market for their valuable wares at the Dutch imperial court and the smaller German courts.〔(Van Laer ) (1908), pp. 43–44〕 This realm of work promoted van Rensselaer to a life of economic success. Much of van Rensselaer's early life is unknown to today's historians, though in March 1608 it has been recorded that he was taking care of some business of van Bijler in Prague. It seems van Bijler gradually retired from his business, leaving it in the control of van Rensselaer.〔(Van Laer ) (1908), p. 45〕 During his tenure at the helm of his uncle's business, van Rensselaer proposed a merger with the firm of Jan van Wely, son of one of van Bijler's sisters, who had an equally successful jewelry business. The firms combined under the name of Jan van Wely & Co. in February 1614.〔 Van Rensselaer's name was not included in the name of the new company, since he contributed only one eighth of the investment capital, whereas van Wely contributed half (192,000 guilders). In 1616, van Wely was called on by Prince Maurice to meet at the Hague for a sale in jewels. He was murdered while waiting to meet with the Prince.〔〔(Prent )〕 The firm's contract stipulated that at the death of Jan van Wely, the remaining members of the firm should continue the partnership for another six years.〔 Van Wely's murder, therefore, caused no change in the business, but it seems that at the expiration of that time, van Rensselaer began again on his own account, founding Kiliaen van Rensselaer & Co. with partner Jacques I'Hermite.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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