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Research Note

∵
Jan van der Goes
An Indian Prince at Cayenne in the Seventeenth Century?

Martijn M. van den Bel | orcid: 0000-0002-4052-0882

Institut national de recherches archéologiques préventives (inrap),
Cayenne, France
martijn.van-den-bel@inrap.fr

Abstract

This article tries to demonstrate that the former governor of Essequibo, Jan van der
Goes, was also the Indian prince called Vandergoes met by the English, French, and
Dutch in the early second half of the seventeenth century at Cayenne. This hypothesis
is supported by detailed information on the career of Jan van der Goes derived from the
general meetings of the Zeeland Chamber of the wic and by appearances of the afore-
mentioned Vandergoes in various European documents. In addition, the incorporation
of this Dutchman among the Arecarets reveals a particular Amerindian adaptation to
colonization along the Wild Coast.

Keywords

Guianas – colonial history – Dutch wic – Amerindians

From the second half of the seventeenth century onward, the mysterious name
of one Jan van der Goes can be found in French, English, Portuguese, and
Dutch sources related to the Wild Coast, also known as the Guianas. His name

© martijn m. van den bel, 2022 | doi:10.1163/22134360-bja10016

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56 research note

appears as “Vandregousse” and “John Vandergoose” on Cayenne, as “Vandregos”

or “Baldregues” along the coast of Amapá, and as “Jan Van der Goes” in Suri-
name. Without doubt, these variations represent corruptions of the original
spelling of the Dutch family name “Van der Goes” by the French, English, and
Portuguese. Van der Goes, a rather rare patronym in this nominative case, was
most certainly a Zeelander, or Zeeuw, and I posit here that this “Vandergoes” is
probably Jan van der Goes, the former commander of the Geoctroyeerde West-
Indische Compagnie or Dutch West India Company (wic) colony of Isekepe or
Essequibo upon the Essequibo River.1
The story of Vandergoes, as we shall call him from now on, is fascinating
when considering the early history of the Guianas. His adventurous path is per-
haps not unique, as there is little information on Europeans “going native” in
the Guianas. By the latter expression, I mean Europeans or colonists joining the
Amerindians voluntarily to start a new life.
While Amerindians were taken to Europe for an education to become a
truchement, or domestic servant (Vaughan 2002), there are also various exam-
ples of European individuals mingling intimately with the Amerindian popu-
lation in the Guianas during the seventeenth century. These include Lourens
Lourensz, who spent six years (1619–25) among the Arocouros, though he was
in fact a captive of the latter and was eventually bought back by a Dutch sailor.2
Another local example is a Frenchman called Le Vendangeur, a factor of the
merchant Jacob Bontemps, who led the Norman colonists in Cayenne in the
1640s and early 1650s. He spoke the local language and apparently enjoyed
some esteem among the Galibi as well as the colonists (Biet 1664:210–12).
Finally, we must recall the infamous “Indian Warner,” the alleged child of Gov-
ernor Thomas Warner of St. Christopher and a Carib woman. He is probably a
more appropriate comparison for Jan van der Goes for various reasons. First,
little is known for certain about Thomas “the Indian” Warner, despite “quite
extensive documentation”; second, he kept his own name; third, he was the
child of a mixed marriage; and, finally, he joined the Kalinago and became
their war leader (Barber 2018; Hulme & Whitehead 1992:89). All these elements

1 The only Van der Goes with the exact same family name I encountered is one Marcelo van
der Goes, a trader on Martinique in 1664; see Nationaal Archief, The Hague, the Netherlands
[National Archives of the Netherlands; hereafter NL-HaNA], Inventaris van het archief van de
High Court Admiralty, Prize Papers (Sailing Letters), ca. 1564–1830, NL-HaNA 2.22.24 hca 30
11.9 (16641010).
2 See Van den Bel 2009. Another example from the sixteenth century is that of Juan Martin de
Albujar, who had “gone native” and lived for seven months in Manoa; see, for example, Bos
1998:31–32.

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also apply to Vandergoes and show how complex and intricate relationships
had been established between Europeans and Amerindians in the areas sur-
rounding these early European colonies of Essequibo, Paramaribo, Cayenne,
and Belém.
Besides the identification of Vandergoes as Jan van der Goes from Essequibo,
this article also seeks to explain how Vandergoes became an “Indian Prince” or
chief of the so-called Arecarets or Arecarissen, an indigenous group dwelling in
the savannahs to the west of Cayenne during the late 1660s. Various Portuguese,
French, Dutch, and English documents have shed light on his appearances and,
to some extent, on his status and activities among the Arecarets and Europeans
and perhaps as a “stranger-king” (Sahlins 1985, 2008).
To answer these questions, we need to begin with the person of Jan van
der Goes. The Dutch historian Pieter Marinus Netscher (1888) provided impor-
tant information on him, but archival research in the Nationaal Archief (Dutch
National Archives) was needed to paint a detailed image of the colony of Esse-
quibo’s former commander, who governed it for about 15 years from the Kijck-
overal fortress. This factual overview may be considered redundant or tiresome,
but its purpose is twofold. It is rare to have such detailed information on this
kind of frontier- and allegiance-crossing figure. Here it is sufficient to reveal his
personality and provide us with a solid contextual understanding of this early
Dutch colony in order to better understand why he carved his own path, even-
tually “going native.” In the second part of this article, all known references to
Vandergoes are ordered chronologically to create a factual overview of his life
between the Amazon River and Cayenne Island. In the third and final part, a
discussion is proposed on the role of Vandergoes among the Arecaret popu-
lation to determine why the latter might have chosen a European to be their
leader. The Arecaret case is also interesting, as this Amerindian group decided
to split into three, for various reasons, and adopted different survival strategies
during early colonial times.

1 Commander of the Essequibo Colony

The Essequibo colony was located far into the interior, at the confluence of the
Cuyuni and Mazaruni rivers, which later flow into the larger Essequibo River.
At the mouth of the Mazaruni, where this river runs into the Cuyuni, there is a
tiny island, which the Dutch fortified and aptly called Kijckoveral or “Lookev-
erywhere.” Although older dates have been proposed by Jan Jacob Hartsinck
(generating many discussions), the first recorded Dutch activities along the
Wild Coast date back to the end of the sixteenth century, as evidenced by

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Abraham Cabeliau and Andreas Ultzheimer.3 The first voyages by Zeelanders to

the Essequibo and adjacent rivers can certainly be attributed to the Zeelander
merchant Jan de Moor and his associates.4 With the foundation of the wic in
1621, this colony and other Zeelander activities along the coast and upon the
Amazon River, were eventually taken over by the wic, leaving important privi-
leges to the Zeelander merchants, notably to the aforementioned De Moor, but
also to Abraham van Pere.5
Despite the absence of the first records (1621–26), we know that Comman-
der Jan Canijn was called back from Essequibo in December 1626 and replaced
by Jan van der Goes.6 The latter was promoted to commander after three years
of service in Essequibo and would remain in Essequibo roughly another ten
years. The colony of Essequibo was rather small. The fort had been constructed
by 30 men sent directly by De Moor, and soon afterward the surrounding lands
were dotted with tobacco plantations. Van der Goes was also allowed to keep

3 Hartsinck 1770:206–8. Also see Enthoven 1996:241–69; Israel 1989:62–63; and Netscher 1888:
30. On Cabeliau and Ultzheimer, see NL-HaNA, Inventaris van het Archief van de Staten-
Generaal (1576–1796), 1.01.07 12563.2; De Jonge 1862:153–60; and Ultzheimer 1971. This date,
fitting with establishment of the Amsterdam-based Guiana and Wiapoco Company (see Huls-
man 2010), also fits with the earliest salt adventures of West Frisians which, according to
Lesger (1990:55–56), started about 1599, which is also the date given for the enigmatic Dutch
forts situated at the mouth of the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, by De Laet (1625:463,
1630:562), and the 1750 berigt or report about the colony of Essequibo transcribed and pub-
lished by Roos (1992:129, Appendix 1). However, a date of 1610 is probably more accurate, given
De Moor’s commission from 1616 but also because the first Portuguese military interventions
against other Europeans on the Amazon are recorded after the founding of Belém do Para in
1616; see Lorimer 1989:51–56; Netscher 1853:171, n. 8.
4 The origins and patron(s) of this particular colony are still unclear, but an excellent discussion
(comparing Hartsinck with archival material) was already offered by Netscher (1888:38–44),
showing that the Zeelanders might have had colonies at Poomeroon, Essequibo, and Couran-
tyne during the first two decades of the seventeenth century.
5 For the early letters of note distributed by the Admiralty of Zeeland and the Prince of Orange
to Jan de Moor, see NL-HaNA, Inventaris van het Archief van de Admiraliteitscolleges (1586–
1795), 1.01.46 2425, scan 338–337 (16180601); NL-HaNA 1.01.46 2425, scan 340–339 (16180600)
and for the Van Pere family see Jacques van Pere NL-HaNA 1.01.46 2425, scan 64–65 (16110521).
6 NL-HaNA, Inventaris van de Oude West Indische Compagnie, 1621–1674, 1.05.01.01 [hereafter
NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01], Kamer van Zeeland “Resoluties” of Notulen van de Kamer Zeeland,
1626–1646, inv. no. 20–26 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 26r (16261210); f. 27r (16261217); f. 45v
(16270823); British Guiana Boundary Commission [hereafter bgbc] 1897, ii:45–6. For the last
deliberation date, Netscher (1888:61) evoked a date of 1626, but this is an error—it should
be 1627. Johannes Canijn returned as a factor in April 1634; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 19v
(16340427). Ten years later, he would become procurator of Samuel Bachiler, servant of the
English community in Brazil; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 26, f. 90r (16450626).

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five to six men from the ship Arent commanded by Captain Jan Ber.7 Samuel
Lucas, another prominent captain under the Zeeland Chamber, was allowed
to outfit the ship Eendracht with 32 men for a six-month voyage to St. Christo-
pher to see whether some profit could be made there.8 If it was not possible to
call into St. Christopher, Lucas was told to sail to Essequibo instead, where he
should leave a sloop for the crew of Van der Goes.9 After a year, Lucas success-
fully returned to Zeeland from St. Christopher,10 and many voyages followed
toward this northern center of the Lesser Antilles.11
When Van der Goes finished his term in Essequibo, he returned to Zeeland
but was asked by wic directors De Moor and Elfsdijck to fulfill another contract
in this colony as commander and to continue his collaboration with commis,
or factor, Jan van Beverland.12 While Van der Goes was in the Netherlands, Jan
Anthonissen, former member of the Prevo colony in Cayenne,13 was the interim
commander at Essequibo.14 Once back in Essequibo Van der Goes continued

7 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 45v (16270823). One Jehannes Bentlander was also contracted to
reside on the Iskepe besides Jan Adriaen and Van der Goes; see f. 27r (16261217).
8 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 45r (16270819); f. 45v (16270823).
9 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 49r (16270916); f. 52r (16271007).
10 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 96r (16281106).
11 The next ship to return from St. Christopher was the Regenboge commanded by Theunis-
sen Jansen; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 135v (16290820). Salt could also be harvested at St.
Christopher, leaving price speculation to the board members; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 21,
f. 47v (16301107). Salt was also taken from St. Maarten by one Jacob Rams, who had brought
all the materials necessary to start his business there (f. 31r, 16300516) and returned
the next year (f. 77v, 16310908). Meanwhile, the Fortuijne and Regenboge, once they had
dropped their cargo in Brazil, were sent immediately to St. Maarten to get salt (f. 57r,
16310203).
12 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 21, f. 101r (16320407). Netscher (1888:62) gave April 8; f. 103v (16320510).
Jan van Beverland met with Gelein van Stapels in 1629; Zeeuws Archief, Middelburg, the
Netherlands [hereafter nl-zam], Afdeling handschriften, 1206–1948, “Beschrijvingen van
diverse locaties in het Caraïbisch gebied en journaal van een reis van Vlissingen naar de
Amazone, Guyana en het Caraïbisch gebied door Geleyn van Stapels, met vijf kaarten,
1629–1630,” 33.1 182, f. 27r; Van Wallenburg et al. 2015:57.
13 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 20, f. 26r (16261210); “Commissien, instructien, conditien voor Col-
loniers. Acten […] van en aen Zoutschepen”. Verzameling stukken betreffende kolonisa-
ties, waaronder commissies en instructies voor kapiteins, contracten met patroons van
kolonies, borgtochten, en commissies en eden van commandeurs van Tobago. 1626–1671,
NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 42, pp. 4–5 (16261209).
14 Anthonissen had written a letter to the Zeeland Chamber when Van der Goes returned
to Essequibo on the Regenboge on August 15, 1633 and hoped to board the Jager, under
Captain Joost Bastiaensen, in order to take five to six loads of annatto with him. He had
already sent 370 hammocks with Captain Geleijssen to sell on behalf of the Company in
the Antilles, but tobacco prices were low at this time and perhaps not as profitable for the

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his trading activities,15 but people soon started to leave the colony.16 Van der
Goes wanted to show his intentions to the board of the Zeeland Chamber and
was able to convince three other men to return with him to Essequibo.17 Inter-
estingly, Van der Goes also wanted to take his eight-year-old son to Essequibo to
serve his table and manage the glass beads, for which he requested a monthly
salary from the board.18
In March 1634, the Jager, commanded by Bartholomeus Nauts, returned to
the Netherlands from its voyage to Berbice and Essequibo, and two months
later, the wic board discussed the possibility of replacing Van der Goes with Jan
Antheunissen, a native of Breda.19 The latter was probably on board the Jager as
he returned from Essequibo where he had earned 41 months’ worth of salary.20
It is unclear why the wic wanted to replace Van der Goes after two years of
additional service, but he was in luck, as Antheunissen was then investigated by
the wic for illegal practices, with Burgomaster Barentssen checking Antheunis-
sen’s personal chest himself, thus thwarting his aspirations to the captaincy.
Barentssen relieved him not only of 18 shillings and 83 rolls of rotten tobacco,
but also of a letter written by Jan Adriaensen van der Goes.21 As a result, the
board discovered that Antheunissen had left eight men on St. Christopher dur-

Company as he had hoped. Anthonissen specified that he would rather take the ham-
mocks with him on the Jager; however, this ship was first to visit the Sernamen River
before its voyage to the Antilles, and according to Van der Goes, the Jager was crawl-
ing with rats that would damage the hammocks. He would eventually sell them in St.
Christopher, where Anthonissen was subsequently dispatched on behalf of the wic. In
fact, Anthonissen complained in this letter that he had not received a letter from the Com-
pany after four years of duty in Essequibo and hoped he could make a report soon; perhaps
due to this situation, the Company granted him permission to sell the hammocks in the
Antilles to appease him. See NL-HaNA, Inventaris van de Oude West Indische Compagnie,
1621–1674, Overgekomen brieven en papieren uit Brazilië, 1630–1654, 1.05.01.01 50, Docu-
ment 16 (16330819).
15 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 21, f. 61v (16310407).
16 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 21, f. 101v (16320422); f. 101v (16320422); f. 102r (16320426); f. 117v (163208
12). Those who left included Anthoni Jansen Enpoinck, Hendrick Meunix from Middel-
burg, and one Beuckelaer. Meunix eventually returned to the colony, accompanied by
Willem Jacobssen Fasel van Diltgempalte.
17 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 21, f. 117r (16320809); f. 117v (16320812); f. 124r (16320923); f. 130v (163210
21); f. 132r (16321028); f. 134r (16321122). These individuals were Jan Gerritsen from Oostwou,
Willem de Wilde from Middelburg, and the aforementioned Empoinck.
18 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 21, f. 135v (16321209).
19 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 22, f. 12r (16340311); f. 20v (16340504).
20 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 22, f. 23r (16340525). He received four florins per month and when he
decided to go back, he would earn double that—so eight florins per month.
21 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 22, f. 70r (16350402), bgbc 1897, ii:69.

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ing the return voyage.22 During the five years Antheunissen had been working
for the wic in Essequibo, he must have developed his own business, notably
with St. Christopher. He eventually made a deal with the Chamber to be sent
to this island for good.23 In addition, he was allowed to take 50 to 60 hammocks
to sell on behalf of the Company.24 Antheunissen was eventually dispatched to
the Antilles by the wic, where he became a factor on Antigua.25
In November 1634, Van der Goes met David Pietersz de Vries on the Dem-
erara River, when the latter dropped off a handful of colonists in Cayenne for
the Chamber of Amsterdam (Van den Bel & Gassies 2011:68; Netscher 1888:66;
De Vries 1655:135). Rival merchants from the latter city were indeed wondering

22 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 22, f. 77v, (16350507); f. 80v (16350514).

23 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 22, f. 81r (16350514). “Gelesen seijnde t’accord twelck bij de heeren van
der Poorten, Duvelaer, Droochbroot ende Louissen als Commissarissen is gemaect met Jan
Antheunissen, namentlijck hem in eijgendom te laten de slaven, colonieren ende plan-
tage, mits dat hij voor den eijgendom ende overlatinge ande Compagnie soude leveren
in twee reijsen vijfhondert ponden goeden toeback, mits dat hij sijn cargasoen twelck
hij wtsenden sal behoorlijck aende camer sal aengeven, ende incommende bet aende
gerechtigcheijt met het convoij aende Compagnie volgens d’ordre ende resolutie vande
negentien, welcke acte is geapprobeert, onder conditie dat indien den last aen Joos Bas-
tiaensen op den vij [7] november 1634 gegeven om Jan Antheunissen de colonie van acht
of meer personen te beletten, of de goederen die hij soude mogen daer voren becomen
hebben herwarts te senden, alnoch nijet en is int werck gestelt, omdat de compagnie
haestussen beijde de lasten ende resolutien nijet en souden becennen.” [Having read the
agreement made by Messrs. Van der Poorten, Duvelaer, Droochbroot, and Louissen as
commissioners with Jan Antheunissen, namely to leave him the ownership of the slaves,
colonies, and plantation on condition that he deliver to the title of the Company two ship-
ments of five hundred pounds of good tobacco, provided that he would give the Chamber
his cargo money which he will send forth properly, and charging the Company with the
right to transport goods according to the order and resolution of the Lords xix, which
act was approved, and on the condition that if the order given to Joost Bastiaensen on
November 7, 1634 to prevent Jan Antheunissen from leaving the colony with eight or more
persons, or to send back the goods which he might have received beforehand, had not
been acted upon, the Company would not accept the charges and resolutions between
them.] All transcriptions and translations are made by the author.
24 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 22, f. 90v (16350712).
25 On May 27, 1636, Antheunissen wrote a letter while at anchor en route to St. Christo-
pher to the members of the Zeeland Chamber, announcing that he had sold all the ham-
mocks for them and was now working at Antigua, where there were better opportunities
to plant tobacco. He hoped to return to Zeeland within ten months and to deliver the
tobacco, but there is no further mention of Antheunissen in the documentary record
regarding this matter; NL-HaNA, Inventaris van de Oude West Indische Compagnie, 1621–
1674, Overgekomen brieven en papieren uit Brazilië, 1630–1654, 1.05.01.01 51, Document 51
(16360527). Antigua had been occupied by the English since 1635; see, for example, Lang-
ford 1891, i:xviii–xx.

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what Zeeland was doing in the Guianas, for profits from the Essequibo colony
were low, despite it being one of the less exploited regions in the Atlantic at
that time. It mainly produced annatto and some tobacco, but “liberal elements”
among the residents, such as Antheunissen, who profited greatly on a personal
level from local trade, did little to support the development of the colony.26
In 1637, the wic examined the commercial activity at Essequibo in order to
determine its profitability.27 Van der Goes had somehow foreseen this, and in
response presented his intentions to govern the colony and a proposal to pro-
duce sugar. He gave Van Pere two casks of sugarcane juice from Essequibo,
which were to be tested by Bartolomeus Segers.28 The latter suggested that the
colony should focus on sugar, just as the wic was doing in Brazil, whose sugar-
based economy had far overshadowed the colonies along the Wild Coast.
But Van der Goes’s position was not free of administrative speculation. That
same year, the Jager was once again equipped and dispatched to Berbice and
Essequibo by the wic, and this time the vessel carried back to Zeeland Adri-
aen van de Woestijne, former midshipman or adelborst at Argijn. The latter
had received a promotion and was now appointed to assist Jan van der Goes in
Essequibo.29 A few months later, the wic board members Duvelaer, Biscop, and
Van der Marct were committed to negotiating with Cornelis Pieterssen Hose in
order to replace Van der Goes.30 The plan for sugar production at Essequibo
had not worked out well and Van der Goes returned to Zeeland in May 1638. He
presented himself to the board, stating he was waiting for his chest and journal,
which he had shipped in the vessel Lam, thereby postponing his final interview
and gaining time to prepare a new plan.31 Subsequently, Van der Goes visited
the Zeeland Chamber continuously to share his interest in, or perhaps to spread
“El Dorado” fever about, the Orinoco River and the silver mines.32 The news of
the discovery of the mines spread quickly, as former judge of Tobago Jacques
Ouseel mentioned its discovery in his 1637 declaration about the island.33

26 By “liberal elements,” the directors of the Chamber of Zeeland probably meant that many
colonists in the service of the wic had a personal agenda in terms of “free” (illicit) trade
which they pursued alongside the wic’s agenda.
27 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 24r (16370420).
28 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 29r (16370509); bgbc 1896, i:75 (Document 37).
29 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 29r (16370509). The Jager was delayed but eventually left with rot-
ten food (to be sold at St. Christopher) to Arguin and Essequibo; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01
23, f. 30v (16370620); f. 51v (16370924).
30 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 40r (16370729).
31 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 92r (16380531).
32 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 92r (16380603); f. 102r (16380729); f. 105v (16380823); f. 106r
(16380902).
33 NL-HaNA, Inventaris van de Oude West Indische Compagnie, 1621–1674, Brieven, rap-

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More worrying for the Zeeland Chamber, however, was the declaration made
by Van der Goes in August 1638 about Abraham de Backer. The latter had picked
up merchandise from Van Pere’s colony (which he had sold at St. Christopher
for tobacco) and had then sailed up the “Sorraeno” or Suriname River in order
to acquire some letter- or speckle wood from the English and Scottish based
there. However, De Backer discovered that the latter had all been killed by the
Amerindians and that he had to make a deal with them. He took two Amerindi-
ans with him, whom he sold in the Antilles as slaves for 100 pounds of tobacco
each.34
In September 1638, the Lam finally arrived in the Netherlands and Van der
Goes claimed his cargo of 600 pounds of tobacco.35 He also handed over his
chest and discussed the well-being of the colony and additional personal ideas
with members of the board. Finally, in February 1639, the latter presented their
report and a plan concerning Van der Goes’s future explorations on the Orinoco
River. Van der Goes wished to sail up said river with several soldiers and find
the silver mines. If he was unsuccessful, he added, he would serve the wic for
three more years in Essequibo, replacing Cornelis Hose. Clearly, Jan Van der
Goes’s reputation and career were at stake here. The Chamber allowed him to
take 50 soldiers in the Jager and to take the Cristoffel to Essequibo to barter

porten en beschrijvingen over Angola, Tobago, Brazilië en andere gebieden in Zuid-

Amerika en het Caraïbisch gebied, 1636–1646, 1.05.01.01 46 (16371200). Also see Hamelberg
1903, ii:28–29 (Document 14).
34 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 104v (16380816). Many Amerindians may have already been lured
into slavery by various merchants in the 1620s. However, there are insufficient data to
claim that a trade network of Amerindian slaves comparable to that of African slaves
existed. The Amerindian slave trade was considered by the Dutch as “unchristian” and a
“commercial disadvantage” in the mid-1640s; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 25, f. 181 (16440523).
Notably the colony of St. Eustatius was infamous for harboring many Amerindian slaves
taken from the Wild Coast. In 1643, Pieter Stuijvesant, director of Curaçao, noted that
a few merchants mistreated the Amerindians on the Wild Coast, which made access
for other merchants difficult, as the Amerindians became more hostile. He also pointed
out that a few Dutch merchants, having discharged their cargo, went to Africa, sail-
ing under the English flag, to procure slaves there; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 25, f. 106v
(16430817); Hamelberg 1903, i:51–52 (Document 36). See furthermore, NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01
26, f. 65r (16450202), Hamelberg 1903, ii:23 (Document 26); NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 25, f. 181r
(16440523), Hamelberg 1903, ii:21 (Document 24). Hamelberg gives May 21, 1644 as the date
of these minutes; NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 26, f. 61v (16450119), Hamelberg 1903, ii:22 (Docu-
ment 25). Europeans also took many Amerindian slaves along the coast of Amapá and
the mouth of the Amazon River who were brought to St. Christopher, Martinique, and
Curaçao according to Portuguese sources, see Heriarte 1874:30.
35 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 109r (16380923).

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along the coast and up the rivers.36 He would be assisted by one Cornelis Bail-
jart from Middelburg as cornet and Cornelis Huygens as skipper on the Jager,
with Lucas Pol on the vessel St. Christoffel.37 His mission received approval in
March 1639 and the ships were prepared and received their instructions.38
In April 1640, however, the Chamber received an alarming message from
Catelijncken Pieters that her son Abraham de Bock, in service on the Orinoco
River under command of Jan van der Goes, had been captured.39 A few months
later, they received a letter written by Cornelis Hose from the Jager, dated
December 6, 1639, that they had reached the mouth of the “Amagorre” or
Orinoco River.40 In fact, the letter was probably delivered by Jan van der Goes
himself, as he was handing over his journal and some other documents that
same day. He must have summed up his voyage quickly and handed over some
minerals as well as a golden shield, which was shown to board member Con-
stant and handed over to the treasurers a few days later.41
Besides the minerals that were brought back from the Orinoco, some bark
was given to board member Willem Constant by skipper Lucas Pol.42 Con-
stant presented its coloring properties to the board members one day in Octo-
ber 1640. The bark was apparently rather potent and comparable to the best
cochineal from the West Indies “in beauty, endurance and brilliance as scarlet
red” and, according to Constant, the Amerindians dyed their hammocks red
with this bark and the color stayed fast. Constant, as director, asked the board
to equip a small vessel to negotiate with the Amerindians along the rivers. In
due course, they would have to stay there, negotiate with the inhabitants, and
build a fortress where workshops could be established to peel the bark with
knives. In order to make it profitable and suitable for transport, the bark had
to be broken into pieces and ground down into powder, which could then be
divided into small packages of 125 to 150 pounds. According to Lucas Pol, these

36 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 132v (16390221). See also bgbc 1897, ii:96–97 and Netscher
1888:68–69.
37 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 138v (16390310). The Jager carried about 30 men and the
St. Christoffel just 10; Herman Peijtersen was hired as sergeant and served under Van der
Goes; see NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 140r (16390314).
38 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 23, f. 142r (16390331); f. 143r (16390407); f. 144r (16390418); f. 144v
(16390421).
39 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 24, f. 28r (16400430).
40 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 24, f. 39v (16400723).
41 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 24, f. 39v–40r (16400723); f. 40r (16400726).
42 NL-HaNA, Inventaris van de Collectie Verspreide West-Indische stukken, 1614–1875, 1.05.
06, Document 1179 (16401000). I would like to thank Tinde van Andel (Leiden University
and Naturalis Biodiversity Center) for helping out with the identification of this particular
type of bark, which may be purple heart wood (Peltogyne).

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trees grew in abundance along the “Serenan” and “Orrenock” Rivers, and he
would be able to obtain about 10,000 pounds of bark within two months.
Van der Goes stayed in Zeeland waiting for the results of the bark samples’
analysis and the board’s subsequent decision about his mission. The verdict
came in December 1640: the journal and documents did not satisfy the com-
mission and, according to them, Van der Goes had failed to establish a fortress
as instructed, knowing that the enemy had not (yet) attacked the Dutch in that
area. The mission was considered an expensive enterprise and his wages could
have been withheld by the wic board. However, in order not to discourage sim-
ilar missions and taking into account Van der Goes’s ill health, mentioned but
left unspecified in the minutes, his salary was maintained on the condition that
the Company would carry out its threat in the future if it saw proof of his “non-
chalance” again.43 The case was closed.
After that dreadful day, Jan van der Goes disappeared from the Zeeland
deliberations and perhaps also from the face of the earth, due to his sickness.
His son, or perhaps only his name, lived on in other parts of the Guianas. The
idea posited here is that he chose to live another life in the Eastern Guianas,
as the individual identified by European sources as “Vandergoes.” Even if this
assumption is erroneous, and these are two different men, their stories are of
great significance for the historiography of the Guianas as they played crucial
roles in relations between Europeans and Amerindians during the seventeenth
century.

2 Vandergoes Becomes an Indian Prince

Van der Goes’s long career with the wic in Essequibo ended dramatically with
the ill-fated silver mine project on the Orinoco River, rejected by the Chamber
of Zeeland. After this decision, he must have been very disappointed and noth-
ing more was heard of him. He may have died in Zeeland due to his poor health,
but I now hypothesize that he returned to the Wild Coast, where he lived for
another 20 years accompanied by his son, who was perhaps also called Jan van
der Goes. Thus father and/or son Vandergoes, as this person will be referred to
from hereon, returned to the Guianas and started a new life.
Vandergoes ventured into the Eastern Guianas, away from the Essequibo
colony, more precisely to the Mayecarí (also written as Mahécari or Mayacaré)
River in modern Amapá, situated just north of Cabo do Norte.44 Here, he started

43 NL-HaNA 1.05.01.01 24, f. 68v (16401220); bgbc 1897, ii:99.

44 The Mayecarí River can be identified today as the modern Igarapé Maiacaré, located to the

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a new (perhaps his own) project, as he had much experience in trading along
the Wild Coast.45 In fact, in 1647, his name pops up in records that put him at
the mouth of the Amazon River, about six years after the wic verdict on the
proposed silver mine. The Portuguese commander of Pará, Sebastião Lucena
de Azevedo, had visited the island of Marajó to uncover more about the Por-
tuguese who had been shipwrecked and murdered there in 1646. According to
his investigations, they were killed by various indigenous nations of Marajó
Island (such as the Nhengaiba and Aruã), who were allies of the Dutch. De
Azevedo took prisoner a Dutchman and his son, called “Vandregos,” who were
both awaiting the arrival of a ship from Holland. According to the report written
by De Azevedo, this man was a dangerous pirate planning to attack the fortified
Portuguese outpost of Gurupá. The Portuguese did not wait passively: the next
year they attacked a Dutch stronghold near the lakes of Mayecarí (Figure 1) held
by 15 Dutchmen and a Frenchman, two of whom were slain. In the fort they also
encountered 50 slaves, both men and women, and found many firearms as well
as a good stock of foodstuffs.46
To my mind, this “Vandregos” is none other than Jan van der Goes. The
coastal area of Amapá was attractive for Vandergoes as it was free of European

north of the Amapá Grande River. It forms a joint delta with the Rio Flechal between Rio
Calçoene in the north and Rio Araguarí to the south. Opposite the Amapá Grande River
is the Ilha de Maracá.
45 Edmundson (1901:661) already pointed out that the Dutch in Essequibo mingled and fused
with the local Amerindian population, stating that “[t]he Dutch threaten this island of
Trinidad with a powerful fleet and are in league with the numerous Indian tribes [and
with the very natives of this island, who have all risen up], the Dutch being so mixed with
the Indians that they marry with the Indian Carib women, as well as with those of other
tribes.” Edmundson cited a report of the Spanish Cabildo of Trinidad dated December 27,
1637; see bgbc 1898, i:88 (Document 41).
46 For the report by De Azevedo see the transcription of his letters in Annaes 1905:455–79;
Lima 2006:251–56; Ibáñez Bonillo 2015:462, n. 1279. The Brazilian historian Bernardo Per-
reira Berredo (1749:408–10) also used these letters for his study on the history of Maranhão
referring to the assault at the fortress in Mayecaré as a battle “até a ultima gota de sangue”
or the last drop of blood. Berredo’s work was copied by Robert Southey in his History of
Brazil (1817, 2:450). However, there is some confusion about the date of the Dutch fortifica-
tion on the Mayecaré River as there is mention of another Dutchman called Yansvandriz
who settled the Mayecaré in 1633 according to the Baron Rio Branco (1899:90, n. 1). Branco
had taken this information from a French manuscript which can be found in the papers of
Father Bernou, now in the Clairambault collection held at the National Library of France:
“En cette année, en 1629, les Hollandois s’establirent a Esquilve, Barbice, et autres rivieres
voisines et un nommé Jants Vendriz occupa Maÿcarey et Cassipoury,” Bibliothèque nationale
de France, Paris, Collection Clairambault Ms 1016, f. 675. This Yansvandriz is probably Jan
Vedrix from Hoorn, Captain of the vessel Hoop who visited the Wild Coast to trade with
the Amerindians (Hulsman 2009: 120, n. 84; see also Van den Bel & Collomb 2021, 1:42).

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figure 1 Map of the Wild Coast with places mentioned in this article
background image is taken from www.naturalearthdata.com and toponyms
are pinpointed by the author

strongholds but was also the habitat of many manatees. These aquatic animals
were hunted with spears by Europeans for their meat, fat, and bezoar stones.47
Notably the estuary of the Mayecarí River was renowned for its large manatee
population. This area was inhabited by an Amerindian nation called the Are-
cari (or Arecarets) who, according to a French report in 1652, were a neutral
people who spoke the same language as the Galibi of Cayenne, to whom they
were allied (Biet 1664:148). Father Antoine Biet made a voyage with the Galibi
to the “Racalets” and wrote of the Dutch presence in this area and their trade
in firearms:

Aussitôt qu’ils eurent nouvelle de l’arrivée de nos Galibis, ils vinrent au

devant d’eux les mieux ajustés qu’ils purent, n’oubliant pas d’apporter

47 For Dutch manatee-hunting in Amapá, see Van den Bel & Hulsman 2019:76–79; Hulsman
2009:62–3, 107, 120, 136, 146; De Jong 1961; Vieira 1842:117. A bezoar is a mass that can be
found trapped in the intestinal system of animals. It is believed to have the power of a
universal antidote against any poison.

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leurs cimeterres ou sabres, qu’ils traitent avec les Flamants qui les leur
donnent pour la peine qu’ils ont de leur pécher du lamantin, dont ils char-
gent des navires en cette rivière. Ils leur donnent aussi des fusils, desquels
ils tirèrent en signe de réjouissance.48

About 15 year later, Lefebvre de la Barre expelled the Dutch from Cayenne and
noted the presence of the Arecarets to the west of Cayenne near Macouria:

Dans les Terres sont de belles Plaines qu’ils nomment Savanes, qui ne sont
point inondées, & dans lesquelles l’on peut nourrir plusieurs milliers de
toutes sortes de Bestiaux: Aussi est-ce dans cet endroit, & le long des bords
de la Riviere de Macouriaque, à sept lieuës de Cayenne, & six de Corrou,
où habite le plus grand nombre d’Indiens de toute la Coste: Les Arecarets
y ont quatre Habitations, & y sont au moins cent à six-vingts personnes:
Les Galibis y en ont cinq ou six, & sont bien en pareille quantité; mais peu
d’Hommes capables de porter les armes.49

Apparently the Arecarets, or at least some of them, had left the Mayecarí River
and settled among the Galibi of Cayenne. De la Barre added that the Are-
carets had considerable trouble with the Portuguese from Fort Destierro, and
that about 140 of them came to Cayenne seeking safety (Lefebvre de la Barre
1666:36–37). Whether Vandergoes was among them is unclear, but it is highly
likely, since he was there when the French took possession of Cayenne. Jean-
Christophe Chalon, a notary who accompanied De la Barre and De Tracy to
Cayenne for the newly founded French wic, noted the presence of a “Capi-
taine Vaudregousse,” who had demanded French support in order to attack the
Arawaks who were harassing him.50 Another testimony is provided by Father

48 Biet 1664:375. “As soon as they had received the news about the arrival of our Galibis, they
would face them as best they could, not forgetting their scimitars or sabers, which they
traded with the Flemish, who give them these [objects] for the efforts they make to catch
manatees for them, with which they load their ships upon this river. They also give them
rifles, which they shoot as a sign of joy.”
49 Lefebvre de la Barre 1666:20. “In the hinterland are beautiful plains which they call savan-
nahs which are not inundated, and in which one can nourish many thousands of different
animals. One also finds in this place, and along the banks of the Macouriaque River, sit-
uated seven leagues from Cayenne, and six leagues from Corrou, the greatest number of
Amerindians residing along the coast. The Arecarets have four villages there and repre-
sent at least 100 to 120 people there. The Galibis have five or six [villages] and represent
certainly the same number of people but fewer men to carry arms.”
50 Archives Municipales et Patrimonial Vilon, Rouen (France) [hereafter fr-bmr], Ms 1789
(anciennement Montbret ms 784), “Relation du voyage depuis le port de la Palisse près de

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Grillet, who acknowledged the presence of a “Vandregousse” at Cayenne and

his apparent interest in the Christian religion:51

Le Pere Morelet estoit fort mal et languissant, Mais il fut tellement resjouy
de mon arrivée qu’il se remit en peu de jours, en sorte qu’au commence-
ment de septembre je l’envoyai en terre ferme pour faire estroite alliance
avec le plus fameux Capitaine des Indiens voisins, nommé Vandregousse
qui nous avoit déjà faict une visite asses surprenante, Cestoit pour nous
demander une image du jugement dernier52 pour la montrer a ceux de
son Carbet ce qui est en cela de surprenant est qu’il n’est pas Chrétien,
qu’il ne sait point parler francois, qu’il se servoit d’interprete pour con-
ferer avec nous, et que nous ne pouvons scavoir comment il avoit ouy
parler du jugement dernier, Je luy donnay trois images, l’une du jugement
dernier, l’autre de l’enfant Jesus entre les bras de sa mere, et la troisieme
de notre seigneur en Croix, Je luy expliquay ces Mysteres par le moyen
de son interprete, en quoy il tesmoigna prendre beaucoup de plaisir et
avoir une tres grande orreur de l’enfer, Il partit de notre maison fort satis-
fait, sans qu’en partant nous luy eussions presenté a boire au plutost ainsi
quil desiroit.53

l’Île de Ré jusques en l’île de Cayenne, fait par Jean Christophe Chalon Notaire Greffier en
ladite île Terre Ferme de la Mérique Equinoctialle et faisant la charge d’écrivain pendant
la route dans le vaisseau de la Dauphine” [hereafter fr-bmr Ms 1789], f 17. (16640226). See
also Van den Bel (2021) for the conquest of Cayenne in 1664.
51 Apparently Grillet does not see him as a European, which can be explained by the idea
that the son of Jan van der Goes was of mixed-race and had gone native.
52 The Jesuits apparently distributed many images among the Amerindians: see Father
Brun’s letter, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, Fonds Moreau (anciennement cote
Fevret de Fontette lvii a) [hereafter fr-BnF Moreau] 841, f. 46–50 (16710117).
53 fr-BnF Moreau 842, f. 64v (16680614). This particular letter, by Father Jean Grillet from
Cayenne, was also published by Father Fortuné de Montézon, Mission de Cayenne et de
la Guyane française, 1857:183–210. The latter however might have used a different copy
from the Jesuits’ archives in Vanves what may explain some irregularities between our let-
ter and De Montézon’s transcription. It is believed here that De Montézon modified the
letter by Grillet in order to paint a more positive image of the Jesuit mission among the
Amerindians by changing, for example, alcohol into water, which was distributed among
the Amerindians during their missions.
“Father Morelet was in a terrible, languid state. However, he was so happy at my arrival
that he felt much better, in such a way that at the beginning of September I sent him to the
terra firma to establish a firm alliance with the famous captain of the neighboring Indi-
ans, called Vandregousse, who had already paid us a remarkable visit. He asked us for an
image of the Last Judgment in order to show it to those of his carbet [house]. And what
is so amazing about this is that he is not a Christian and that he does not speak French

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The Arecarets had arrived in Cayenne before De la Barre; they had proba-
bly come over to join their Galibi allies or to join the Dutch, with whom they
traded in manatees on the Mayecarí River. When the French had left Cayenne
in December 1653, the coast was clear for the Arecarets to settle, but they had
settled on terra firma, or the mainland, instead of Cayenne Island. In fact, one
Jan-Claes Langedijck, a Dutch factor from Barbados who had visited Cayenne
to obtain timber and trade with the Amerindians, was granted a patent by the
wic to take control of Cayenne (Van den Bel & Hulsman 2019:19–39). This new
Dutch colony was now the closest non-Portuguese European settlement that
Vandergoes could trade with; however, it was governed by his former employee,
whom he had abandoned more than ten years previous. The Dutch sources
regarding Cayenne do not speak of a Vandergoes.54
We hear again of Vandergoes, or “Vandergoose,” when Henry Willoughby and
John Harman attack and take over Cayenne in September 1667 as part of the
Second Anglo-Dutch War, after France had allied with the Dutch in January
1666. While the English are rounding up the runaway slaves in the forest, “there
comes over from the Maine unto the Lieutenant Generall and Indian Prince,
famous in those parts for his Vallor and greate Warrs, comonly knowne amongst
the Christians by the name of John Vandergoose.”55 The latter proposed to con-
tinue the search for the runaway slaves and to return them to the English. To
do so, he offered a stick with figures as a token of their deal. He also stated
that if the English took Cayenne, he volunteered to govern it on behalf of the
English Crown until the English sent a replacement, asserting that he was capa-
ble of resisting attacks from any nation.56 The English did not take up his offer
but, before leaving Cayenne, they granted him the protection of the king if he
remained obedient and faithful.57 Ten years later, Vandergoes was still residing

at all. He used an interpreter to converse with us and we did not know how he had heard
about the Last Judgment. I gave him three images, one of the Last Judgment, one of the
Child Jesus in the arms of his Mother, and a third of our crucified Lord. I explained these
Mysteries to him by means of his interpreter, which gave him much joy and a great hor-
ror of hell. He left our house very satisfied before we could offer the drink he had desired
before he went.”
54 Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Archief van de Notarissen ter Standplaats Amsterdam, 5075
2889, f. 352 (16600511); Van den Bel & Hulsman 2019:41–65; Zwarts 1927, 8:522.
55 National Archives, Kew, United Kingdom [hereafter gb-nak], Records of the Colonial
Office, Commonwealth and Foreign Commonwealth Offices, gb-nak co 21, America and
West Indies, colonial papers (1667), co 1/21, No. 90, f. 178 (16670927). See also Harlow
1925:239. Harlow used another copy of this document, as the one mentioned here presents
minor differences.
56 gb-nak co 1/21, No. 90, f. 178 (16670927).
57 gb-nak co 1/21, No. 90, f. 179v (16670927).

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on the mainland of Cayenne. According to Pieter Versterre, governor of Suri-

name, many Dutchmen knew him. The Indian Vandergoes had paid Versterre a
visit and provided his best description of Cayenne, as he was not able to write
it down. He stated that the French had barely any food and there was much
sickness. In order to verify his statement, Versterre proposed to send a sloop
near Cayenne and to kidnap a few Frenchmen for interrogation.58 Interestingly,
this intelligence might have convinced the States of Holland to attack Cayenne
in May 1676 under the command of Jacob Binckes, who took it without resis-
tance.59
The tales about Vandergoes were certainly true, as he was a well-known
Indian in Cayenne. He had actually dined with some of the most important
French planters of that colony, such as Charles Boucher, Sieur de la Touche,
Jacques Dupuy, and Monsieur Fontaine, according to Jean Goupy, who shared
their table in 1675.60
Finally, in 1680, one Jan Stratius was sent in a sloop to find the Aracarisen.
According to a letter written by Governor Heinsius, Stratius had lived as an
Indian among the Aracarisen, of whom Vandergoes was chief. He was sent
to give Vandergoes two snaphanen, or muskets, as a token of esteem but was
unable to reach him and returned to Suriname.61 After this event, there is no
further mention of Vandergoes in the Dutch archives. However, as Stratius used
the past tense, it is most likely that by this time Vandergoes had died.

3 Vandergoes and the Arecarets

In their excellent study on the ancient indigenous population of Amapá, the

French anthropologists Pierre and Françoise Grenand concluded that the
“Arikari” (also “Arricarri” and “Aricaret”) were the principal indigenous group

58 nl-zam, Archief van de Staten van Zeeland en hunne Gecommitteerde Raden (1574)
(1578–1795) (1799) [toegang 2.1], inventaris nummers 2035.1 en 2, Ingekomen stukken uit
Suriname en omliggende kwartieren ingekomen 1667–1681, 2.1 2035.1 266 (16750706).
59 Interestingly, the Dutch pirate Jan Erasmus Reyning (1640–97) visited an Amerindian vil-
lage at Cayenne and stayed there for a few days, stating that he had been there before; see
Van der Sterre 1691:99–100. This village might have been an Arecaret village and Erasmus
might have known Vandergoes too. The board of Amsterdam commanded Erasmus to join
the squadron of Jacob Benckes to capture various French strongholds in the West Indies.
60 fr-bmr, Ms 2436 (anciennement Montbret 125), “Les voyages de Mr Goupy faits aux Isles
de l’Amérique et aux côtes d’Afrique en 1681” [hereafter fr-bmr Ms 2436], p. 59.
61 nl-zam 2.1 2035.1, 406 (16800216). See also Van der Doe, Meijer & Schwartz 1992:19.

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dwelling near the Calçoene and Ariguarí rivers. This Cariban-speaking nation
must have disappeared by the end of the seventeenth century (Grenand &
Grenand 1987:36).
In the early first half of the seventeenth century, the Europeans were mainly
interested in exchange with the Amerindians and tobacco-planting upon the
Lower Amazon, the Oyapock, and the island of Cayenne. However, at present,
there is little historical evidence of European settlements or colonies in the
coastal zone between these places in what today is the state of Amapá during
this early period. Nevertheless, this apparent buffer zone was certainly visited
by many traders and sailors. The first mentions of regular trade appear in the
early 1630s, when the French and Dutch visited the area to catch manatees.
This European presence must have distracted the Portuguese in Belém, who
claimed this area, as witnessed by the Portuguese attack of De Azevedo in 1646
upon the Dutch fort on the Mayecarí River.
It is at this moment that Jan van der Goes from Essequibo appears as Vander-
goes in the Portuguese documents. The Portuguese military threat had possibly
made (private) trade in this particular area hazardous and difficult for him, so
he decided to move along the coast to Cayenne in order to avoid further attacks
and perhaps to create a similar stronghold elsewhere. Besides this threat, his
choice to move along could have been strengthened by the alliance he must
have had with the Arecarets. From the fort, he must have traded constantly
with the latter, who tolerated the presence of his stronghold on the banks of
the Mayecarí. At that time, Cayenne was inhabited by a handful of Norman
colonists trading for Jacob Bontemps, a merchant from Dieppe. Vandergoes
also had good relationships with these colonists, as is attested by the pres-
ence of a few Frenchmen during the Portuguese attack of the, perhaps shared,
Mayecarí fort in 1647. The Arecarets, now also threatened by the Portuguese
army due to their collaboration with the Dutch, apparently had a tough choice
to make: to stay and face war with the Portuguese or abandon their land and
lose all trade with the Europeans. They also had internal issues to deal with,
which led to a split: some of the Arecarets went to Cayenne following, or per-
haps led by, Vandergoes, while the others fled into the interior, mingling with
the Kakuxana in the Tumuc Humac region to the south (Frikel 1970:20–24;
Grenand & Grenand 1987:42–43).
It is uncertain whether this migration toward Cayenne is related to Van-
dergoes’s network and/or the alliance between the Arecarets and Galibi of
Cayenne. Nevertheless, in both cases a part of the Arecarets moved to Cayenne
in the next decade while another part stayed in their homeland, as pointed
out by Biet and De la Barre (see above). It is noteworthy that the Dutch did
not speak of the Arecarets or Vandergoes when they were occupying Cayenne

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between 1655 and 1664 (see also Espelt-Bombin 2018:604). The Dutch sources
state that Governor Langedijck and the Jews of Aremire had good relations
with the Amerindians, but there is no sign of Vandergoes.62 However, Vander-
goes was there when the French, led by De Tracy and De la Barre, set foot upon
Cayenne Island to claim it for the King of France in May 1664. The French notary
Chalon stated that “Captain Vaudregousse [and] Ebimont came to visit them
every day at the fort with his company of savages to make friends with Sieur
De la Barre and bring him fish and smoked meat in their ways. The said Sieur
De la Barre invites them often to his table and they exchange with him crystals,
which is the foundation of all their friendship.”63 This passage reveals perhaps
instant adaptation to the new situation by Vandergoes and the Arecarets aim-
ing to quickly establish relationships as the Dutch and French change flags
at Cayenne. The invitation to De la Barre’s table was perhaps a result of the
treaty signed between the two European nations, stating that “the Amerindi-
ans should be treated kindly,”64 and not an effort to establish alliances.
According to Jacques-François Artur, historian and planter in Cayenne, the
French colony was inhabited only by two Galibi villages, the majority of the lat-
ter dwelling upon rivers, whereas the Arecarets had settled in abandoned Galibi
villages on the Cayenne River (Artur 2002:211). In 1666, more Arecarets poured
into the French colony and settled the Cayenne River, according to De la Barre,
fleeing Portuguese military actions out of the Portuguese fort of Destierro, an
outpost founded on the left bank of the Amazon (see above).
In September 1667, the English from Suriname, led by Willoughby and Har-
man, attacked Cayenne and ransacked the new French colony. They plundered
sugar plantations and took the majority of the slaves, but a good part of the
latter fled into the woods. Vandergoes promptly appeared, as he had with
the French, and proposed to retrieve the runaway slaves for the English (see
above). Perhaps he presented himself as an “Indian Prince” and proposed to

62 Van den Bel & Hulsman 2019:30. In those days, Cayenne was populated by the Galibi, or
Calina, as they called themselves according to Antoine Biet (1664:398). Jean Chalon men-
tions that a people called “Palicour” were living in Cayenne about ten years later, when the
French took over Cayenne from the Dutch, in 1664; see fr-bmr Ms 1789, f. 21v (16640226).
63 fr-bmr Ms 1789, f. 17–18 (16640226). The word “Ebimont” is rather confusing here, but it
may refer to the Galibi captain, Bimont (Laon 1654:122).
64 Archives nationales d’Outre-mer, Aix-en-Provence, France [hereafter fr-anom], Secréta-
riat d’État à la Marine—Correspondance à l’arrivée en provenance de la Guyane française
(1651–1865) col c14 1, f. 69. The articles in the latter document were also published by Jean-
Baptiste du Tertre (1671, iii:31–32), but he omitted the kind treatment of the Amerindians
for some reason, as did the eighteenth-century historian Jean-François Artur (2002:199–
201).

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hold Cayenne and the surrounding area for the English in their absence, but
they never returned, as Suriname was recognized as a Dutch colony by the
Treaty of Breda that same year. However, Vandergoes did not present himself
as “King” or leader of the Arecarets. One could also suggest that this was Van-
dergoes’s son, sent by his father to welcome and negotiate with the English, as
“prince” suggests a younger man. Vandergoes sr. might have been 60 years old
when the English attacked Cayenne; Jan van der Goes was about 25 when he
first became governor of Essequibo. It is indeed plausible that Vandergoes sr.
might have already died, as the Vandergoes who met Governor Pieter Versterre
of Suriname was unable to write, according to the latter (see above). This fits
the assumption that the son of Vandergoes was never taught how to write, as
his father took him to Essequibo at the age of eight.
Following their migration toward Cayenne and starting a settlement rather
close to the colony of Cayenne in order to obtain an intermediary position with
political and economic benefits, the Arecarets accepted the consequent pres-
ence of Jesuits in their villages. In 1671, fathers Brun and Prévost were allowed
to visit their villages on the mainland and the Arecarets even built a house
and chapel for the Jesuits. In this, it has to be noted, they showed themselves
to stand in contrast with the sturdy Galibi, as the Arecarets were “beaucoup
plus doux, plus ouverts et plus complaisants,” according to Father Brun.65 This
apparent embrace of European religion could also have been influenced by
Vandergoes’s leadership. In this manner, the Arecarets seem to have adapted to
the European presence in Cayenne, be it French or Dutch, a process in which
Vandergoes possibly acted as mediator. He found favor among the French in
Cayenne, but Vandergoes also visited the Dutch in Suriname and was appar-
ently able to speak some Dutch with Versterre. He must have played a double
role: handing over information about the general situation of each colony to
the governor of the other in order to maintain his political and social status in
Cayenne but also among the other Amerindians groups.
There is no evidence that Vandergoes was present when the Dutch took over
Cayenne in May 1676, as Commodore Jacob Benckes, who seized Cayenne over
the course of one night, did not name Vandergoes in his journal. He only stated
that the Amerindians at Cayenne were “very calm and can never be feared” and
that he had already spoken to their leader, who was “very happy that the coun-
try had changed sides as they always had more esteem for the Dutch than the
French.”66 It is unclear to whom Benckes spoke in Cayenne but this “principal”
was most likely a local successor of Vandergoes among the Arecarets or the

65 fr-BnF Moreau 841, f. 50r (16710117). “[M]uch more gentle, more open, and more kind.”
66 Letter by Benckes to De Wildt; see NL-HaNA, Inventaris van het archief van Gaspar Fagel,

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chief of another group. The death of both men is uncertain but it is hypothe-
sized here that Vandergoes sr. had already died before the English attack as the
latter refer to a (young) Prince and not, for example, an (old) King. In addition,
Governor Versterre stated that Vandergoes was not able to write what probably
was the case for the illiterate Vandergoes jr. as he came at a very young age to
Essequibo with this father. Vandergoes jr. must have died in 1975 after the din-
ner with Jean Goupy as mentioned before. This also explains why Stratius came
back from Cayenne in 1680 without news of Vandergoes.67
It is only in the mid-1680s that another Arecarets chief, called “Ammonoie,”
is mentioned by the Jesuit father Jean de la Mousse during his third voyage
among the Galibi on the mainland (De la Mousse, quoted in Collomb 2006:81–
82). Ammonoie was a well-known captain who served as mediator in Galibi
territory during a ceremony between Maraones and Aruã, the latter of whom
had arrived only recently from the Amazon (see also Espelt-Bombin 2018:605).
Whether Ammonoie was the son of Vandergoes is unknown, but the Are-
carets continued their integration in the French colony. On May 28, 1689, “le
capitaine des Aricarets nommé Jean Monoye” had his 20-year-old daughter
baptized in the church of Rémire: she was henceforth called Marie.68 Two
days later, “Monnoye, Capitaine Arécarede”69 was himself baptized, and these
events probably permitted Ammonoie to obtain a plantation at the Mahury
Point, “where his wife usually stayed” among the French colonists. Interestingly,
other Amerindian “nations” also had a place or carbet there, such as the Aruã,

Raadpensionaris van Holland, 1672–1688, A-H, 3.01.18 118 (16760513). “De Indianen sijn hier
soo zoet aerdigh dat se noijt te vreesen sijn, haer principaelen heb ick hier bij mij gehadt,
toonden heel wel vernoeght te sijn met het overgaen van’t landt, hebben oock altijdt veel
meerder extime voor de Nederlanders, als voor de france gehadt, ick heb tot een Teijcken,
en Beloften om weder zijdts altijdt met malkander in vrindtschap.”
67 See above. Once the Dutch had captured Cayenne, colonists from Suriname founded a
new Dutch colony on the Oyapock and another on the Ariguarí; see Van den Bel & Huls-
man 2019:73–85.
68 This should be May 29, 1689, as stated in the acts of the Parish of Rémire: “11. Ce vingt
neuf May mil six cent quatre vingt neuf a été baptisée une indienne libre, fille de Mon-
noye, Capitaine arécarede et de Couriacy ses père et mere, et a été nommée Marie par
M. Goupy et Marie Gaillard, ses parein et mareine, signé sur le registre Goupy, de Creuilly,
S. Jésuite”; see fr-anom, Fonds ministériels, Dépôt des papiers publics des colonies, Etat
civil de la Guyane française, Rémire (1677–1907), 1 dppc 5924 (16890529). We may note
that Jean Goupy was to be godfather of the child, see fr-bmr Ms 2436, f. 30. See also Van
den Bel & Collomb 2021, ii:322.
69 fr-anom 1 dppc 5924 (16890531). “12. Ce trentiune May mil sixcent quatre vint neuf a été
baptisé un indien libre, nommé parmi les siens Monnoye, Capitaine arécarede, et a été
nommé Jean Baptiste a son baptême par le Sieur Jean Gaillard et demoisselle Boudré ses
parein et mareine, signé sur le registre avec Elizabeth Tissier, de Creuilly, S Jesuites”.

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figure 2 Detail of map of Cayenne entitled “Partye de l’Amerique Meridionale” indicating

“Carbet Indien” (on the left) at the foothills of the Mahury Mountain, circa 1690
fr-bmr, ms 2436, carte a

but Ammonoie appears to have had a special place for himself.70 The leaders of
the Arecarets and Aruã groups dwelling in the area around Cayenne were per-
mitted to be represented by a spokesman or ambassador who was allowed to
live inside the French colony. For some reason, the Galibi, the local Amerindi-
ans of Cayenne, are not mentioned at all and were not afforded the same honor
as the immigrant Aruã and Arecarets. This “privilege” to stay inside the French
colony of Cayenne and the creation of ambassadors can be considered as the
legacy of Vandergoes, who sought to maintain contact between colonial foes
and friends as a go-between (Figure 2).

70 fr-bmr Ms 2436, f. 63. See also Van den Bel & Collomb 2021, ii:345.

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research note 77

4 Final Remarks

Jan van der Goes most certainly had plenty of experience with Amerindian
populations after his governorship in Essequibo, which ended after about 20
years of service in 1640. As a governor, Van der Goes must have developed per-
sonal regional business and he must have explored the Wild Coast, too, perhaps
even reaching the mouth of the Amazon. The expedition to the rumored sil-
ver mines on the Orinoco and his subsequent dismissal must have broken this
intrepid man. Risen from the ashes, he may have left the Netherlands and would
have returned to the Wild Coast where he had spent most of his life. He relied
upon his guts, experience, regional network, and instincts and started his own
enterprise in the early 1640s in the Mayecarí swamps north of the mouth of the
Amazon and Ariguarí rivers in the middle of the Arecarets’ homeland. Without
a doubt, the latter had been in contact with Europeans for a while and certainly
had a lot of experience with European sailors, merchants, and colonists. Van
der Goes must already have been aware of the Arecarets when he encroached
upon their land and built a small fortress with palisades against both European
and Amerindian invaders. Once at the source of the manatee trade (providing
salted meat for the European colonies in the Guianas and Antilles), Vander-
goes must have done good business with both French and Dutch merchants.
He must have depended upon the Arecarets, from whom he would have bought
manatee meat to sell on to the Europeans. Now he was a mediator between
the Arecarets and the European merchants. The Portuguese raids halted his
enterprise, and he went to Cayenne, taking a group of the Arecarets with him,
revealing a close relationship between them. More followed him to Cayenne
and eventually Vandergoes served as mediator of the Arecarets, Europeans, and
even the Galibi. The latter apparently accepted his presence as leader and/or
mediator among the Arecarets as there are no signs of warfare between them
or with the colonists, as there had been in Suriname.71
Finally, the relationship between the Arecarets and Vandergoes provides
another example of the diversity of Amerindian adaptation and survival during
the early colonial period. The European presence and Vandergoes’s implanta-
tion in the heartland of the Arecarets resulted in a schism of the population.
It is unknown exactly what cards Vandergoes played (warfare, fear, prosper-
ity?), but he managed to convince a part of the Arecaret population to join his
side and eventually relocated them to Cayenne, which was much safer for both
parties. Another part of the Arecaret stayed in their homeland and continued

71 On the Amerindian war in Suriname (1678–80), see Buve 1966.

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to trade with the Europeans. A third part left for the interior and was even-
tually absorbed by other indigenous groups. The Arecaret thus reflect the full
spectrum of native responses to colonialism in the Guianas, from groveling to
Europeans to never wanting to see them again.

Acknowledgments

Martijn M. van den Bel is an archaeologist working for inrap in French Guiana
and the French Lesser Antilles. The author would like to thank Ryan van
Esperen, Gérard Collomb, Silvia Espelt Bombín, and Alwyn Harrison for read-
ing the first drafts of this article as well as the useful help of the nwig review-
ers.

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