Jeremias Van Vliet (Thai: เยเรเมียส ฟาน ฟลีต; 1602 – February 1663[1]) or as Thai people call him, Wanwalit (Thai: วันวลิต)[2] was a Dutch merchant of the Dutch East India Company. He was the Trading Station director of Dutch East India Company in the Ayutthaya Kingdom between 1633 and 1642,[3] during the reign of King Prasat Thong. He wrote of five books about Siam in Dutch which were later translated into English.[4]
Jeremias van Vliet | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1602 |
| Died | February 1663 |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Spouse | Osoet Pegua |
| Children | 3 |
Jeremias van Vliet was born in Schiedam. He was the youngest son of Eewout Huybretchszoon and Maritge Cornelisdochter van Vliet[1] He left the Netherlands in a ship named Het Wapen van Rotterdam (The Rotterdam Arms) in May 1628 and arrived to Batavia (present-day Jakarta) in 1629 before being assigned to Japan. Before being promoted to a merchant doing business with the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1633. While in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Van Vliet had a mistress named Osoet Pagua, a Mon woman, with whom they had 3 daughters. Later, when Van Vliet left Siam in 1641, he fought for daughters with Osoet. As a result, all three daughters stayed with Osoet until she died.[5]
After nine years as Director of the Trading Station in Siam, Jeremias van Vliet was promoted to the second Governor of Dutch Malacca in September 1642.[1] He returned to the Netherlands in 1647 and lived in his homeland until his death in February 1663, aged 61.