Charles Ferdinand Bentinck

Bentinck was born in The Hague, Dutch Republic on 20 August 1764.^[1] He was a grandson of Willem Bentinck van Rhoon, and a relative of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland.^[2] In 1795, after the Batavian Revolution, he moved to Great-Britain where his grandfather lived. In 1804, he was a Major in the 2nd Yorkshire Regiment.^[1] The colony of Surinam had been taken by Britain, and it was decided to appoint a former Dutch citizen as the new governor.^[3]

On 2 May 1809, Bentinck arrived in Surinam, and was installed Governor of Suriname the next day.^[4] He was liked by the colonists.^[5][6] and solved complaints of the Free Negro Corps about their lack of pay,^[7] and complaints of the Ndyuka people who had not received their promised gifts.^[8] The British government was worried, and in 1810, dispatched Brigadier general Pinson Bonham [nl] to the colony.^[9] During his tenure, the Centrumkerk was built,^[10] and the first census was held, because earlier estimations were deemed unreliable.^[11]

Bentinck died on 8 November 1811, at the age of 47. After his death, a financial chaos and a large deficit was revealed.^[12] In 1814, a marble tomb was constructed in the Centrumkerk in his honour,^[6] however it was lost in the 1821 fire.^[13]

• Einaar, Johan Friederich Egbert (1934). Bijdrage tot de kennis van het Engelsch tusschenbestuur van Suriname, 1804-1816 (Thesis) (in Dutch). Leiden: Dubbeldeman. p. 92.
• Wolbers, J. (1861). Geschiedenis van Suriname (in Dutch). Amsterdam: S. Emmerling. ISBN 90-6033-091-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)