Julius Vitringa Coulon

Julius Vitringa Coulon was born to Aemilius Vitringa Coulon en Nieske Zeper. Both of his grandfathers, dr. Julius Vitringa Coulon (1767-1843) [fy] and Pier Zeper [fy] served as mayor of Leeuwarden. In 1853, Vitringa Coulon was installed assistant on the Dutch Gold Coast, where he subsequently served as commander of Fort Batenstein at Butre, Fort Crêvecoeur at Accra, and Fort St. Anthony at Axim.^[1] In May 1866, Vitringa Coulon retired from service on the Dutch Gold Coast and returned to the Netherlands, where he settled down in Boxmeer.

In 1869, Vitringa Coulon married Elisabeth Johanna van Hien (1840-1918), sister of his colleague Carel van Hien, in Boxmeer. Vitringa Coulon was appointed mayor of Sloten in 1874 and a year later appointed mayor of Hennaarderadeel.

While Vitringa Coulon served as commander of Fort St. Anthony at Axim, the Dutch colonial administration ordered all commanders to draw a map of the area around the fort, as part of an administrative reform aimed at establishing suzerainty over the peoples near the fort. The map Vitringa Coulon drew is kept at the Nationaal Archief in The Hague.^[2]