Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse

Abraham Louijsse (1741–1805) was the grandson of Abraham Louijsse senior and son of honorary pensioner Johannes Louijsse (1711–1793), who was also chairman of the Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen (Zeeland Society of Sciences). Abraham was married to Anna Maria van Wingerden. As regent, he was a patron of the hospital for men and women, owned several plantations in Surinam and was alderman and councillor of Flushing (1769–1770, 1786). He played an important role in the celebration of the second centenary of the Revolt against the Spanish in the city (6 April 1572). Because he was a patriot, the windows of one of his houses were smashed during the Orange uprising of 1787. Until 1779 he lived on the corner of the then Pottekaai (the current Wilhelminastraat) and the Nieuwstraat. From 1786 onwards he lived three houses further than his original address, at number 21.^[1] Abraham Louijsse prevented a plundering of Flushing when Orange-minded sailors from the navy attacked the invading French. By granting the province an interest-free advance of a ton in gold, the sailors could be paid their wages and provided with travel money. Shortly afterwards, the trading company of Johannes Louijsse & Zoon collapsed.^[2]

Steven Matthijs Snouck Hurgronje (Flushing, October 18, 1741 – Middelburg, January 29, 1788) was shipowner, councilor (1770–1776, 1779–1780, 1783–1784, 1786), alderman (1777–1778, 1781–1782) and treasurer (1780) of Middelburg. Hij lived in the Lange Singelstraat. In 1762 he changed his name from Hurgronje to Snouck Hurgronje and on September 4, 1766, he married Anna Catharina Elias in Middelburg (after whom he also named a ship). The couple had two children: Jacob Lodewijk (1778–1845) and Adriaan Isaac (1780–1849), but he may have had three more children.^[3] Steven Matthijs Snouck Hurgronje was director of the Zeeland Chamber of the Dutch East India Company from 1780 to 1788. He also was director of the Sociëteit ter Navigatie op Essequebo en annexe Rivieren from 1772 to 1780^[4] (SNER) in which he owned 3.000 guilders worth of shares^[5] and he wrote the philosophical thesis De calculo Minervae (Delft, 1758). During the years that he lived in Flushing he owned a house on the Nieuwe Timmerwerf, near the Dock.^[6] The activities of the company of Snouck Hurgronje & Abraham Louijsse took place in Flushing from around 1766, but were moved to Middelburg in the autumn of 1780. Six years later, in 1786, the company moved back to Flushing, which gave a boost to the economy of the city.

For slave traders, it was very important to know which products were wanted in Africa. Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse were specialists when it came to knowledge about the textile trade to Africa. The export to Africa could be divided into seven goods: guns, gunpowder, textiles, alcoholic beverages, pottery and glass, copper and iron and knives, beads and some other products. A lot of gunpowder and weapons were taken to Guinea, while much more textiles were taken to Loango-Angola. The MCC often bought textiles at the VOC autumn auctions, but also did this from private individuals. Some of them were involved in both textile sales and the slave trade. Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse, for example, supplied textiles and traded themselves mainly on the Loango-Angola coast, where textiles were important commodities. The company bought textiles in both England and France.^[7] The trading company Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse also engaged in interloping on the West. Around 1765, the firm Bengers & Zoon acted as a trading agent for the MCC from St. Eustatius They also operated on behalf of Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse. The American Revolution caused a great demand for weapons and ammunition, which were first obtained in the Dutch Republic and then were shipped via West Africa and St. Eustatius. The Walcheren gunpowder mill Eendracht (Unity) increased its production from 170,848 pounds in 1776 to 367,535 pounds in 1779. Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse from Flushing in 1777 shipped 3,000 barrels of gunpowder and 750 firearms to St. Eustatius in the ship Hoop (Hope) in 1777 and on 7 June 1784, immediately after the end of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, they bought another 34.236 pounds of gunpowder from the Zeeland Admiralty.^[8]

In addition to slave trade, Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse were involved in all kinds of activities. In 1766 they equipped their first slave ship. Both built up a fleet of several ships and in the following decade focused on the slave trade with Loango-Angola. In addition, they bought textiles for the slave voyages, but they also supplied this to other Walcheren companies.^[9]

The company of Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse undertook a total of 32 registered slave voyages. During 30 voyages 8,426 captives were transported across the Atlantic Ocean, bringing the estimated total to 11.235 for his company. After Snouck Hurgronje died, Abraham Louijsse continued these activities together with Jan Swart under the name Johannes Louijsse & Zoon.^[10]

Slave voyages equipped by Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse, 1767–1788

Slave voyages equipped after the death of Snouck Hurgronje (1788) in company with Jan Swart under the name of Johannes Louijsse & Zoon, 1789–1793

Source for both tables: Slave Voyages.org, consulted March 3–4, 2025; Postma, The Dutch in the Atlantic Slave Trade 1600-1815, passim; Priester, De Nederlandse houding ten aanzien van de slavenhandel en slavernij, 1596-1863, passim; The National Archives, Kew, HCA 30, inv.nr. 321, Attestation Carel Breedau, Augustus 28, 1780.