Hendrik Godfried Duurkoop
Hendrick Gottfried Duerkopp ( nl.: Hendrik Godfried Duurkoop; * May 5, 1736 Dornum, at that time the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, today's Germany, † July 27, 1778 at sea) was director of the trading post Dejima in Japan for the VOC. He died on the way from Batavia to Dejima aboard the VOC ship ' Huis ter Spijk '.
Hendrick Duerkopp was the son of Hendrick and Lucia Carolina Duerkopp born in a time when the Harlingerland always had to recover from catastrophic storm surges. So many residents have hired as sailors. Or even as a soldier like his brother Jan Andries, who hired in the VOC 1743. 1754 was also Hendrick hire in VOC and moved to Amsterdam where he worked on board the ship Øvernes made the oath on December 31, 1754 and continued as an auxiliary sailor to Batavia. Already on June 29, 1755, he arrived in Batavia, where he met his brother, who was from 1751 a lieutenant in the local garrison.
Hendrick Duerkopp is from 1756, assistant merchant in Batavia, he verniederländischt his name to Duurkoop. In July 1759 he was transferred to the office of Dejima. Here he is in 1761 Kaufmann, 1769 bookkeeper and 1770 authorized officer. 1773 appointed him to the overseer of the warehouses. On November 3, 1776, he is director of Dejima.
In January 1777, he made the annual voyage of the oviduct factor to Edo. The description of the journey as well as his diary ( Daghregister ), the Dutchman Dennis de Graf found and evaluated in the archives of the VOC.
On October 11, 1777 he set out with the Seeduyn on the way to Batavia, which he reached in December 1777. After the meetings with the directors he goes back in June 1778 on the Huis ter Spijk. On this return trip he probably die from malaria.
Grave
His body was preserved on board the ship ( in a lead box with sugar) and taken by Dejima. There he was buried. His grave stone is the oldest surviving in the Dutch cemetery there. On the stone is to read:
On the grave stone August 15 is mentioned as date of death, but at the VOC July 27 is noted.