Willem Usselincx [SEP] native language
Willem Usselincx
Willem Usselincx (1567, Antwerp–1647) was a Flemish Dutch merchant, investor and diplomat who was instrumental in drawing both Dutch and Swedish attention to the importance of the New World. Usselincx was the founding father of the Dutch West India Company.
Background.
Usselincx was born in Antwerp (in present day Flanders, Belgium), in a time of major upheaval and change. His life span covered the period of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) which was a Dutch Revolt against Spain resulting in
the company the exclusive right to operate in West Africa (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Cape of Good Hope) and the Americas.
Willem Usselincx was one of the founders of the WIC, and he promoted the concept that a main goal of the company should be to establish colonies in the New World. In 1620, Usselincx made a last appeal to the States General, which rejected his principal vision as a primary goal. The legislators preferred the formula of trading posts with small populations and a military presence to