Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse was a Dutch trading company founded by Steven Matthijs Snouck Hurgronje and Abraham Louijsse in 1766 and dissolved in 1788. It focused on textiles, ivory, the slave trade, and smuggling.
Abraham 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 what was then Pottekaai (the current Wilhelminastraat) and the Nieuwstraat. From 1786 onwards he lived three houses further than his original address, at number 21.Francke, Deesen zaak dient … in alen opzigten op het secreetsten gehouden te worden, 5. 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 of gold, the sailors could be paid their wages and provided with travel money. Shortly afterwards, the trading company of Johannes Louijsse & Zoon collapsed."Ibidem", 5-6.
Steven Matthijs Snouck Hurgronje
Steven Matthijs Snouck Hurgronje (Flushing, 18 October 1741 – Middelburg, 29 January 1788) was shipowner, councillor (1770–1776, 1779–1780, 1783–1784, 1786), alderman (1777–1778, 1781–1782) and treasurer (1780) of Middelburg. He lived in the Lange Singelstraat. In 1762 he changed his name from Hurgronje to Snouck Hurgronje and on 4 September 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.Zeeuws Archief, entrance 511, Rekenkamer D, inv.nr. 60461 and Nieuw Nederlands Biografisch Woordenboek, Volume III, lemma Steven Mathijs Snouck Hurgonje 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"Sociëteit ter Navigatie op Essequebo en annexe Rivieren, lemma in Encyclopedia of Zeeland". (SNER) in which he owned 3,000 guilders worth of sharesPaesie, Societeyt van Essequebo, 39, 41, 136. 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.Francke, Deesen zaak dient … in alen opzigten op het secreetsten gehouden te worden, 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.
Trade Company of Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse 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.De Kok, Walcherse ketens, 148-149; Francke, Al die willen te kaap'ren varen, 132-133 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), 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.Zeeuws Archief, entrance 508, Rekenkamer C, inv.nr. 8050, fol. 42 verso; Enthoven, 'That abominable nest of Pirates', 264-266.
Slave trade 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.De Kok, Walcherse ketens, 50-53.
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 the company. After Snouck Hurgronje died, Abraham Louijsse continued these activities together with Jan Swart under the name Johannes Louijsse & Zoon.Slave Voyages.org. "Search for Hurgronje and Louysse as shipowner". Consulted March 3–4, 2025.
Slave voyages equipped by Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse, 1767–1788 Nr. Year ID voyage Ship Captain Departure Purchase Destination People sold 1 1767 10839 Maria Jansen, Jan Flushing Malembo Surinam 269 2 1769 10840 Maria Jansen, Jan Flushing Congo Surinam 210 3 1770 10428 Anna en Catharina Heere, C.M. de Flushing Africa Surinam 276 4 1770 10671 Herstelder Stap, Pieter Flushing Congo Essequebo unknown 5 1771 10841 Maria Jansen, Jan Flushing Congo Surinam 250 6 1771 11101 Vlissingse Hoofdnegotie Dankers, Joost Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin Essequebo 280 7 1772 10429 Anna en Catharina Stuurling, Laurens Flushing Malembo America unknown 8 1772 10672 Herstelder Stap, Pieter Flushing Elmina Surinam 300 9 1772 10842 Maria Jansen, Jan Flushing Cabinda Surinam 260 10 1773 10430 Anna en Catharina Stuurling, Laurens Flushing Malembo Caribbean Sea unknown 11 1773 10795 Lammerenburg Noels, Andries Flushing Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin Surinam 210 12 1774 10843 Maria Pieters, Carel Flushing Congo Curaçao 260 13 1774 10995 Sara Suzanna Maria Dankers, Joost Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin Curaçao 300 14 1775 10844 Maria Pieters, Carel Flushing Congo St. Eustatius 280 15 1775 10431 Anna en Catharina Stuurling, Laurens Flushing Congo Demerara 230 16 1775 10796 Lammerenburg Noels, Andries Flushing "Windward Coast", Bight of Biafra, Gulf of Guinea America 150 17 1777 10996 Sara Suzanna Maria Dankers, Joost Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin Surinam 300 18 1778 10845 Maria Pieters, Carel Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin Essequebo 200 19 1779 10682 Hoop Magnus, Carel en Dankers, Joost Flushing 'Windward Coast' Essequebo 200 20 1779 11068 Verwachting Noels, Andries Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin St. Eustatius 300 21 1780 10901 Jonge Nicolaas Jan Reichtert, Frans, Breedau, Carel Flushing Cape Coast Castle Essequebo unknown 22 1780 10997 Sara Suzanna Maria Dankers, Joost Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin Surinam 348 23 1780 11142 Westcapelle Moelaart, Gijsbrecht Flushing Congo St. Eustatius 443 24 1781 10536 Eendracht Udemans, Pieter Gideon Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin unknown unknown 25 1782 11110 Vrijheid Pieters, Carel Flushing Africa Demerara unknown 26 1784 10902 Jonge Nicolaas Jan Magnus, Carel Flushing Elmina Demerara 180 27 1785 10683 Hoop Udemans, Pieter Gideon Flushing Elmina Surinam 300 28 1785 11181 Zeefortuin Baas, Isaac den, Muijen, Cornelis van Flushing Elmina Demerara 215 29 1785 11070 Verwachting Noels, Andries Flushing Elmina Demerara unknown 30 1787 10613 Goede Hoop Muijen, Cornelis van Zeeland Africa Demerara 427 31 1787 11077 Vigilantie Dankers, Joost Flushing Congo America 300 32 1788 11185 Zeenimph Pieters, Carel Flushing Africa Demerara 350
Slave voyages equipped after the death of Snouck Hurgronje (1788) in company with Jan Swart under the name of Johannes Louijsse & Zoon, 1789–1793 Nr. Year ID voyage Ship Captain Departure Purchase Destination People sold 33 1789 11701 Verwachting Moelaart, Gijsbrecht Flushing Elmina Demerara 301 34 1790 10614 Goede Hoop Muijen, Cornelis van Rotterdam Elmina unknown unknown 35 1791 11078 Vigilantie Sellow, C. van Flushing 'Windward Coast', Ivory Coast, Gold Coast, Benin America unknown 36 1791 11072 Verwachting Moelaart, Gijsbrecht Flushing Congo America 300 37 1791 10611 Goed Voornemen Tol, Casper Amsterdam Elmina Surinam 276 38 1791 11186 Zeenimph Pieters, Carel Flushing Congo Demerara 379 39 1793 11079 Vigilantie Sellow, C. van Flushing Elmina Spanish Caribbean 294 40 1793 10612 Goed Voornemen Tol, Casper Zeeland Elmina Surinam 308
Company buildings Abraham Louijsse owned a barley- and hulling mill that he had founded in 1771 together with broker, shipowner and slave trader Jan van der Woordt. This was sold again in 1775. Together with his father he operated the trading company Johannes Louijsse & Zoon. A firm that was probably already active in Flushing before 1780. In 1782 however, the office operated from a building on the Rotterdamsekaai in Middelburg. During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784) this trading company maintained interloping affairs with Great Britain in tobacco and gin.Francke, Deesen zaak dient … in allen opzigten op het secreetsten gehouden te worden, 5-6. In addition to their shipping activities, Snouck Hurgronje & Louijsse were joint accountants for the Flushing gunpowder mill Zeefortuin (Sea Fortune). The trading company was also active in the ivory trade. Johannes Louijsse was even considered an expert in the field of ivory. From September 1779, the company owned an ivory comb- and ivory turning company', where the ivory imported from Guinea was processed into various objects. The ivory trade by Johannes Louijsse & Zoon had existed for some time, and by far the most ivory was not processed in the factory but traded immediately. After Snouck Hurgronje's death in 1788, the slave trade activities were brought under the flag of Johannes Louijsse & Zoon."Ibidem", 6-7; De Kok, Walcherse ketens, 47-49. Steven Matthijs and Abraham Louijsse had bought a warehouse together on the Nieuwedijk in Flushing on 17 June 1766, for forty Pound Flemish (240 guilders). The seller of this house was John Rainbard.Zeeuws Archief, entrance 511, Rekenkamer D, inv.nr. 69451. Real Estate transports Middelburg, 1757-1805
Sources Literature Victor Enthoven, 'That abominable nest of Pirates. St. Eustatius and the North Americans, 1680-1780', in: Early American Studies 10/2 (2012) 264–290. Johan Francke, 'Deesen zaak dient … in allen opzigten op het secreetsten gehouden te worden.' Het plan van Hogguer & De Galz voor een illegale slavenreis via Angola naar Saint-Domingue (1781) (Zoutelande, 2020).