Jan van Elseracq

Jan van Elseracq, also known as Jan van Eserack,Murdoch, James and Isoh Yamagata. (2004). History of Japan, Vol. 3, p. 270. was a merchant/trader and official of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC).Osada, Masako. (2002). Sanctions and Honorary Whites: Diplomatic Policies and Economic Realities in Relations Between Japan and South Africa, p. 27.

Career Van Elseracq was the VOC opperhoofd starting 1 November 1641 and ending 29 October 1642. During this period, there were about 20 men at the VOC factory. He was in Edo from December 4, 1641, to March 12, 1642.Historigraphical Institute (Shiryō hensan-jo), University of Tokyo, "1 November 1641-29 October 1642 (Volume Six)" ; retrieved 2013-2-1.

He was also head of the VOC trading post from 8 November 1643 to 24 November 1644. He was in Edo for a second time in December 1643.Shiryō, "8 November 1643-24 November 1644 (Volume Eight)" ; retrieved 2013-2-1.

Breskens affair

Van Elseracq was in Japan when sailors from the Dutch ship Breskens were imprisoned by the Tokugawa shogunate. He played an important role in negotiating their release.Hesselink, Reiner H. (2002). Prisoners from Nambu: Reality and Make-Believe in Seventeenth-Century Japanese Diplomacy, pp. 123-141.

See also VOC Opperhoofden in Japan

References