Kiliaen van Rensselaer (; 1586 – buried 7 October 1643) was a Dutch diamond and pearl merchant from Amsterdam who was one of the founders and directors of the Dutch West India Company, being instrumental in the establishment of New Netherland.

He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New York's Capital District. His estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent War.

Van Rensselaer was the son of Hendrick Wolter van Rensselaer, a soldier from Nijkerk in the States army of the duke of Upper Saxony, and Maria Pafraet, descendant of a well-known printers' dynasty. To keep from risking his life in the army like his father, he apprenticed under his uncle, a successful Amsterdam jeweler. He too became a successful jeweler and was one of the first subscribers to the Dutch West India Company upon its conception.

The concept of patroonships may have been Kiliaen van Rensselaer's; he was likely the leading proponent of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, the document that established the patroon system. His patroonship became the most successful to exist, making full use of his business tactics and advantages, such as his connection to the Director of New Netherland, his confidantes at the West India Company, and his extended family members who were eager to immigrate to a better place to farm. Van Rensselaer married twice and had at least eleven children. When he died some time after 1642, two succeeded him as patroons of Rensselaerswyck.

Van Rensselaer had a marked effect on the history of the United States. The American Van Rensselaers all descend from Kiliaen's son Jeremias and the subsequent Van Rensselaer family is noted for being a very powerful and wealthy influence in the history of New York and the Northeastern United States, producing multiple state legislators, congressmen, and two lieutenant governors in New York.

Early years

Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands in 1586. The exact day of his birth is unknown. He was the son of Hendrick van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet.Van Laer (1908), p. 43 His father was a captain in the Dutch army until his death at the siege of Ostend in early June 1602.Van Laer (1908), p. 42

With his father usually not home (and eventually meeting his death) because of a military career, Van Rensselaer's mother sent him to apprentice with his uncle, Wolfert van Bijler, a jeweler and diamond merchant. At the time, the gem trade was a prosperous enterprise to join, being a well-developed craft. In those days, the diamond trade was nearly always combined with the trade in pearls, other articles of luxury, and rarities of every description. Dutch jewelers found a ready market for their valuable wares at the Dutch imperial court and the smaller German courts.Van Laer (1908), pp. 43–44 This realm of work promoted Van Rensselaer to a life of economic success.

Much of Van Rensselaer's early life is unknown to today's historians, though in March 1608 it has been recorded that he was taking care of some business of Van Bijler in Prague. It seems Van Bijler gradually retired from his business, leaving it in the control of Van Rensselaer.Van Laer (1908), p. 45 During his tenure at the helm of his uncle's business, Van Rensselaer proposed a merger with the firm of Jan van Wely, son of one of Van Bijler's sisters, who had an equally successful jewelry business. The firms combined under the name of Jan van Wely & Co. in February 1614. Van Rensselaer's name was not included in the name of the new company, since he contributed only one eighth of the investment capital, whereas van Wely contributed half (192,000 guilders).

In 1616, van Wely was called on by Prince Maurice to meet at The Hague for a sale in jewels. He was murdered while waiting to meet with the Prince. The firm's contract stipulated that at the death of Jan van Wely, the remaining members of the firm should continue the partnership for another six years. Van Wely's murder, therefore, caused no change in the business, but it seems that at the expiration of that time, Van Rensselaer began again on his own account, founding Kiliaen van Rensselaer & Co. with partner Jacques I'Hermite.

Director of the Dutch West India Company

Some of Van Rensselaer's success as a jewel merchant came about due to trade made possible by the Dutch East India Company. The practical spirit of the Dutch merchant could not fail to recognize that the way to riches was through trade with the West Indies and Africa. During the Twelve Years' Truce, Dutch merchants had sailed unmolested to the West Indies but also received no letters of marque to take prizes from the enemy.

Before the Eighty Years' War began, people realized that the West Indies trade might bring great prosperity to the country and that more power might be developed against Spain. Rather than travel to the area singly on an armed ship or in the company of a few other vessels, traders could do business in the manner of the large and prosperous East India Company. A company for carrying on commerce in the West Indies and Africa could be organized, which might, like the sister company, act as the war-waging power in those parts and be supported by the treasury, ships, and troops of the United Netherlands.

After long years of preparation, the Charter of the Dutch West India Company was granted by the States General on 3 June 1621, and the subscription list was opened. It is known that subscriptions did not come in very rapidly at first due to the exclusion of the salt trade from the charter. States General of the United Netherlands (1621): Article I of the Charter of the Dutch West India Company on Wikisource This barrier was overcome in a later amendment to the Charter, States General of the United Netherlands (1622): Amplification of the Charter of the Dutch West India Company on Wikisource and the subscription rate increased.

With a capital of seven million florins, the West India Company was granted exclusive authority and trade privileges in the Dutch possessions of the two Americas, as well as the coast of Africa from the Tropic of Cancer to the Cape of Good Hope. The objects of its creation were to establish an efficient and aggressive Atlantic maritime power in the struggle with Spain, as well as to colonize, develop, and rule the Dutch American dependencies — particularly New Netherland (the modern states of New York and New Jersey), discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609.Spooner (1907), p. 7

Van Rensselaer was one of the first subscribers to the West India Company. As with the other subscribers, he contributed 6000 guilders to be a member of one of its chambers. Having paid his way, he was welcomed to the Chamber of Amsterdam, one of five Chambers of the West India Company, each located in a principal Dutch city. The Chamber of Amsterdam was the largest with twenty members, States General of the United Netherlands (1621): Article XII of the Charter of the Dutch West India Company on Wikisource mainly due to the city's population, and represented four ninths of the management of the West India Company. States General of the United Netherlands (1621): Article XI of the Charter of the Dutch West India Company on Wikisource

Due to the practical limitations of meetings with 74 members on a regular basis (the total number of members from the five Chambers), the Charter called for a board of directors comprising nineteen members of the five Chambers. States General of the United Netherlands (1621): Article XVIII of the Charter of the Dutch West India Company on Wikisource Van Rensselaer was chosen a member of this College of XIX, as it was called. It is said that care was exercised in the selection of the directors of each chamber, and only men of wealth and the highest known integrity were eligible for the trust. Van Rensselaer (1888), p. 8 Van Rensselaer was apparently known as an unusually clear-headed man and an able and practical merchant who did not limit himself to his own branch of trade. These qualities presumably garnered the trust needed to be elected to the College of XIX.Van Laer (1908), p. 47

In its role supporting colonization of New Netherland, the West India Company had an executive board of nine members from the College of XIX to manage the concerns of their colony. Van Rensselaer was also a member of this group. In the early career of the Company, he was one of its mainstays, placing several of his vessels at its disposal and twice advancing money to save its credit. His name is conspicuously identified with all its measures of policy, including the original settlement of Manhattan Island, New Amsterdam.

Patroon

Unfortunately for the West India Company, the infant colony of New Netherland languished. The Dutch Republic was economically thriving, causing the cautious Dutch people to show very little inclination to emigrate to wild and uncultivated lands in which no substantial inducements were present. While the economic situation of the colony in the late 1620s could be considered a relatively good showing for a colony only newly started in a wilderness, its slow success was hardly sufficient to create much excitement among the directors of the West India Company.Netherland Chamber of Commerce in America (1909), p. 26 Within a few years, the Company realized that special measures which would afford a stimulus to colonization were indispensable.

It was for these reasons that the Company proposed the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, which the States General ratified on 7 June 1629. This document was created to encourage settlement of New Netherland through the establishment of feudal patroonships purchased and supplied by members of the West India Company. With a total of 31 articles, the document spells out many requirements of these patroons, primarily stating that each patroon was required to purchase the land from the local Indians, Dutch West India Company (1629): Article XXVI of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource and inhabit the land with 50 adults within four years, with at least one quarter arriving within one year. Dutch West India Company (1629): Article III of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource In return, the patroons were able to own the land and pass it to succeeding generations as a perpetual fiefdom, Dutch West India Company (1629): Article VI of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource as well as receive protection Dutch West India Company (1629): Article XXV of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on Wikisource and free African slaves from the Company. Dutch West India Company (1629): Article XXX of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions on WikisourceVan Lear (1908), pp. 51-52

It is believed that the system of patroonships was originally suggested by Van Rensselaer himself.Goodwin (1919), p. 32 He was reportedly one of the first of the Company to perceive that the building up of New Netherland could not be carried on without labor, and that labor could not be procured without permanent settlers. "Open up the country with agriculture: that must be our first step," was his urgent advice. The Company was not inclined to involve itself in further expense for colonization, and matters threatened to come to a halt, when someone — very likely Van Rensselaer himself — evolved the plan of granting large estates to men willing to pay the cost of settling and operating them.Goodwin (1919), p. 33