The Colonial Walk
11. Titus van Asch van Wijck (1849-1902)
Van Asch van Wijckstraat
Esq. Titus Anthony Jacob van Asch van Wijck (1849-1902) was born in Utrecht. In 1883, he was appointed as mayor of Amersfoort. After eight years, in 1891, he was made governor of Suriname, which had been a Dutch colony since 1667. Tropical plants, such as sugar and coffee, were grown on the plantations for the European market. The work was carried out by enslaved Africans. When the Netherlands abolished slavery in 1863, the slaves were forced to work for another ten years on the plantations. From 1873 onwards, the colonial government transported thousands of contract workers from British-India in order to replace the slaves on the plantations (see also koloniale wandeling Hattem). When Van Asch took over as governor, Suriname was in a bad way, both financially and in terms of the administration. an Asch recognised economic opportunities but, much to his frustration, he did not receive the necessary financial support from The Hague. The Dutch government also refused to send Javan contract workers to Suriname. Van Asch believed this was vital in order to save the plantation agriculture.
(Text continues below the photo)
The differences in opinion between the Colonies Minister in The Hague and Van Asch were so extreme that Van Asch submitted his resignation. It was not uncommon for the Dutch government to scrap substantial contributions which were vital for the development of Suriname, without reason. The fact that a governor saw this as a reason to resign, however, was a novelty in the history of Suriname. Queen-Regent Emma refused his resignation. Van Asch, however, only wanted to stay on if he could argue for the needs and requirements of Suriname in the Netherlands himself. He was allowed to do so and, after his return to Suriname, things began to improve. However, in December 1895, it transpired that the Dutch government had removed various posts from the Surinamese budget. Van Asch resigned again and this time it was accepted. Back in the Netherlands, Van Asch completed a second term in office as mayor of Amersfoort, from January 1900 to August 1901. He was then the Colonies Minister in the Kuyper cabinet until September 1902. He was already ill when he accepted this role and subsequently died in The Hague on 9 September 1902 In Suriname, the Asch van Wijck mountain is named after him.
