Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (merchant) - Early Years

Early Years

Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in Nijkerk, Gelderland, Netherlands or Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands sometime in the late 16th century. The exact year of his birth is not agreed upon by historians. He was the son of Hendrick van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet, both from Amsterdam. His father was a captain in the Dutch army until his death at the Siege of Ostend in early June 1602.

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. 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. 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.