General Gustave Marie Verspijck
The picture above was the source from which the Porceleyne fles tile was
made.
To go to the porceleyne fles plaque from him, click
HERE
.
General Verspijck served in the Dutch army from 1842 – 1874.
He was fortunate to have received a good education; certainly not everyone
those days was given such a chance. He graduated from the military academy
in Breda in the Netherlands in 1842. Soon after that he started in the
Dutch army as a lieutenant.
He served at a time the Dutch still had colonial ties with the East Indies
(Most of it is currently the republic of Indonesia), all stemming back to
the “Golden” trading days from the 1600’s onward.
He led a number of missions to the East Indies against pirates and against
other groups that attempted to infiltrate the area, eventually
establishing peace and order in each mission.
He was promoted to Captain in 1852, Major in 1859 and general and
supreme commander in 1870. Apart from his military ranking he also
performed other official duties.
Overall he was praised for the way he conducted himself during these
missions, always maintaining integrity as a military officer and
discipline in executing the orders given to him.
I think he served during a tumultuous time where much unrest existed in
that part of the world.
Judging by the medals he received it is clear that this is a well
decorated officer. When he retired he wrote several books where he was
critical of the actions taken by others who served in the area around that
time. (e.g. about unnecessary looting and the burning of small
villages)
It seemed a very political situation under which he had to perform
his duties as an army officer.
More can be found out about him on the Internet, but most of what I could
find is in the Dutch or Indonesian language. The above is a short summary
of his eventful career.
