Portrait of Cornelis van Aerssen, Lord of Sommelsdijk, Governor of Suriname from 1683

Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck, governor of Surinam. Anonymous, c. 1680. Between 1683 and 1795 Surinam was run by the Sociëteit van Suriname. The Dutch West India Company and the city of Amsterdam held two-thirds of the shares. The rest were owned (until 1770) by the Van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck family. Cornelis (1637–1688) was appointed governor of Surinam in 1683. He reshaped the local administration with brutal efficiency and eventually died in Paramaribo (Surinam), killed by rioting troops.