Albertus Henricus Wiese


Albertus Henricus Wiese was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1805 to 1808, during which time the Dutch Republic became, during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, first the Batavian Republic and then the Kingdom of Holland. The Dutch East Indies were subject to attacks and blockades by British forces, while native kings and princes took the opportunity of troubled times to reassert themselves. Weakness of control from the homeland led to a growth of corruption, nepotism and lawlessness in the Dutch East Indies.
Albert Wiese was born in Bremen in 1761. He served as governor-general during the last years of the Batavian Republic and the early years of the Kingdom of Holland. During his time in office the Royal Navy engaged in the Java campaign of 1806–1807, annihilating a Dutch naval squadron under Vice-Admiral Pieter Hartsinck. To reassert control, the Dutch government sent Herman Willem Daendels, who promptly took over from Wiese and prepared for a potential British invasion. A future Governor-General, and Minister for the Colonies, Johannes van den Bosch, was adjutant-general under Governor-General Wiese.