Hendrik Merkus de Kock
Hendrik Merkus, Baron de Kock was a Dutch general and nobleman who served in the Batavian Navy as Lieutenant Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1826 to 1830. He also was Minister of the Interior of the Netherlands from 1836 to 1841.Biography
Hendrik Merkus de Kock was born on 25 May 1779 in Heusden in the Republic of the United Netherlands. His father was Johannes Conradus de Kock, a banker who was guillotined in Paris, and his mother Maria Petronella Merkus.
In 1801, he joined the Batavian Navy, and by 1807 was posted to the Dutch East Indies. In 1821 he commanded a military expedition to Palembang to suppress a local uprising. Later, as Lieutenant Governor-General, De Kock led the fight against Prince Diponegoro in the Java War.
The triumphant commander was declared a baron in 1835, and served in the Dutch Government as Minister of the Interior from 1836 to 1841. He was Minister of State from 1841 to 1845. He remained a member of the First Chamber of parliament until his death. He died in The Hague on 12 April 1845.Honors
