Culture

Paulus Roelof Cantz'laar: Amsterdam-born governor of Sint Maarten and Saba

A profile of Paulus Roelof Cantz'laar (1771–1831), the Amsterdam-born naval officer who governed Sint Maarten and Saba from 1816 to 1820 before leading Curaçao and Suriname.

By SXM Daily · October 22, 2026

Paulus Roelof Cantz'laar was a Dutch naval officer who became governor of Sint Maarten and Saba in 1816, at the start of a colonial career that took him on to the highest post in the Dutch West Indies. Born in Amsterdam, he took over the government of the two islands on 6 January 1816 and held it until 1820.

Portrait of Paulus Roelof Cantz'laar by Charles Howard Hodges. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A naval career

Cantz'laar was born in Amsterdam on 22 November 1771, according to the Dutch parliamentary biography site Parlement.com and the Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek (NNBW). He joined the navy as a midshipman in 1790. On 21 October 1813 he was captured by the British, and in 1814 he raised and commanded a battalion of marines, according to both sources.

Governor of Sint Maarten and Saba

The NNBW describes him as governor of "the West Indian islands St. Martin and Saba, whose government he took over on 6 January 1816". Parlement.com gives his term as 1816 to 1820. For four years he was the senior Dutch official for the Dutch side of the island.

Curaçao and Suriname

From 16 November 1820 to April 1828 Cantz'laar was governor of Curaçao. On 20 May 1828 he became governor-general of the combined Dutch West Indies, covering Suriname and Curaçao, a post he held until his death. He died in Paramaribo on 15 December 1831, according to Parlement.com. The NNBW prints the year as 1851, but in the same entry says he held office until his death, so SXM Daily follows the other sources.

Why he matters to the island

Cantz'laar governed the Dutch side of the island in the early 19th century. His later rise to governor-general shows how service on the Windward Islands could lead to the top of the Dutch colonial administration in the Caribbean.

Sources

https://www.parlement.com/biografie/pr-cantzlaar
https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/molh003nieu01_01/molh003nieu01_01_0959.php
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paulus_Roelof_Cantzlaar_(1771-1831).jpg

Source: https://www.parlement.com/biografie/pr-cantzlaar