Jacobus van der Puije

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Jacobus van der Puije (c. 1754 – 24 June 1781) was a Dutch colonial administrator with the Dutch West India Company. In 1780 he served as President of the Council of the Dutch Gold Coast, effectively the acting Director-General, from 11 April to 30 December 1780.

Biography
- He was born in Middelburg, Netherlands, into a family that originally came from Sint-Maartensdijk. His father, William van der Puije (born 1703), was governor of Fort Crèvecoeur in Accra from 1776 to 1780, before Jacobus became the colonial governor of the Dutch Gold Coast.

Family and children
- Jacobus had a daughter named Anna van der Puije with an enslaved African woman named Asoewa. Anna herself was enslaved and was freed for 1 mark of gold, paid by Jacob Rühle, who later married her.
- He also had a son, Peter van der Puije (born around 1775), with a Ga-Adangbe woman from Accra named Ayeley Ablah.

Death
- Jacobus van der Puije died on the Dutch Gold Coast in 1781, at about 26–27 years old.

Legacy
- He is the direct patrilineal ancestor of the Vanderpuije (also spelled Vanderpuye) family in Ghana. Notable descendants include Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, Isaac Nii Djanmah Vanderpuye, Claudia-Liza Armah-Vanderpuije, William Vanderpuye, and musician Joseph Bartlett-Vanderpuye.