Isaac Le Maire (Tournai, c. 1558 – Egmond aan den Hoef, September 20, 1624) was a merchant for the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie and later for the Austraalse Compagnie. He is best known for his constant strife with the VOC, which ultimately led to the discovery of Cape Horn.
Isaac Le Maire was born in 1558 or 1559 in Tournai. He learned the trade from his merchant brother-in-law Jacques van de Walle. Isaac had four brothers, three of them were merchants. Already in 1584 he was registered in Antwerp as a wealthy grocer. At the time, he was also captain of the company of the Antwerp militia. He rented the house of Bourgognien Schilt, but in 1585 after the fall of Antwerp he fled to the northern Netherlands.
In 1585 he settled in Amsterdam. He was married in Antwerp to Maria Jacobsdr. Walraven and they had 22 children, and one of them, his son Jacob, would go down in history as an explorer. In 1641 his son Maximiliaan became the first VOC chief of Dejima in Japan.
Initially, Isaac Le Maire was the largest shareholder in the VOC.
Read more about Isaac Le Maire: Merchant in Amsterdam, Shareholder of The Dutch East India Company, Competitor of The Dutch East India Company, Speculator Against The Dutch East India Company, Dutch East India Company Monopoly Broken, The Aftermath of The Voyage, See Also, References
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