Abraham van der Weijden

Abraham van der Weijden, a Dutch citizen, was a ship's captain and the initiator of Freemasony in the Dutch Cape Colony an area now part of South Africa.

Personal life Van der Weijden was born in Delft, The Netherlands in 1743. He married Johanna Slegge on 29 July 1764. He died in South Africa on 31 January 1773.

Career He was trained as ship's captain. He started in the service of The Dutch East India Company (DEIC) on 2 October 1768. He joined from the Delft division of the DEIC. Van der Weijden was in charge of the shipped called "Pauw". This was a 140 feet long ship used by the DEIC from 1768 to 1784. The Pauw departed for Batavia on 5 December 1771 and stopped over in Cape Town, South Africa on 24 April 1772. Cape Town was a refreshment station between Europe and Asia, specifically for the ships from the DEIC. On 4 July 1772 the ship reached Batavia.

Death In January 1773 van der Weijden and other Ship Captains we invited for lunch by Governor Joachim van Plettenberg. Van der Weijden had a difference of opinion with Carl Phillip Cassel, also a ship's captain. Cassel stabbed him to death and fled to France. He was the recipient of the first Masonic funeral in South Africa.