Youth Born into the
Indo landed gentry of the Indies on both sides of his family, Couperus was a son of Petrus Theodorus Couperus (1787–1823), the
landheer or lord of the private domain (
particuliere land) of Tjikopo in
Java, and Catharina Rica Cranssen (1795–1845). He was a paternal grandson of
Abraham Couperus (1752-1813), Governor of
Malacca, and
Willem Jacob Cranssen (1762-1821), Governor of
Ambon. In the Netherlands Couperus was placed under guardianship of a merchant in
Amsterdam, called I.W. Bagman, who placed Couperus at the home of C.G. Merkus, a preacher of the
Walloon church in
Dordrecht. Later this family moved to Amsterdam. In 1826 Couperus was sent to a boarding school in
Noordwijk, later in
Maarssen. In May 1829 his stepfather, who with his wife had returned to the Netherlands, was appointed
colonel in the
Dutch East Indian Army and moved with his wife back to Batavia. Couperus was sent to the vicar Koorders and became a student at the
Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam in 1832. Couperus was also active as a composer in his youth as well as later in his life; during his time at the
Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam he visited the
French opera, played the piano, sang and took lessons in
harmony and
composition. He also founded a music group, "Musicae Artis Sacrum". He also made compositions for family use only and wrote poetry, including but not limited to: ''Illusions d'un Étudiant
and Sea Thoughts
(written while on his way to the Dutch East Indies in 1837). Two musical compositions are preserved, Rêverie d’un Grandpère
and the Influenza Walse''.
Career as a lawyer of the Dutch East Indies had great influence on Couperus Couperus studied
law at the
University of Leiden, The Governor-General was, in fact, Couperus' uncle by marriage as the husband of his aunt, Wilhelmina Nicolasina Cranssen, the legitimated daughter of his maternal grandfather by a native,
Ambonese mistress. On 1 January 1838 he was appointed tax official in this town. In October 1839 Couperus joined the military campaign against Kota Gedang, which was commanded by general
Andreas Victor Michiels. By Royal Decree of 22 April 1842 Couperus was appointed senior civil officer and appointed secretary and revenue assistant at the court in the Batavia Department. In the position of legal assistant in October 1844 Couperus was placed at the Court of Justice in
Padang and also appointed as an
official for military affairs. During the time Couperus spent at Padang, he lived in a house at an
intersection of three roads, between Padang and Pau. Here he was an eyewitness to a fight where part of an infantry
platoon was attacked by a large group of armed natives and killed. Padang was called to a
state of emergency and in his position as an official of military affairs Couperus ordered an investigation. It seemed that local people were revolting due to priests who were putting them up against the Dutch government. Additional military troops were ordered and arrived in time to beat the revolt. In a brochure Couperus wrote about the Dutch presence in the Dutch East Indies:
Life for the Dutch in the Indies is not just living like a farmer but also living on the basis of "le droit du plus fort" (the right of the strongest).
This situation can only be controlled by a moral and military dominance. It is a domination which places the weaker in an unnatural position and makes it impossible to apply the unconstrained usual Dutch politics in the Dutch East Indies. In August 1846 Couperus was appointed as a member of the Court of Justice in Batavia. In November Couperus temporarily replaced D.A. Junius van Hemert as a tax official in the
Western Department of the Dutch East Indies and in May 1848 he was appointed member at the Board of Justice (Raad van Justitie) in Batavia. Couperus was appointed
court clerk at the
supreme court of the Dutch East Indies in April 1849 and in December 1850 promoted to the position of counselor at the supreme court. In May 1854 he was also appointed member of the supreme court (until July 1859) and obtained a leave for two years to Europe in February 1860. Back in the Netherlands Couperus was appointed knight in the
Order of the Netherlands Lion. He was honorably discharged as counselor of the Supreme Court in June 1862 (Royal Order of 23 June 1862 number 51).
Politics Couperus and his family travelled to Europe in 1860. They visited
Egypt,
Marseille, Paris and
Brussels on their way to the Netherlands. They settled at the
Prinsengracht 4 (7 November 1860) and later moved to Mauritskade 11. Here Couperus wrote a brochure, called
Een woord ter gelegenheid der op handen zijnde ontmoeting der oud Gouverneurs-Generaal J.J. Rochussen en Mr. A.J. Duijmaer van Twist op het veld van vrijen arbeid (a contribution on the occasion of the meeting between former Governor-Generals
J.J. Rochussen and mr. Albertus Jacobus Duymaer van Twist about free labour). Couperus wrote his brochure on the occasion of the session of the
House of Representatives, held 15, 16 and 17 October 1860, where the issue of the regulation of the sugar industry was discussed. Mr. Duymaer van Twist declared here that he wanted to reconsider free labour and free industry. In his brochure Couperus intended to give legal guidelines according to which the transition into free labour and free industry should take place. He also resisted the broad discussions that took place, where the way to follow was, in his view, already recorded in these legal guidelines. Couperus wrote:
To what extent will both former Governor-Generals remain into the limits of the already described legal laws? Will they not exceed the regulations? Will they not, as previously seen, prefer their personal views on this subject above the law? This landownership by natives and revision of laws regarding landownership were very important during the transition state into a new economic system. Couperus wrote in 1870 the brochure
De agrarische wet van den minister de Waal, en hare toepassing volgens Fransen van de Putte, ter vierschare gebragt voor de eerste kamer der staten-generaal (the agrarian law of minister Engelbertus de Waal and the use of it according to
Isaäc Dignus Fransen van de Putte, submitted to the
Senate). He wrote it because a law was introduced, the Agrarian Law of 1870, that was intended to form the legal basis of a system of free cultures in which the private entrepreneur would be leading. In his brochure Couperus rejected this law (which, at that time, already was accepted by the
House of Representatives). He wrote:
The agriculture grounds which natives at the moment have in hereditary individual use will be given
to them at their request! He called this a "chimerical utopia":
It will be the end to all private land ownership. In the appendix he wrote:
Against the vague and indeterminate of this law it is impossible to fight. There were several reasons why Couperus returned to the Dutch East Indies in 1872 but the consequences of the Agricultural Law of 1870 on his own property were among them.
Last part of his life Couperus and his family travelled back to the Dutch East Indies by
steamboat Prins Hendrik on 7 November 1872 (Couperus, his wife, four sons (including
Louis Couperus) and two daughters). The family first settled in
Batavia (Koningsplein) while Couperus took the supervision over Tjicoppo, the family estate near
Buitenzorg. In the summer of 1878 the Couperus family returned to the Netherlands by steamboat; they settled at Nassaukade 4 in
The Hague. In 1883 it was decided to sell the family property of Tjicoppo; with his part of the profits in hand Couperus gave order to build the house at
Surinamestraat 20, The Hague. Here, the son of Couperus,
Louis Couperus, wrote between 1887 and 1888 his best known novel
Eline Vere. At 15 February 1893 the wife of Couperus, Catharina Geertruida Couperus-Reynst, died at the age of 64. Around this time Couperus wrote a family history, which he ended with the words:
Keep your eyes on the past and see to it that the future will never ashame us. According to
Henri van Booven Couperus felt that his end was near in the summer of 1902. On 13 October 1902 publisher L.J. Veen received a letter from
Louis Couperus, in which he stated that he resided in The Hague because his father was dying. Couperus died that same day and was buried on 15 October 1902 at the general cemetery in The Hague, next to his wife. His house at Surinamestraat 20 was later bought by lawyer and member of the
House of Representatives Conrad Theodor van Deventer. File:Riesz, CJ, 1791-1856.jpg|General Carel Jan Riesz (1791–1865) was the stepfather of Couperus File:Michiels, AV.jpg|Couperus joined general
Andreas Victor Michiels during his military campaign of 1838 in Sumatra File:Couperus, Louis.jpg|Couperus was the father of writer
Louis Couperus File:Tjicoppo verkocht door Couperus.jpg|Advertisement by which Couperus tried to sell the estate
Tjicoppo ==Works==