Carel Gerretson
| Carel Gerretson | |
|---|---|
Gerretson in 1939
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Frederik Carel Gerretson February 9, 1884 Kralingen, Netherlands |
| Died | October 27, 1958 (aged 74) Utrecht, Netherlands |
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| Alma mater | |
Doctor Frederik Carel Gerretson (born Kralingen, February 9, 1884 – died Utrecht, October 27, 1958) was a Dutch writer, essayist, historian, and politician.
Gerretson was educated in a public elementary school in Rotterdam before continuing his education there and in Amersfoort. He undertook officer training at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie in Breda before switching to academic study at the University of Utrecht, the Solvay Institute of Sociology and the University of Heidelberg.
Gerretson was a professor of colonial history at the University of Utrecht. He was particularly interested in the Dutch colonial experience, especially in the Dutch East Indies. In this area he was involved in a noted academic dispute with the historian Annie Romein-Verschoor over the personality of Jan Pieterszoon Coen. Being a Marxist, Romein-Verschoor characterized Coen as an imperialist. Gerretson, a staunch nationalist and supporter of the empire, argued that Coen should be praised. Gerretson suggested that Coen was not widely appreciated because the Dutch people tend to avoid cult of personality.
Gerretson also published books on a number of books on the petroleum industry, with works such as Geschiedenis der "Koninklijke" and a history of Royal Dutch, before branching out into other areas. Gerretson had been a secretary and board member at Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij, a predecessor of Royal Dutch, since 1917. He was awarded the prestigious Constantijn Huygens Prize in 1950 for his writings. He had also written for a number of newspapers and journals including De Groene Amsterdammer, Utrechts Provinciaal en Stedelijk Dagblad, Leeuwarder Courant, Het Vaderland, Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, Algemeen Handelsblad and numerous others.
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