Pieter Cnoll

Who is Pieter Cnoll?

Pieter Cnoll, also Pieter Knoll, was a Dutchman who became Director General in Batavia. He married Cornelia van Nijenroode, an Indo Eurasian who was the daughter of Cornelis van Nieuwroode with a Japanese woman. His family was depicted in a painting by Jacob Coeman.

Cnoll and Cornelia had 10 children, only one of whom, a boy, survived to adulthood. When Cnoll died in 1672, he left full possession of his wealth to his wife Cornelia.

Cornelia remarried in 1675 at the age of 46, this time with an Englishman named John Bitter, but the marriage was unhappy and she filed for divorce. She finally died in 1692 in Holland, where she was advocating for the divorce.