patroonhouder

Patroonhouder is the term used for the holder of a patroonship, a large land grant granted by the Dutch Republic in its colonial era, chiefly in New Netherland along the Hudson River. The patroonhouder was the proprietor and chief administrator of the patroonship, enjoying proprietary rights over the land and its tenants, defined by the charter issued to the patroon by the Dutch West India Company.

A patroonship required the patroon to settle a specified number of colonists on the land, typically around 50 adult settlers, within a set period. In return, the patroon received jurisdictional and property rights, including the authority to appoint local officials, collect rents, and grant parcels to settlers. The patroon was expected to provide governance, security, and basic infrastructure for the settlement.

The most famous patroonhouder was Kiliaen van Rensselaer, who established Rensselaerswyck, a vast patroon along the upper Hudson River. Other patroonships existed in the region, though many were short-lived or transformed by subsequent political and legal changes; most were centered in what is now New York and parts of New Jersey.

The patroon system declined after the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664 and through later shifts in property law and colonial administration. By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, most patroon rights had faded or been abolished, and the land came under general private-property regimes.

Today, the term patroonhouder is mainly of historical interest, used in scholarly discussions of Dutch colonization and the early settlement of the northeastern United States. It illustrates a feudal-like landholding model tied to a colonial corporate charter.