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Biography
Georg Friedrich Wreede or Georgius Fredericius Wreede (died on 29 February 1672) was governor of Dutch Mauritius from 1665 to 1672, with a break between 1668-1669.
Wreede was born around 1635 in Uetze near Hannover, in Germany. In 1659 he arrived at Cape of Good Hope as an employee of the Dutch East India Company. He had been a student in Philology in Helmstedt and within four years of his arrival he had written a compendium using the Greek alphabet on Khoekhoegowab - then called Hottentot - consisting of sentences with Dutch translations. The "list" was sent to Amsterdam, but never published and has disappeared. Possibly it was sent to Hiob Ludolf, who was a famous linguist, and in contact with Nicolaes Witsen. Christian Juncker published Ludolf's biography with a list of Hottentots-Latin words.
In 1660 he took part in an expedition to the Olifants river. In February 1665 he was sent by Zacharias Wagenaer on an expedition to look if Martin Vaz could be used by ships, and returned in May with charts. The Pimpel went on to Mauritius and Wreede was appointed by the captain as the new governor. For three months the twelve men on the island had been without rice or brandy. In 1668 his men no longer trusted him and Wreede went back to the Cape. Dirk Jansz Smient was appointed to replace him.
Wreede was sent to Saldanha Bay were the French East India Company had planned a base, after leaving Madagascar. On 6 June 1669 Georg Wreede took command of the post and brought with him a carpenter. They erected a VOC monogram on each of the five islands in Saldanha Bay. A month later Wreede was transferred. In October 1669 he was back on the island Mauritius.
He drowned during a reconnaissance expedition or fleeing to French Réunion in a self built boat; five passengers survived the waves and the storm. He was replaced by Hubert Hugo.
In 1688 Olfert Dapper probably used Wreede's observations but did not mention his source.