He was captain in the army at Japara on Java and from 1692 in Malabar in south-west India.
He became extraordinary member of the Council of the Indies in 1705, and when in 1707 Cornelis Johannes Simonsz had requested a transfer from governor of Ceylon, he solicited for the position.
During his reign as governor the financial situation of the VOC on Ceylon improved considerably.
He was renowned for founding the Leper Hospital in Hendella (now Hendala in the Gampaha District).
He retired in December 1716. and in 1717 returned to his fatherland as commander of a fleet of 29 ships carrying cargo worth seven million guilders.