Johan David Carel Pagenstecher (15 February 1784 – unknown) was a colonial administrator who served as acting commander of the Dutch Gold Coast.
[1][2] His father was a lawyer and senior councillor in Osnabrück and belonged to the Pagenstecher family [de], which enjoyed good relations with the Dutch royal House of Orange-Nassau.
[3] On 1 November 1816, Pagenstecher joined the Dutch army à la suite for six years and went over to the battalion for the colonies on 1 January 1817.
In late 1824, several colonial administrators complained to acting commander Friedrich Last about the conduct of Pagenstecher, which apart from heavy drinking included making condescending remarks about the abilities of virtually all Europeans and Euro-Africans on the Dutch Gold Coast and spreading rumours about their misconduct.
He was also accused of having poisoned commander Willem Poolman, whose death was considered suspicious by the British surgeon major Beresford.