His father was Adriaen Pauw, an influential merchant in grain, who had fled to Emden at the arrival of the Duke of Alva.
Pauw lived on Warmoesstraat and it is likely that the Compagnie van Verre formed in Amsterdam in 1594 was founded at his home.
He arranged for his relative Cornelis de Houtman to become chief merchant at what later became known as the First Dutch Expedition to East Indies.
At the formation of the Twelve Year Truce, a controversy arose between him and Van Oldenbarnevelt over the establishment of the WIC.
Between 1618 and June 24, 1622, he was a deputy at the States-General of the Netherlands, in which capacity, in February 1619, he was appointed a member of the court charged with hearing the trial of the attorney, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt.
As compensation, he was appointed ambassador to king Christian IV of Denmark, who resided in Bremen.
[4] After Pauw's political end, the management of the city government fell into the hands of the Arminian clique around Andries Bicker and his uncle Jacob Dircksz de Graeff.