Bartica Guyana Jan van der Goes was one of the commanders sent by the Zeeland chamber of the West India Company to the colony of Isekepe, or Essequibo, which he governed for around 12 years, from 1626 onwards, from the relative comfort of Fort Kyk-Over-Al, Dutch for ‘overseeing everything’, on a small island at the confluence of the Cuyuni and Mazaruni rivers, just before they reach the Essequibo river, some 50km from the coast.