Jacobus "Jan" Poel (1712-1775) was a Dutch-born merchant in Saint Petersburg and Arkhangelsk. He was also a grand duke and commercial legate at the Russian court. However, in July 1762 his friend, the Czar Peter III, was assassinated in connection with a successful power-grab involving his estranged wife. Poel hurriedly left Saint Petersburg and relocated to Hamburg, dividing his final years between the Hanseatic City and the several landed estates he acquired in northern Germany.
