Who is Mevrouw van Doorn from The Covenant and what is their importance?

Mevrouw van Doorn is the widow of a Compagnie official, who was killed trying to establish holdings in the Spice Island. She arrives in South Africa in 1618 while Jan Pieterszoon Coen in in charge of the Compagnie.

A voluptuous blond, she endeared herself to Jan and supported his position until she realized that with a household of sixty-nine slaves in Batavia, her own return home is unlikely. She proposes her son Karel become involved in government in Malacca and suggests her younger son go along for experience. Karel is tasked with convincing the locals on Malacca that the company would not interfere with either them their religion, and he is credited for his part in the overthrow of Portuguese rule there when the fortress is finally taken.