Jan Jacobs May van Schellinkhout
Encyclopedia
Jan Jacobszoon May van Schellinkhout was a Dutch
seafarer and explorer
.
, just east of the town of Hoorn
in North Holland
. He appears to be the brother of Cornelis Jacobsz May, the first director of New Netherland
. Both brothers were the cousin of an in his days far more famous sailor, Jan Cornelisz May, who led several expeditions to explore the Northeast passage and between 1614 and 1617 circumnavigated the world with Joris van Spilbergen
.
. As part of an exploratory expedition for the Noordsche Compagnie
, May visited the island in July 1614. The highly-regarded cartographer Joris Carolus
was on board, and made a (now lost) report and (still existing) map of the voyage. On this map, he named one of its promontories "Jan Meys Hoeck". In 1620, the cartographer Willem Jansz Blaeu transferred the name to the island as a whole, although two other Dutch captains - Jan Jansz Kerckhoff, sailing for the Noordsche Compagnie, but privately financed by other people, and Fopp Gerritsz, sailing for the Englishman John Clarke, of Dunkirk - appeared to have beaten May to the island by a week or two. The other captains apparently kept the discovery secret, perhaps so that their companies could benefit without giving the location away to the competition. The discovery allowed the Dutch company to use the island as its whaling base for the coming 35 years.
. In 1622, for example, he brought in a French warship.
In the past a street was named after him in his hometown of Schellinkhout, but he is otherwise little known in his home country, where the name Jan Mayen is often thought to be of Norwegian origin.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
seafarer and explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
.
Family
May was born in the small village of SchellinkhoutSchellinkhout
Schellinkhout is a very small town located in the municipality of Drechterland, North Holland at the border of the IJsselmeer, about 3 km southeast of Hoorn in West-Frisia...
, just east of the town of Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
in North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
. He appears to be the brother of Cornelis Jacobsz May, the first director of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. Both brothers were the cousin of an in his days far more famous sailor, Jan Cornelisz May, who led several expeditions to explore the Northeast passage and between 1614 and 1617 circumnavigated the world with Joris van Spilbergen
Joris van Spilbergen
Joris van Spilbergen was a Dutch naval officer of the 17th century.His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa....
.
Discovery of Jan Mayen island
Jan Jacobsz May is best remembered for giving his name to the island of Jan MayenJan Mayen
Jan Mayen Island is a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean and part of the Kingdom of Norway. It is long and 373 km2 in area, partly covered by glaciers . It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by an isthmus wide...
. As part of an exploratory expedition for the Noordsche Compagnie
Noordsche Compagnie
The Noordsche or Groenlandse Compagnie was a cartel for whaling, founded by several cities in the Netherlands...
, May visited the island in July 1614. The highly-regarded cartographer Joris Carolus
Joris Carolus
Joris Carolus was a Dutch cartographer and explorer. He served for both the Noordsche Compagnie and the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie .-Career:...
was on board, and made a (now lost) report and (still existing) map of the voyage. On this map, he named one of its promontories "Jan Meys Hoeck". In 1620, the cartographer Willem Jansz Blaeu transferred the name to the island as a whole, although two other Dutch captains - Jan Jansz Kerckhoff, sailing for the Noordsche Compagnie, but privately financed by other people, and Fopp Gerritsz, sailing for the Englishman John Clarke, of Dunkirk - appeared to have beaten May to the island by a week or two. The other captains apparently kept the discovery secret, perhaps so that their companies could benefit without giving the location away to the competition. The discovery allowed the Dutch company to use the island as its whaling base for the coming 35 years.
Later life
After his 1614 voyage of discovery, Jan Jacobsz May was as late as 1623 mentioned as a captain on a Dutch warship employed by the Admiralty of the NoorderkwartierAdmiralty of the Noorderkwartier
The Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier , also known as the Admiralty of West Friesland, was one of the five admiralties of the Dutch Republic, made up of West Friesland and part of northern Holland.-History:...
. In 1622, for example, he brought in a French warship.
In the past a street was named after him in his hometown of Schellinkhout, but he is otherwise little known in his home country, where the name Jan Mayen is often thought to be of Norwegian origin.