Nicholas van Hoorn
Encyclopedia
The pirate Nicholas van Hoorn (c. 1635 – buried 24 June 1683, Isla Mujeres
) was born in Holland and died near Vera Cruz, Mexico
. Nikolaas or Klaas was engaged in the Dutch
merchant service from about 1655 until 1659, and then bought a vessel with his savings. With a band of reckless men whom he had enlisted, he became a terror to the commerce of the Netherlands
. Later he had several ships in his employment and obtained such notoriety that some governments were willing to employ him against their enemies.
minister sent Van Hoorn a commission, empowering him to pursue and capture Spanish
vessels. As he was uniformly successful, he amassed enormous sums. After the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)
, it was expected that he would cease ravaging the American coast - but the French government, while openly disowning their champion, secretly connived at his misdeeds. He made the mistake of pillaging a French ship, but after an unsuccessful attempt to take him was made in 1663, he no longer attacked the French flag.
Learning that several Spanish
galleon
s were waiting in the harbour of Puerto Rico
for a convoy
, he entered the harbour and offered his services to the governor. He put forward his recent quarrel with the French, and declared that his only chance of safety was in the protection of the King of Spain. The governor allowed the galleons to leave port under the protection of Van Hoorn, but, as soon as they were outside of the Antilles, they were attacked by the flotilla of the buccaneer, who gained over 2,000,000 livres by the adventure.
. It was the Saint Nicholas's Day, ordered by Nicolas Van Hoorn. This vessel, in the armament of which the commander of the Dover Castle
took part, had left England
the previous year, intending to trade with the Spaniards in Cadiz
then in America
. Nicolas Porcio, who was one of the holders of Asiento - a royal licence granting the monopoly of the draft of the slaves in the Spanish colonies - had apparently promised to obtain for Van Hoorn the permission to sell him Africans in Spanish America.
Van Hoorn was then transformed into a true pirate. He started a voyage of plundering along the coasts of Western Africa expecting to be supplied with slaves, as the depositions of four of his men reveal. These depositions, taken in front of Reginald Wilson, the naval officer of Port Royal
, were transmitted by the governor of Jamaica
, Sir Thomas Lynch
to the secretary of the committee for the Trade and the Plantations, William Blathwayt, with his letter of March 4, 1683.
Indeed, before the arrival of Van Hoorn in America
, the English
colonial authorities had been informed of his piracies in Africa
, and - more serious - the fact that the Saint Nicholas's Day had openly broken with its British ship-owners to act on Van Hoorn's own account. Thus, cruising against the forbans of the Antilles on order of the Governor Lynch, Jamaican captain George Johnson fell on Van Hoorn, in December 1682, but could not demand any account nor explanation. The president of the royal audiencia of Santo Domingo indeed prohibited Johnson from any contact with Van Hoorn. The reason was simple: the president retained the Saint Nicholas's Day, for a flight made from Cadiz by his captain, for whom what remained in African slaves was confiscated. All this made Van Hoorn determined to gain the French
part of the Hispaniola
Island, to take a commission from its governor Pouançey and to assemble the famous forwarding of Vera Cruz
.
Van Hoorn was engaged with Laurens de Graaf
and Michel de Grammont
in the capture of Vera Cruz in 1683. The division of the spoil led to a duel
between Hoorn and de Graaf, which was fought on the shores of the bay of San Sacrifield, 8-10 km from Vera Cruz. Van Hoorn was seriously wounded in his arm. After he had returned to his ship, the extreme heat, combined with the absence of surgical aid and his passion for drink, soon ended his life.
Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres is one of the ten municipalities of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The municipality, located in the northeastern corner of the state is mostly on the mainland and has a municipal seat of the same name; Isla Mujeres...
) was born in Holland and died near Vera Cruz, Mexico
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
. Nikolaas or Klaas was engaged in the Dutch
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...
merchant service from about 1655 until 1659, and then bought a vessel with his savings. With a band of reckless men whom he had enlisted, he became a terror to the commerce of the Netherlands
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...
. Later he had several ships in his employment and obtained such notoriety that some governments were willing to employ him against their enemies.
Van Hoorn the privateer
In 1666 a FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
minister sent Van Hoorn a commission, empowering him to pursue and capture Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
vessels. As he was uniformly successful, he amassed enormous sums. After the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle or Treaty of Aachen was signed on May 2, 1668 in Aachen. It ended the war of Devolution between France and Spain. It was mediated by the Triple Alliance of England, the Dutch Republic and Sweden at the first Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle...
, it was expected that he would cease ravaging the American coast - but the French government, while openly disowning their champion, secretly connived at his misdeeds. He made the mistake of pillaging a French ship, but after an unsuccessful attempt to take him was made in 1663, he no longer attacked the French flag.
Learning that several Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
galleon
Galleon
A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...
s were waiting in the harbour of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
for a convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
, he entered the harbour and offered his services to the governor. He put forward his recent quarrel with the French, and declared that his only chance of safety was in the protection of the King of Spain. The governor allowed the galleons to leave port under the protection of Van Hoorn, but, as soon as they were outside of the Antilles, they were attacked by the flotilla of the buccaneer, who gained over 2,000,000 livres by the adventure.
Van Hoorn the pirate
At the very end of 1682, a curious vessel made its appearance in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. It was the Saint Nicholas's Day, ordered by Nicolas Van Hoorn. This vessel, in the armament of which the commander of the Dover Castle
Dover Castle
Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history...
took part, had left England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
the previous year, intending to trade with the Spaniards in Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
then in America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. Nicolas Porcio, who was one of the holders of Asiento - a royal licence granting the monopoly of the draft of the slaves in the Spanish colonies - had apparently promised to obtain for Van Hoorn the permission to sell him Africans in Spanish America.
Van Hoorn was then transformed into a true pirate. He started a voyage of plundering along the coasts of Western Africa expecting to be supplied with slaves, as the depositions of four of his men reveal. These depositions, taken in front of Reginald Wilson, the naval officer of Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
, were transmitted by the governor of Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Sir Thomas Lynch
Thomas Lynch (governor)
Sir Thomas Lynch was English governor of Jamaica on three separate occasions in the 17th century.He originally came from Galway, and was known as "Buckra Lynch". He was also chief justice of Jamaica for a time.His rival was Henry Morgan....
to the secretary of the committee for the Trade and the Plantations, William Blathwayt, with his letter of March 4, 1683.
Indeed, before the arrival of Van Hoorn in America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
colonial authorities had been informed of his piracies in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and - more serious - the fact that the Saint Nicholas's Day had openly broken with its British ship-owners to act on Van Hoorn's own account. Thus, cruising against the forbans of the Antilles on order of the Governor Lynch, Jamaican captain George Johnson fell on Van Hoorn, in December 1682, but could not demand any account nor explanation. The president of the royal audiencia of Santo Domingo indeed prohibited Johnson from any contact with Van Hoorn. The reason was simple: the president retained the Saint Nicholas's Day, for a flight made from Cadiz by his captain, for whom what remained in African slaves was confiscated. All this made Van Hoorn determined to gain the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
part of the Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
Island, to take a commission from its governor Pouançey and to assemble the famous forwarding of Vera Cruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
.
Van Hoorn was engaged with Laurens de Graaf
Laurens de Graaf
Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (ca. 1653, Dordrecht, Dutch Republic – probably 24 May 1704, Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue, alias Laurencillo/Lorencillo & El Griffe (Spanish); Sieur de Baldran, alias de Graff (French); or...
and Michel de Grammont
Michel de Grammont
Michel de Grammont was a French pirate. He was born in Paris, France and was lost at sea, north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His pirate career was from c.1670 - 1686. His flagship was the Hardi.-Pirate career:...
in the capture of Vera Cruz in 1683. The division of the spoil led to a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
between Hoorn and de Graaf, which was fought on the shores of the bay of San Sacrifield, 8-10 km from Vera Cruz. Van Hoorn was seriously wounded in his arm. After he had returned to his ship, the extreme heat, combined with the absence of surgical aid and his passion for drink, soon ended his life.