Pieter Schouten
Encyclopedia
Pieter Schouten was a 17th century Dutch corsair and privateer. He was one of the first Dutchmen to explore to the Caribbean and, while employed by the Dutch West Indies Company, was involved in extensive reconnaissance
to establish Dutch bases in the West Indies.
as well as provide valuable reconnaissance
on possibility of establishing Dutch bases in the region. Leaving port on January 26, his small squadron included the 24-gun Hoop under Captain Willem Jacobszoon, the 14-gun Eendracht under Captain Hillebrandt Janszoon and the 8-gun yacht Trouwe commanded by Captain Hendrik Worst.
After arriving in Barbados
in mid-March or May, he visited several islands and charted the coasts of Venezuela
, Haiti
, Jamaica
and Cuba
. He also briefly visited the Little Cayman
s to hunt turtles, becoming one of the earliest Europeans to land on the islands. His fleet captured several small vessels on the way, although none of his ships were capable of taking the faster and well-armed Spanish galleons. He left Cuba in August and remained in the Caribbean intending to finally head back to the Netherlands the following spring. However, the Eendracht had fallen behind and soon lost contact with Schouten and his flagship. By the time they had reestablished contact, they had encountered two Spanish merchant ships from Honduras
. Willem Jacobszoon had managed to capture one of these, the San Juan Baptista under the command of Captain Francisco Hernandez y Moreno, and later used by the crew of the Eendracht when they were forced to abandon their after it ran aground at Tortuga Cays (north of present-day Havana, Cuba). Schouten and his men eventually arrived back in Vlissingen on September 13, 1624. Among the cargo brought back on the Spanish prize included 1,600 chests of sugar
, 3,000 animal skins, large amounts of sarsaparilla
, balm oil and several chests of silver
. The wealth from the one ship alone was enough to convince the Dutch of the value of supporting future expeditions against the Spanish in the Caribbean. As a result of his expedition, St. Martin became one of the first Dutch colonies to be established before its destruction by a passing Spanish fleet in 1633.
An account of his three-year voyage was published at Layden
in 1644 by Johannes de Laet, a writer and dirrector of the Dutch West Indies Company, which were included with those of Mathijs Hendriksz and Piet Heyn.
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
to establish Dutch bases in the West Indies.
Biography
Born in Vlissingen, Pieter Schouten found employment in the Dutch West Indies Company as would other former corsairs during this period. In early 1624, he was assigned three ships with which to chart 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...
as well as provide valuable reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
on possibility of establishing Dutch bases in the region. Leaving port on January 26, his small squadron included the 24-gun Hoop under Captain Willem Jacobszoon, the 14-gun Eendracht under Captain Hillebrandt Janszoon and the 8-gun yacht Trouwe commanded by Captain Hendrik Worst.
After arriving in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in mid-March or May, he visited several islands and charted the coasts of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, 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...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. He also briefly visited the Little Cayman
Little Cayman
Little Cayman is an island that is part of the Cayman Islands. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, about 75 miles northeast of Grand Cayman and five miles west of Cayman Brac. Little Cayman has a permanent population of less than 170 and is about 10 miles long with an average width of 1 mile...
s to hunt turtles, becoming one of the earliest Europeans to land on the islands. His fleet captured several small vessels on the way, although none of his ships were capable of taking the faster and well-armed Spanish galleons. He left Cuba in August and remained in the Caribbean intending to finally head back to the Netherlands the following spring. However, the Eendracht had fallen behind and soon lost contact with Schouten and his flagship. By the time they had reestablished contact, they had encountered two Spanish merchant ships from Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. Willem Jacobszoon had managed to capture one of these, the San Juan Baptista under the command of Captain Francisco Hernandez y Moreno, and later used by the crew of the Eendracht when they were forced to abandon their after it ran aground at Tortuga Cays (north of present-day Havana, Cuba). Schouten and his men eventually arrived back in Vlissingen on September 13, 1624. Among the cargo brought back on the Spanish prize included 1,600 chests of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, 3,000 animal skins, large amounts of sarsaparilla
Sarsaparilla
is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Central America. Common names include Sarsaparilla , Honduran Sarsaparilla, and Jamaican Sarsaparilla...
, balm oil and several chests of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
. The wealth from the one ship alone was enough to convince the Dutch of the value of supporting future expeditions against the Spanish in the Caribbean. As a result of his expedition, St. Martin became one of the first Dutch colonies to be established before its destruction by a passing Spanish fleet in 1633.
An account of his three-year voyage was published at Layden
Layden
Layden may refer to:*Elmer Layden, former Commissioner of the National Football League and head football coach at University of Notre Dame*Frank Layden, a former coach and executive of the Utah Jazz*Gene Layden, a Major League Baseball outfielder...
in 1644 by Johannes de Laet, a writer and dirrector of the Dutch West Indies Company, which were included with those of Mathijs Hendriksz and Piet Heyn.
Further reading
- Goslinga, Cornelis Christiaan. A Short History of the Netherlands Antilles and Surinam. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1979. ISBN 9024721180
- Marley, David. Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 1998. ISBN 0-87436-837-5
- Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80722-X