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Jan Janszoon van Hoorn's expedition of 1633

Jan Janszoon van Hoorn's expedition of 1633 was a privateering voyage commissioned by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) against colonial Honduras and Yucatan in New Spain as part of the colonial theatre of the Eighty Years' War. It resulted in various casualties, the sacking of Campeachy, and the sacking and burning of Trujillo. Consequently, this villa was left defenceless for the rest of the 1630s.

Jan Janszoon van Hoorn's expedition of 1633
Part of Thirty Years' War

The conquest of Campeche and Trujillo in 1633, by Claes Jansz. Visscher, after an original by Jacobus Dasniets.
Date26 April – 11 November 1633 (1633-04-26 – 1633-11-11)1
Location
18°06′07″N 89°41′17″W / 18.102036294803735°N 89.68802328530822°W / 18.102036294803735; -89.68802328530822
Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic Netherlands Spain Spain
Commanders and leaders
  • Spain Francisco Martínez de la Ribamontán Santander2 / Hond. gov.
  • Spain Fernando Centeno Maldonado / Yuc. gov.
  • Spain Juan de Miranda2 / Hond. gen.
  • Spain Juan de Barros / Camp. alc.
  • Spain Domingo Galván Romero † / Camp. capt.
Units involved
  • 4 ships: Fama, Middelburgh, Gonde-Leeuw, Zutphen
  • 3 yachts: Otter, Brack, Nachtegael
  • 3 sloops: incl. Gijsselingh
  • 2 villas: Trujillo, Campeachy
Strength
  • 518 sailors
  • 420 infantry
  • 2,000 civilians3 incl. militia
  • 25 infantrymen
  • 25 cavalrymen
Casualties and losses
  • > 30 deaths
  • vars. wounded
  • vars. ill
  • none detained
  • no vessels seized
  • > 60 deaths
  • vars. wounded
  • none ill
  • 20 detained
  • 27 vessels seized /w cargo
  • 2 towns sacked, 1 burnt
  • 1 A splinter expedition under Cornelis Jol remained active during 18 September 1633 – 6 June 1634 (1633-09-18 – 1634-06-06).
  • 2 Martínez de la Ribamontán Santander suspended from office during first half of 1633, with Miranda acting governor ad interim
  • 3 In Trujillo and S. Pedro (in the city's vicinity) ‍–‍ 200 vecinos, 400 Blacks and mulatos / In Campeachy ‍–‍ 350 vecinos, 50 Blacks and mulatos, 1,000 Amerindians

Prelude edit

After the Dutch West India Company (WIC) used its naval superiority to capture the Spanish silver fleet in 1628, Admiral Piet Heyn advised the WIC's governing body to commission a raid of Trujillo, Honduras. On 4 June 1630, Jan Booneter and Adriaen Pater were instructed to surprise the silver fleet at port in Trujillo if they found this feasible. Said project proving abortive, the WIC instructed Galeyn von Stapels to chart the coast and waters of the Bay of Campeachy, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Bay of Honduras in 1632. On 2 November that year, the WIC instructed Jan van Hoorn to sail for the Bay of Honduras to sack Trujillo.[1][2][note 1]

Expedition edit

Departure edit

Van Hoorn set sail from Pernambuco (Dutch Brazil) on 26 April 1633,[note 2] anchoring at Bridgetown, Barbados, on 20 May. The company watered there for seven days before sailing due west. On 18 June, they sighted the eastern tip of Puerto Rico. On 5 July, they dropped anchor off Little Cayman. Two days later, the fleet were joined by the Nachtegael and the Gijsselingh, which had been cruising for prizes off Cape Cruz, Cuba, since 29 June. The yachts brought the expedition's first prize, a small merchantman laden with hides, sugar and honey. They set off for the Bay of Honduras sometime during 7‍–‍10 July.[3][4][5]

Honduras edit

 
Conquest of Trujillo. The ships Fama, Middelburgh, Goude Leeuw, Zutphen, Otter, Brack, Nachtegaal and Gyselingh are depicted.

The fleet sighted the Honduras mainland on 11 July. They spent the next three days charting the coastal waters, taking care to remain hidden from sentinels at the Santa Barbara Fortress. On 15 July, two hours past midday, the fleet's ships entered Trujillo's harbour. The fortress immediately engaged the ships, resulting in the expedition's first casualties – four deaths on the Zutphen.[note 3] In the meantime, the fleet's yachts and sloops made their way west of the city, disembarking soldiers at the mouth of the Santo Antonio Creek. This column now marched east, and in short order reached the fortress, which they took after outgunning its men. With the fortress fallen, the city was theirs within two hours. The men rested in Trujillo that night, spending the next morning ransacking the city's residences.[6][7] Total casualties have been stated as 7 among the Dutch[8] and 14 or 15 vecinos among the Spanish.[9]

In a 1644 account published by WIC director Joannes de Laet, the city was ransacked on 16 July and while the goods were being brought to the fortress, a fire started at the eastern edge of the city and quickly destroyed two-thirds of the buildings, which had been roofed in palm fronds. Some died of burns when the powder house caught fire. What was left of the goods were brought aboard the ships the following day.[10]

On 19 July, van Hoorn agreed with Juan de Miranda, the governor of Truchillo,[note 4] to a ransom of twenty pounds of silver for the rest of the city. De Miranda informed them that the Spanish had not known of their arrival until 14 July.[10] The ransom was paid and the expedition departed on 21 July.[8][11]

Campeachy edit

 
S. Francisco de Campeche, engraving used in the 1644 Historie by Joannes de Laet

Van Hoorn's fleet had difficulty circumnavigating the Yucatan Peninsula, their nautical charts proving inaccurate. They sighted Cozumel on 25 July, and Cape Catoche on 1 August, where they resupplied with fresh water. Here, they surprised an unladen frigate, from whose crew they learnt of a naval squadron cruising for them, with instructions to transport them to Saint Martin (a Dutch salting station which, to their surprise, had been captured by the Spanish that year). They nonetheless proceeded, sighting Campeachy on the afternoon of 11 August. The ships anchored some 19 or 24 kilometres (12 or 15 mi) east-northeast of the city.[8][note 5]

According to Laet's Historie, about 400 men were put onto boats of various sizes and anchored in shallower water where they observed the city and organized themselves. On the morning of 13 August, the soldiers were brought ashore on a beach about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) southwest of the city, landing in order. The soldiers immediately began marching on the city, covered by two boats which rowed alongside them and fired cannons when the enemy presented itself. The sloops Nachtegael and Gijsselingh also sailed along the coast and fired. Defending infantry and cavalry were forced to flee, and the attackers quickly captured three trenches and entered the city. The defenders had fortified themselves in the plaza, but the attackers stormed their barricades so swiftly that the defenders' cannons were only fired once.[12]

The defenders had fought so fiercely that only twenty prisoners were taken among them. While loot was loaded onto captured boats, the expedition attempted to gain ransom from Governor Juan de Barros, who refused due to a royal decree prohibiting such. On 17 August, the expedition left with their prisoners, nine captured ships and anything else of value they could find. They left the city intact, as its buildings were stone and could not easily be destroyed, but burned the remaining ships and barges.[12]

While transferring the captured goods onto the expedition's bigger ships, they were approached by Spaniards who bought back five of the captured ships and paid the ransom for the prisoners.[note 6] The fleet then departed on the morning of 24 August.[12]

Division and return edit

On 18 September, the fleet came 39 or 43 km (24 or 27 mi) due south of Pan de Matanzas (a hill near Matanzas, Cuba). At this point, some of the company wished to cruise for prizes. Consequently, the Otter and the sloops stayed behind, with the rest of the fleet proceeding to open ocean via the Old Bahama Channel.[13][14]

Under command of Cornelis Jol, the Otter and the sloops Nachtegael and Gijsselingh were to set course for Cape San Antonio and cruise the southern coast of Cuba, heading for Tortuga, where the crew were to ascertain whether the Spanish had captured St. Martin, and thereafter undertake 'what is convenient in the service of the Company'.[13]

According to Laet, on 24 September, the ships fired on a Spanish galleon near Cabo Corrientes. On 24 October they captured a barge loaded with 30 barrels of wine. During the first half of November, the Otter grounded broadside for maintenance and repairs, and learned from an Englishman that St. Martin had been captured by the Spanish. Returning to sea, on the night of 13–14 December, they sighted some 15 ships and followed. During the day they saw a single ship separated from the others and attacked, disabling its main sail, and boarded; finding that it carried only ballast, they let it go. Two days later, they sighted a fleet of 31 ships and followed at a distance. On 19 December they captured a frigate, but it also had no cargo. They pursued some other Spanish ships but were unable to intercept them.[15] The division continued cruising and departed the Caribbean on 27 April 1634. On 6 June, it reached Texel, North Holland,[16] where the main part of the expedition had returned on 11 November 1633.[13][14] Jol's division had at least three prizes.[17][18]

Aftermath edit

In the last quarter of 1633, the governor of colonial Yucatan requisitioned funds from local treasuries of the province's majority-Maya reduccion (forcibly relocated) or encomienda settlements, under pretext of the funds being surpluses, and diverted these towards bolstering Campeachy's defences. It has been suggested that the appropriation was prompted (at least partially) by the participation of two of the province's Maya residents in the city's sacking.[19]

Fernando Centeno Maldonado, governor of colonial Campeachy, was stripped of his office in 1636, purportedly or partially due to van Hoorn's successful sacking.[20][note 7]

The loss of the Santa Barbara Fortress's artillery, and especially of its ten cannons, left Trujillo precariously defenceless until the latter half of 1639, when the fortress was supplied with harquebuses.[21]

Legacy edit

The expedition is deemed[by whom?] to have helped bring about the 'destruction of Spanish naval power'[who said this?] in the Caribbean. Van Hoorn's capture of Campeachy, in particular, has been described as 'one of the most courageous acts committed by so few people'[who said this?] to that time. Van Hoorn, however, is thought to have been disappointed for not contributing greatly to the WIC's treasury.[22]

It has been suggested[by whom?] that van Hoorn's sacking of Campeachy was so traumatising to residents that it became local legend which was romanticised over generations. The event is prominently featured in El filibustero: Leyenda del siglo xvii, an 1841‍–‍1842 serial novel by Justo Sierra O'Reilly, which narrates the tragic romance of Conchita (of Campeachy) and her father's killer, Diego el Mulato.[23][note 8]

It has been suggested[by whom?] that the fleet's two Maya pilots participated in Campeachy's sacking voluntarily, which has been regarded as a precedent-setting example of 17th century opposition to Spanish temporal and spiritual hegemony by the province's Amerindian residents.[24]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Like Booneter and Pater (in June 1630 – August 1631), Stapels (reportedly) did not enter the Bay of Honduras during his July – September 1632 voyage (cf prior citations). However, the cabildo of Trujillo reported that a Dutch fleet of six urcas and two pataches had attempted to sack the city in July 1632, which suggests that Stapels did enter the bay (Cardona Amaya 2020, pp. 17, 110).
  2. ^ Dated 25 April 1633 in Laet 1925, p. 382, but later dated 26 April 1633 in Laet 1925, p. 407, which latter date is accepted by Goslinga 2017, p. 226.
  3. ^ (Cardona Amaya 2020, p. 110) states three dead aboard the Zutphen.
  4. ^ Cardona Amaya 2020, p. 110 assigns the ransom's payment to Juan de Miranda, captain general of Trujillo.
  5. ^ Sometime during this circumnavigation (21‍–‍25 July 1633), the fleet lost sight of the Zutphen, having 60 soldiers aboard, and further gained (or impressed) a mestizo and two Maya pilots (Laet 1925, p. 412, Baudot 1986, p. 29).
  6. ^ Cogolludo, in his 1688 Historia, adds that the prisoners were marooned some four leagues (12 mi, 19 km) outside Campeachy (López de Cogolludo 1688, pp. 596–598, Piña Chan 2017, p. 83).
  7. ^ Shortly thereafter, Centeno Maldonado died of illness in Hecelchakan, while en route to Mexico City plead his case for reinstatement before the Real Audiencia. On her return, his widow, Isabel de Caraveo, came across Diego el Mulato off Veracruz, who rather kindly conveyed her to Campeachy (Piña Chan 2017, pp. 83–84, Brito Benítez 2017, pp. 21–22).
  8. ^ Relevant passages in anon. 1841, pp. 187–193, 235–240, 310–317.

Citations edit

  1. ^ Goslinga 2017, pp. 218, 225–226.
  2. ^ Laet 1925, pp. 357–360.
  3. ^ Goslinga 2017, pp. 226, 233.
  4. ^ Laet 1925, pp. 382, 407–408.
  5. ^ Cardona Amaya 2020, p. 18.
  6. ^ Laet 1925, pp. 408–409.
  7. ^ Cardona Amaya 2020, pp. 18–20.
  8. ^ a b c Laet 1925, p. 410.
  9. ^ Cardona Amaya 2020, p. 110.
  10. ^ a b Laet 1925, p. 409.
  11. ^ Cardona Amaya 2020, pp. 20–21.
  12. ^ a b c Laet 1925, pp. 410–412.
  13. ^ a b c Laet 1925, p. 413.
  14. ^ a b Goslinga 2017, p. 227.
  15. ^ Laet 1925, pp. 426–427.
  16. ^ Laet 1925, pp. 502–503.
  17. ^ Laet 1925, pp. 413, 426–427, 502–503.
  18. ^ Goslinga 2017, pp. 227, 230, 233–234.
  19. ^ Baudot 1986, pp. 29–30.
  20. ^ Piña Chan 2017, pp. 83–84.
  21. ^ Cardona Amaya 2020, pp. 20–21, 23, 50–51, 67–68, 116.
  22. ^ Goslinga 2017, pp. 226–228.
  23. ^ Algaba Martínez 2008, pp. 65–71.
  24. ^ Baudot 1986, pp. 29–33.

References edit

  1. anon. (1841). "Enero fascículo s.n.  –  diciembre fascículo s.n.". Museo Yucateco. Vol. 1. Campeche: Impreso por José María Peralta. pp. 1–480. OCLC 610592388.
  2. Aa, A. J. van der (1860). "Jol (Kornelis Korneliszoon)". Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, bevattende levensbeschrijvingen van zoodanige personen, die zich op eenigerlei wijze in ons vaderland hebben vermaard gemaakt, voortgezet door K. J. R. van Harderwijk en Dr. G. D. J. Schotel. Vol. 9 (1st ed.). Haarlem: J.J. van Brederode. pp. 162–165. OCLC 12789863.
  3. Algaba Martínez, Leticia (2008). "El filibustero : la novela y la leyenda". Revista Fuentes Humanísticas. 20 (37): 63–73. ISSN 2007-5618.
  4. Baudot, Georges (1986). "Dissidences indiennes et complicités flibustières dans le Yucatán du XVII e siècle". Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien. sn (46): 21–33. doi:10.3406/carav.1986.2260. JSTOR 40852876.
  5. Boer, Michael G. de (1900). "Een memorie over den toestand der West Indische Compagnie in het jaar 1633". Bijdragen en Mededelingen van het Historisch Genootschap te Utrecht. 21 (sn): 343–362. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105184527.
  6. Brito Benítez, Eva Leticia (2017). "Pirate Assaults and the Defense of the Old Seaport of Campeche, Mexico (16th -18th Centuries)". Journal of Global and Area Studies. 1 (1): 15–32. ISSN 2586-0305. JSTOR 40852876.
  7. Cardona Amaya, José Manuel (2020). Invasiones de corsarios a la Honduras de Felipe IV (1633-1643) (1st ed.). Tegucigalpa: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. ISBN 9789992612620. OCLC 1192967317.
  8. Elias, Johan Engelbert (1963) [First published 1903 by Loosjes]. "93. Jan Jansz. van Hoorn". De vroedschap van Amsterdam, 1578-1795, met een inleidend woord van den archivaris der stad Amsterdam Mr. W.R. Veder. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: N. Israel. pp. 295–298. OCLC 901720907.
  9. Fernández Duro, Cesário (1898). AÑO 1621 - 1652. Historia de la armada española desde la unión de los reinos de Castilla y de León. Vol. 4 (1st ed.). Madrid: Establecimiento tipográfico Sucesores de Rivadeneyra. hdl:2027/mdp.39015036698705. OCLC 4413652.
  10. Goslinga, Cornelis Christiaan (2017) [First published 1971 by Gorcum]. The Dutch in the Caribbean and on the Wild Coast 1580-1680. Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series (Reprint of 1st ed.). Gainesville: University of Florida Press. OCLC 1019881329.
  11. Laet, Joannes de (1916) [First published 1644 by Bonaventure & Abraham Elsevier]. Livro I – livro VII, ou 1623–1630 (e acontecimentos 1621–1622). Historie ofte iaerlijck verhael van de verrichtinghen der geoctroyeerde West-Indische Compagnie, zedert haer begin, tot het eynde van 't jaer sesthien-hondert ses-en-dertich; begrepen in derthien boecken, ende met verscheyden koperen platen verciert [Historia ou annaes dos feitos da Companhia privilegiada das Indias occidentaes desde o seu começo até ao fim do anno de 1636]. Vol. 1. Translated by Duarte Pereira, Jose Hygino; Souto Maior, Pedro. Rio de Janeiro: Officinas Graphicas da Bibliotheca Nacional. hdl:2027/coo.31924020373316. OCLC 17014789.
  12. Laet, Joannes de (1925) [First published 1644 by Bonaventure & Abraham Elsevier]. Livro VIII – livro XIII, ou 1631–1636 (e atividades da companhia 1623-1636). Historie ofte iaerlijck verhael van de verrichtinghen der geoctroyeerde West-Indische Compagnie, zedert haer begin, tot het eynde van 't jaer sesthien-hondert ses-en-dertich; begrepen in derthien boecken, ende met verscheyden koperen platen verciert [Historia ou annaes dos feitos da Companhia privilegiada das Indias occidentaes desde o seu começo até ao fim do anno de 1636]. Vol. 2. Translated by Duarte Pereira, Jose Hygino; Souto Maior, Pedro. Rio de Janeiro: Officinas Graphicas da Bibliotheca Nacional. hdl:2027/njp.32101068325834. OCLC 17014789.
  13. Laet, Joannes de (1934) [First published 1644 by Bonaventure & Abraham Elsevier]. Naber, S. P. l'Honoré (ed.). Boek VIII – boek X, of 1631–1633. Historie ofte iaerlijck verhael van de verrichtinghen der geoctroyeerde West-Indische Compagnie, zedert haer begin, tot het eynde van 't jaer sesthien-hondert ses-en-dertich; begrepen in derthien boecken, ende met verscheyden koperen platen verciert. Vol. 3. Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. OCLC 6106946.
  14. Laet, Joannes de (1937) [First published 1644 by Bonaventure & Abraham Elsevier]. Naber, S. P. l'Honoré (ed.). Boek XI – boek XIII, of 1634–1636 (en overzicht van bedrijfsactiviteiten 1623-1636). Historie ofte iaerlijck verhael van de verrichtinghen der geoctroyeerde West-Indische Compagnie, zedert haer begin, tot het eynde van 't jaer sesthien-hondert ses-en-dertich; begrepen in derthien boecken, ende met verscheyden koperen platen verciert. Vol. 4. Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. OCLC 6106946.
  15. López de Cogolludo, Diego (1688). Historia de Yucathan (1st ed.). Madrid: Por Jvan Garcia Infanzen. OCLC 85799316.
  16. O Torres, Rodrigo Alejandro de la (2020). DE CORSARIOS, MARES Y COSTAS : El corso en la construcción del espacio y experiencias marítimas en el Golfo-Caribe, 1527-1620 (1st ed.). Ciudad Universitaria: Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes. OCLC 1280054563.
  17. Pérez Martínez, Héctor (1937). Piraterías en Campeche (Siglos XVI, XVII, y XVIII). Enciclopedia ilustrada mexicana ; no. 6 (1st ed.). México, D.F.: Porrúa hnos. y cía. OCLC 5285247.
  18. Piña Chan, Román (2017) [First published 1977 by SEP & INAH]. Campeche durante el período colonial (4th ed.). Ciudad de México: Cámara de Diputados. OCLC 1192967317.
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