Joris van Spilbergen (1568 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

– January 31, 1620 in Bergen op Zoom) was a Dutch naval officer. Joris van Spilbergen was born in Antwerp in 1568.Bakker, Michel. "Joris van Spilbergen and the Battle of Arequipa", ''IsGeschiedenis'', June 4, 2013
/ref> His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa. He then left for Asia on 5 May 1601, from

Veere Veere (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. History The name ''Veere ...

, a seaport on the island of Walcheren in Zealand, in command of the fleet of the company of Balthazar de Moucheron (a trading company before the establishment of the VOC). His ships were the ''Ram'', ''Schaap'', and ''Lam''.Anthonisz, Richard Gerald. ''The Dutch in Ceylon'', Asian Educational Services, Colombo, 1929
/ref> Spilbergen met the king of Kandy (

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) Vimala Dharma Suriya in 1602, and discussed the possibility of trade in

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

. In 1607, Spilbergen, onboard ''Aeolus'', was with

Jacob van Heemskerk Jacob van Heemskerck (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutch explorer and naval admiral. Early life Jacob van Heemskerck was born in Amsterdam in 1567. He is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, ...

at the Battle of Gibraltar. In 1614, he sailed beyond the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

with an expedition of five ships. Despite the fact that the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign ...

between Spain and the Dutch Republic was in force, he raided the Spanish settlements on the coast of Mexico and South America. He fought the Spanish at

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

and Navidad.Quanchi, ''Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands'', page 233 On October 26, he captured the pearl fishing ship ''San Francisco'' at Zacatula.Myers, Paul A., ''North to California'', Llumina Press, 2004
He then sailed across the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

to the

Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, bet ...

, the

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and eventually to

Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...

in the Maluku Islands in March 1616. He fought in the Second Battle of Playa Honda and was defeated by the Spanish Armada in the

Spanish East Indies The Spanish East Indies ( es , Indias orientales españolas ; fil, Silangang Indiyas ng Espanya) were the overseas territories of the Spanish Empire in Asia and Oceania from 1565 to 1898, governed for the Spanish Crown from Mexico City and Madri ...

(Philippines). He circumnavigated the earth, and returned to the Dutch Republic in 1617. He died a poor man in Bergen op Zoom in 1620.

References

External links

Spilbergen's Journal translated by J.A.J. de Villiers, 1906

Notes

1568 births 1620 deaths 17th-century explorers Circumnavigators of the globe Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Military personnel from Antwerp {{Netherlands-bio-stub