Cornelius Cruys (born Niels Olufsen; 14 June 1655 – 14 June 1727) was a Norwegian-born naval officer who served in the Dutch States Navy and

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

. He was the first commander of the Russian

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

Early life and career

He was born Niels Olufsen in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

, Norway, in 1655. His parents were Oluf Gudfastesen and Apelone Nielsdatter Koch. It is uncertain when Niels Olufsen () emigrated to the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

and changed his name to Cornelis Cruys ("Kornelius Krøys" or "Cornelis Cruijs"). However, according to several municipal sources, Cruys lived in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

for at least eighteen years before he joined the

. The first known record about Cruys was produced by the local administration of Amsterdam in 1681. That year he married the nineteen-year-old Catharina Voogt. She was born in Amsterdam and was the daughter of Claas Pieterszoon Voogt, a Dutch captain of a merchantman, and Jannetje Jans. In the civil registration of his marriage, Cruys was called a sailor from Amsterdam, 24 years old, an orphan. In December of that year, about seven months after his marriage, Cruys was officially registered as a citizen or ''poorter'' of Amsterdam. In 1680, Cruys became the captain of a Dutch merchantman. Until 1696, he sailed to Portugal, Spain, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. In July 1696, he joined the Dutch States Navy. He was appointed ''onder-equipagemeester'' at the naval dockyard of the Amsterdam Admiralty. In less than two years he would leave the Dutch Republic for Russia.

Service in Russia

In 1697,

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

travelled incognito with a large Russian delegation – the so-called Grand Embassy. He visited the

to study the latest inventions, especially in shipbuilding. Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaas Witsen, mayor of

and expert on Russia ''par excellence'', Peter I was given the opportunity to gain practical experience in the largest private shipyard in the world, belonging to the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

in Amsterdam, for a period of four months. He helped with the construction of an

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

, the frigate ''Peter en Paul''. During his stay in the Dutch Republic, Peter I worked alongside, with the help of Russian and Dutch assistants, many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights and seamen. They helped him with his modernization of Russia. The best-known sailor who made the journey from the Dutch republic to Russia was Cruys. Cruys accepted Peter I's generous offer to enter into his service as vice-admiral. He emigrated to Russia in 1698 and became the tsar's most important adviser in maritime affairs. Cruys performed well in Russia and came to be regarded as the architect of the Imperial Russian Navy. After his return to Russia, Peter I put the Azov Flotilla under the command of Admiral Fyodor Alexeyevich Golovin, a Russian nobleman who was the successor of the Swiss officer Franz Lefort. Golovin was assisted by Vice-Admiral Cruys and Rear-Admiral Jan van Rees. Cruys became the first mayor of

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

from 1698 to 1702. In 1711, he made the first maps of Azov Sea and Don River. He was commander of the Russian

from 1705, and masterminded the construction of

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

fortress, which was essential in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

against Sweden and many years later against the German

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Cruys worked for the tsar for more than 25 years and reached the highest Russian naval rank of admiral in 1721. He died at

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1727. The historic Kotomin House at Nevsky Prospect, built from 1812 to 1815, was constructed on the site of the former residence of Cornelius Cruys.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Aase, Roy Lauritz (1997) ''Admiral Cornelius Cruys: sjøhelten fra Stavanger'' (Erling Skjalgssonselskapet) * Koningsbrugge, Hans van ed. (2009) ''Life and deeds of Admiral Cornelius Cruys'' (Groningen: Nederlands-Russisch Archiefcentrum) * Titlestad, Torgrim (1999) ''Tsarens admiral: Cornelius Cruys i Peter den stores tjeneste'' (Erling Skjalgssonselskapet)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruys, Cornelius 1655 births 1727 deaths 17th-century Dutch military personnel Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Baltic Fleet Burials at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam Dutch people of Norwegian descent Military history of Taganrog Imperial Russian Navy admirals Norwegian admirals Immigrants to the Dutch Republic Emigrants from Denmark–Norway Russian military personnel of the Great Northern War 18th-century nobility from the Russian Empire Russian people of Norwegian descent Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War Immigrants to the Tsardom of Russia