Adm. Hendrick Corneliszoon Lonck (or Loncque and Loncq) (born 1568,

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse ...

– 10 October 1634,

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 ...

) was a Dutch naval hero, being the first Dutch

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

to reach the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

Biography

He was born in

in the southern

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, of Brabant origin. His parents were Cornelis Pieterszoon Lonck and Dichna Heinrich. He was a full cousin of the

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

Vice Admiral Cornelis Symons Son Loncque. In 1604, he married Grietgen Lenaerts in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. In 1606, Lonck captained the ''Witte Leeuw'' (White Lion), a 320-ton merchant ship armed for war, and approached the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Near

Tadoussac Tadoussac () is a village municipality in La Haute-Côte-Nord RCM (Regional County Municipality), on the north shore of the maritime section of the estuary of St. Lawrence river, in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada. Geography Tadoussac is ...

, he boarded two of

Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts; – 1628) was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge (southwestern France) and founded the first permanent French settlement ...

' ships, pillaging them for cannons, furs, mounts, and munitions. In 1623 and 1624, Lonck participated in the expedition of Admiral

Willem de Zoete Willem de Zoete, Heer Haultain (1565 – 26 September 1637, Sluis) was a Dutch admiral of the 17th century. He served as a lieutenant-admiral from 1601 to 1627. Biography During the Eighty Years' War he directed Dutch fleets in various naval ...

against the

Barbary Coast The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

pirates. Having made admiral by 1628, Lonck, in the service of the

Dutch West Indies Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was g ...

, joined Admiral Piet Hein in the

Battle in the Bay of Matanzas The Battle in the Bay of Matanzas was a naval battle in Cuba during the Eighty Years' War in which a Dutch squadron was able to defeat and capture a Spanish treasure fleet. Overview In 1628, Admiral Piet Hein, with Witte de With as his fla ...

, a naval battle during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

in which a Dutch squadron was able to defeat and capture a

Spanish treasure fleet The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...

. Verovering van de Zilvervloot in de Baai van Matanzas door admiraal Piet Heyn, 1628 Verovering vande Silver-vloot inde Bay Matanca, A.o 1628 (titel op object), RP-P-OB-78.143 (cropped).jpg, Commemorative print with Lonck (right) and Piet Hein (left) with the 1628 battle in the bay of Matanzas and map of

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Lonck replaced Hein in 1629 as captain-general. In 1630, he commanded a Dutch colonizing expedition of 52 ships, 15 sloops, and 3,780 sailors that captured the historic city of

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

, Brazil on 14 February, followed by the capture of the

Brazilian state The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

after a feeble resistance by

Matias de Albuquerque Matias de Albuquerque, Count of Alegrete (Olinda, colony of Brazil, 1580s – Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal, 9 June 1647) was a Portuguese colonial administrator and soldier. He was nicknamed "Hero of Two Continents" for his performance, beginn ...

, its Portuguese Governor. It was to be his last voyage, returning to the Netherlands on 20 July 1630. He died in

and was buried on 10 October 1634 in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonck, Hendrick 1568 births 1634 deaths Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Burials at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam People from Roosendaal People from Dutch Brazil Sailors on ships of the Dutch West India Company