Jacob Pieter van Braam (

Werkhoven Werkhoven is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Bunnik, and lies about 5 km east of Houten. Castle Beverweerd is located on the other side of the river. Werkhoven used to be a separate municipality. ...

, 27 October 1737 –

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

, 16 July 1803) was a

Dutch States Navy The Dutch States Navy (, ) was the navy of the Dutch Republic from 1588 to 1795. Coming into existence during the Eighty Years' War, the States Navy played a major role in expanding and protecting the Dutch colonial empire, in addition to partici ...

officer. Van Braam joined the

Admiralty of Amsterdam The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam ...

in 1748 as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

. In 1751 he was captured by

Barbary corsairs The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

and would be a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

until 1753. On 25 February 1753 he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and in 1758 to lieutenant-commander. In 1764 he made the transition 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 ...

(VOC) where he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 14 July 1766. From 1767 until 1773 he was provisions master in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. In 1776 he temporarily left the VOC to become a Dutch

post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

; in 1782 he was in the rank of captain, commander of a regiment of marines under lieutenant admiral Willem van Wassenaar Spanbroek. In 1783 he was appointed commander of the VOC,

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

and member of the

Council of the Indies A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

(; the governing council of the VOC colonial empire). From 1784 until 1786 he served as vlootvoogd (fleetguardian; admiral in charge of a fleet) in the Indian waters with four

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

and two

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s. In this function he was responsible for ending a siege of

Malacca City Malacca City ( or ') is the List of capitals in Malaysia, capital city of the Malaysian state of Malacca, in Melaka Tengah District. It is List of cities by time of continuous habitation, the oldest Malaysian city on the Straits of Malacca, hav ...

Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...

troops and conquering

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

. In 1786 he returned to the Netherlands and once again joined the admiralty. On 12 June 1788 he was appointed

schout-bij-nacht () is a naval rank of Dutch origin. The was responsible for ensuring that a fleet continued to sail in the prescribed order at night. The title comes from the title of the officer who replaced the admiral at night, from the Middle Low German sc ...

. On 10 May 1793 Van Braam was appointed

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

with the Admiralty of Amsterdam, and he retired on 27 February 1795.

External links

*
Jacob Pieter van Braam
at

Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum The Maritime Museum (, ) is a maritime museum in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The museum had 419,060 visitors in 2012. It ranked as 11th most visited museum in the Netherlands in 2013. The museum had 300,000 visitors in 2015. In 2017 the mus ...

* at

Nationaal Archief The Nationaal Archief (NA) is the national archives of the Netherlands, located in The Hague. It houses collections for the central government, the province of South Holland, and the former County of Holland. There is also material from private in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braam, Jacob Pieter Van 1737 births 1803 deaths Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic 18th-century Dutch people People from Bunnik Sailors on ships of the Dutch East India Company Dutch military personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars 18th-century Dutch military personnel Dutch slaves