Jan Erasmus Reyning (1640–1697) was a Dutch

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

and naval officer. Jan Erasmus Reyning was born in Flushing in 1640 as the son of a Danish mariner and a

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 ...

woman. As a boy, he went to sea with his father and later started a seaman's career of his own. He was taken prisoner during the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

(1665–1667), and later served as an '' engagé'' (servant) on a French plantation on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

. Around 1667 he became a

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

, i.e. a hunter in central Hispaniola, and around 1669 he started a career as a pirate or

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

. Although documentary evidence is limited, Reyning is believed to have fought as a privateer captain with French or English

letters of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with the issuer, licensing internationa ...

between 1669 and 1672. His partner was one Jelle Lecat (probably born in

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

as Jelle de Kat). Reyning must have co-operated with renowned pirates as Roche Braziliano and

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

. According to reliable Spanish documents, Reyning offered his services to his former Spanish enemies at

Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...

around January 1672. The Spanish accepted his services and he even took catechisation lessons from a Catholic priest. In 1673 Reyning, Lecat, and Irish pirate Philip Fitzgerald took more than 40 vessels in the area, mostly logwood cutters. Later that year, when Reyning learned that his home country, The Netherlands, was at war with England and France (in the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

and the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...

), he sailed to the Dutch colony of

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

. He became a sort of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

for Curaçao that was threatened by many enemies. In his later years Reyning was a Dutch gentleman and marine officer who died at full sea in the Gulf of Biskay in a storm on 2 February 1697.

References

* Snelders, S. (2005): The Devil's Anarchy. New York: Autonomedia, 2005. ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyning, Jan Erasmus 1640 births 1697 deaths 17th-century pirates Pirates from the Dutch Republic People from Vlissingen Dutch naval personnel of the Second Anglo-Dutch War Dutch naval personnel of the Third Anglo-Dutch War Dutch people of Danish descent Spanish privateers