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 other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare 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 or deleg ...

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

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

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 or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...

(1665–1667), and later served as an ''

engagé Engagés in Canada From the 18th century, an engagé (; also spelled '' engagee'') was a French-Canadian man employed to canoe in the fur trade as an indentured servant. He was expected to handle all transportation aspects of frontier river and ...

'' (servant) on a French plantation on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. Around 1667 he became a

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...

, 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 decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

. Although documentary evidence is limited, Reyning is believed to have fought as a privateer captain with French or English letters of marque between 1669 and 1672. His partner was one Jelle Lecat (probably born in

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...

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

Roche Braziliano Roche Braziliano (sometimes spelled ''Rock'', ''Roch'', ''Roc'', ''Roque'', ''Brazilliano'', ''Brasiliaan'' or ''Brasiliano'') (c. 1630 – disappeared c. 1671) was a Dutch pirate born in the town of Groningen. His pirate career lasted from 1654 ...

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

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

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 Philip Fitzgerald (known as ''Fitzy'') is a Scottish rugby union player, born in Stirling (Scotland), who played as a hooker (rugby union), hooker for RC Toulonnais (1.84 m, 100 kg). Career * 1995 in rugby union, 1995–1997 in rugby ...

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, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

and the Third Anglo-Dutch War), he sailed to the Dutch colony of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. He became a sort of Robin Hood 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 Pirates from the Dutch Republic People from Vlissingen