Jan Jacobsen (1588/89 – 1622) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

naval commander and

Dunkirker During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish monarchy. They were also part of the ''Dunkirk fleet'', which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's ''Fle ...

during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

. He became a posthumous hero when, after battling an enemy fleet for over 13 hours, he destroyed his own

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

rather than surrender.

Biography

He was the son of Spanish admiral Michiel Jacobsen( fr) and great-uncle of French admiral

Jean Bart Jean Bart (; ; 21 October 1650 – 27 April 1702) was a French Admiral, naval commander and privateer. Early life Jean Bart was born in Dunkirk, France, Dunkirk in 1650 to a seafaring family, the son of Jean-Cornil Bart (c. 1619-1668) who has b ...

. On 3 October 1622 Jacobsen put out from

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

on his first expedition as a captain of one of the king's

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

s. His ship was part of a three-ship flotilla, with the intention of locating the Dutch Baltic convoy, accompanied by Spanish privateers Pedro de la Plesa and Juan Garcia. Jacobsen failed to elude the Dutch blockaders patrolling off the Flemish coast and was soon in a running battle with nine Dutch warships which was to last for thirteen hours. He disabled two of them before finally fought to a standstill with his mast, rudder and sweeps shot away. The Dutch called upon Jacobsen to surrender and offered quarter, but, rather than let one of the king's ships fall into the hands of the enemy he exploded his powder store. In doing so he crippled the two Dutch ships alongside and caused considerable loss of life on board them but at the cost of destroying himself, his ship and much of what remained of his crew. Initial reports had Jacobsen putting the match to the powder himself, but at least one later account records that he had been shot through the thigh and gave the order to explode the powder store to one of his men. Surviving members of his 170-man crew that were picked up were hanged as pirates. This incident was comparable to English admiral

Sir Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville (15 June 1542 – 10 September 1591), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently ...

and the ''

Revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

'' and created a mystique around the Dunkirkers, and the figure of Jacobsen in particular, at the very beginning of the second phase (1621–1648) of the Eighty Years' War. The event was reported in contemporary newspapers, such as the ''

Nieuwe Tijdinghen ''Nieuwe Tijdinghen'' (in English also known as the ''Antwerp Gazette'') is the contemporary name cataloguers and bibliographers have given to the first Flemish newspaper, which was published without a single fixed title. News was printed from acr ...

'' printed in Antwerp, and was the subject of at least one contemporary ballad, ''Kapiteyn Jacobus'', that likened Jacobsen to Samson.Maurits Sabbe,
Brabant in't verweer
'' pp. 433-437.

Biography

References

Further reading