Jan van Ryen (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1620s–1630s) was a 17th-century Dutch privateer, explorer, and colonist. He was granted a commission by the Dutch West Indies Company and active against the Spanish in the West Indies during the 1620s. He and Claude Prevost attempted to establish Dutch colonies in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, although they both failed with most Dutch colonists being killed by natives in 1627. However, Zeelandian merchant

Abraham van Peere Abraham van Peere was a Dutch merchant from Vlissingen in the County of Zeeland. In 1602, a charter was given by the States-General of the Netherlands, States General of the Dutch Republic to his father Jan van Peere to found a colony on the Berbic ...

was able to found a successful colony in the area shortly after.

Biography

In November 1626, he and Claude Prevost appeared before the Chamber of Zeeland with a proposal to establish a colony in

and requesting the WIC to provide ships and 30 or 40 men. The WIC agreed and, at separate meetings from November 23–26 and December 10–24, the members discussed where to send them. While it was suggested Prevost to be sent to either the Amazon, Oyapock or

Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to: * Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana * Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana; * Esseq ...

, it was decided that van Ryen alone would colonize Oyapok. On January 22, 1627, Jan van Ryen left Flushing with three ships and 184 men (including 36 colonists). The small fleet was commanded by Admiral Hendrick Jacobszoon Lucifer and included Galeyn van Stabels in the ''Vliegende Draeck'' and Jan Pieterse in the ''Leeuwin'' (all three had visited the area previously, Lucifer and van Stapels having carried Captain Oudaen's expedition to Corupa in 1625). After two months, van Ryen and his expedition arrived at their destination on March 10. Shortly after landing, they encountered three Europeans living in the area. One of the men, Jan Hendricksz, had reportedly lived in the jungles for so long a time that he found it nearly impossible to speak the Dutch language. These men claimed to be the surviving members of a Dutch colony previously established in the Amazon by a Captain Oudaen some time before. According to Hendricksz, the colony was one of several attacked by the Spanish (or possibly the Portuguese). The Dutch fought against their attackers for half a day and forced to flee after 7 or 8 men had been killed fleeing in their longboats to a nearby English settlement where they took refuge. However, the Spanish followed them and both the Dutch and English were forced to fight. All the English were killed as well as many of the Dutch, including Oudaen. Lieutenant Pieter Bruyne took command and left for the

Oyapok River The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the France, French Overseas departments of France, overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Amapá. ...

with 46 of the survivors, however he was killed by his sergeant in a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

soon after. Quarreling amongst themselves, the men split into several groups and eventually settled among the local native tribes. There are differing accounts of what happened to Jan van Ryen's colony. One account claims Jan van Ryen left the colony for the West Indies soon after their arrival and, in his absence, the Dutch colonists began fighting with the local Kalina (Caribs). They were eventually forced to abandon the colony when the situation became too dangerous for them to stay, some going to St. Vincents and Tobago.Rodway, James and Thomas Watt. ''Chronological History of the Discovery and Settlement of Guiana, 1493-1668''. Georgetown, 1888. (pg. 92–94, 96) According to Dutch historian Jan Jacob Hartsinck, the settlement "did not last long" after Jan van Ryen was left behind to govern the colony. He apparently lacked the "tact and probably fair dealing" of Jessé de Forest, who had previously attempted to found a settlement the previous year, as "the savages rose against the new settlers, killed their governor (Jan van Ryen), and demolished their houses". The survivors built several sloops with which they left the area, however only four or five were said to have survived the attack. After the colonists departure,

obtained permission from the WIC to start a plantation at the nearby the

Berbice River The Berbice River, located in eastern Guyana, is one of the country's major rivers. It rises in the highlands of the Rupununi region and flows northward for through dense forests to the coastal plain. The river's tidal limit is between from the ...

. Van Ryen appears to have found his way back to the Netherlands. In December 1630 he registered a colony in "Quaro" with the WIC and on July 25, 1632, the Zeeland Chamber settled with him with respect to payment for his Oyapok expedition.Letter from Jan van Ryen
to the Directors of the Zeeland Chamber of the West India Company, from Fort Nassau, at the Wiapoco River, April 25, 1627 After that there seems to be no record of him.

Biography

References

Further reading