Jochem Hendrickszoon Swartenhont (1566 – 5 June 1627) was a Dutch naval officer in the navy of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

from the 17th century. Swartenhondt was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and started his career with the merchant fleet, becoming a cabin boy at age eleven. He attained the rank of

first mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

. Later he joined the army to fight against the

Dunkirkers 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 ''Fl ...

but in 1587 he was captured and forced to serve on the Habsburg galleys in Flanders; he managed to escape however and brought with him important intelligence about the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...

of 1588. In 1596 he became a lieutenant with the Amsterdam admiralty; in 1597 a captain. In 1599 he distinguished himself while serving as captain of a ship in a fleet under Vice-Admiral Pieter van der Does during an expedition to

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

. In 1602 he became a Vice-Admiral with the Amsterdam Admiralty and served under Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer-Duivenvoorde on an expedition to the Spanish coast. From 1603 to 1605 he served as a temporary Vice-Admiral under

Paulus van Caerden Paulus van Caerden ( 1569 – Manila, October 1615 or 1616) was a Dutch admiral in service of the Dutch East India Company. He was governor of the Maluku Islands for one month. In 1595 Van Caerden served as midshipman on the first expedition ...

during an expedition to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 1605 he ended his service, becoming an inn-keeper, but in 1608 again was readmitted as a temporary Vice-Admiral. He was painted, wearing his military decorations, by

Nicolaes Pickenoy Nicolaes Eliaszoon Pickenoy (10 January 1588 – 1653/1656) was a Dutch painter of Flemish origin. Pickenoy was possibly a pupil of Cornelis van der Voort and presumably Bartholomeus van der Helst was his own pupil. Life He was the son ...

(1588–1655), who also painted Jochem's daughter Maria. At the start of the

Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign n ...

in 1609 he again retired from service. From 1609 to 1620 he and his wife, Elisabeth Jacobs Bas (1571-1649), would keep the ''Prins van Oranje'' ("Prince of Orange") tavern in Amsterdam, a popular watering hole of many politicians, artists, and writers. After Jochem's death his widow Elisabeth Bas sold it, becoming rich (she left 28,000 guilders on her death).

Ferdinand Bol Ferdinand Bol (24 June 1616 – 24 August 1680) was a Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-port ...

made a well-known painting of Elisabeth in 1640, many years after Joachim's death. In 1620, when the truce was about to end, at his own request Jochem returned to the fleet as a Vice-Admiral; in 1621 he became Lieutenant-Admiral of Holland and West-Friesland and he commanded a large

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

to the Mediterranean and successfully defended it against an attack by a Spanish squadron. In 1622 he acted as temporary Lieutenant-Admiral; after that year he left the naval service for good.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Swartenhont, Jochem 17th-century Dutch military personnel 1566 births 1627 deaths Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Burials at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Military personnel from Amsterdam