Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a Dutch
naval officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
. He is noted for planning and participating in a number of naval battles 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 ...
and the
First Anglo-Dutch war
The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...
.
Early life and childhood
De With was born on a farmstead in the hamlet of Hoogendijk near
Brielle
Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New ...
or Brill, the very town in which
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy.
Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...
had been born a year earlier. According to legend, they were friends or even already rivals in their youth, but there is no proof of this. His father died in 1602, leaving behind three sons, besides Witte also Abraham and Andries, and a daughter Catharina. The De With family were
Mennonites
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
and strict
pacifists
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...
; in 1610, Witte, as an
anabaptist
Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...
not yet baptised, obtained a
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
by a
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
preacher so that he would no longer feel constrained in using violence, as he was by nature not a peace-seeking boy.
After some failed minor jobs, he went on his first sea voyage to the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
on 21 January 1616 when he was sixteen, as a cabin boy on Captain Geen Huygen Schapenham's ship the ''Gouden Leeuw'', part of a
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) fleet of five vessels. He arrived at
Bantam on 13 November 1616.
Until October 1617, he participated in two trade voyages to
Coromandel
Coromandel may refer to:
Places India
*Coromandel Coast, India
**Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements
** Dutch Coromandel
*Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India
New Zealand
*Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula
*Coro ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Afterwards, he became manservant of governor
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...
. He served as a
corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...
during the siege of
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
in 1618. On 8 October 1618, he sailed home on the ''Gouden Leeuw'', returning to Brill on 23 May 1619. On 20 August 1620, he took service with the
Admiralty of the Maze
The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Dutch admiralties in the Dutch Republic.
History
The Admiralty of Rotterdam was founded in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when (after the Capture of Brielle) W ...
as a ''schipper'' (then the highest NCO rank), still under Schapenham on the ''Gelderland''. From December 1620, the ''Gelderland'' participated in an expedition by Admiral
Willem Haultain de Zoete Willem de Zoete, Heer Haultain (1565 – 26 September 1637, Sluis) was a Dutch people, Dutch Admiral of the 17th century. He served as a Lieutenant-Admiral from 1601 to 1627.
During the Eighty Years' War he directed Dutch fleets in various nava ...
against the
Barbary Corsairs
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...
, returning in August 1621.
In spring 1622, De With was appointed lieutenant on Schapenham's vessel. When the latter became ill, De With functioned as
commandeur
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
, acting captain, of the ''Gelderland'' during convoy duty in the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
. When Schapenham recovered, De With served for a short period on the ''Maurits'' to protect the herring fleet.
In July 1622, De With became flag captain of ''Delft'' of now Vice-Admiral Schapenham, who, from 29 April 1623, carried out the spectacular raid organised by the
Admiralty of Amsterdam
The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven ...
, sending the so-called "
Nassau fleet
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
" against the Spanish possessions on the west coast of America; this fleet rounded
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
in March 1624. On his first voyage as a captain, De With already showed he was the strict disciplinarian of later legend: on 13 April, six of his men deserted his ship and the constant beatings and floggings to flee to the uninhabited island of
Juan Fernández. Until October, the fleet attacked Spanish shipping and settlements; during one of the actions, De With was wounded by a musket bullet. Then, it crossed the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, sailing via the
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...
to the Indies.
Reaching
Ternate
Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the we ...
in the
Spice Islands
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices ar ...
on 5 March 1625, De With, himself on request of the governor of
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
in a punitive action, laid waste to the island, destroying by his own count 90,000
clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
trees of the inhabitants, to increase the price of this commodity. He departed for the Republic on 6 February 1626, after the death of Schapenham, as Vice-Admiral (in service of the
Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock co ...
) of a Spice Fleet of four ships, then worth five million guilders. He returned on 22 September 1626, thus having circumnavigated the globe, a feat in which he took much personal pride. On his return, he learned that his mother and sister had died; he remained on shore for one and a half years.
Capture of Spain's treasure fleet
In 1627, De With married for the first time, with his second cousin Maria de With from
Nieuwenhoorn
Nieuwenhoorn is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located in the municipality of Voorne aan Zee, about 3 km north of Hellevoetsluis city centre.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1390 as "van den nuwen hoern" ...
. In April 1628, their first child, Cornelis, died. The same year, De With, entering the service of the
WIC
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an American federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for healthcare and nutritio ...
, became
flag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...
on the ''Amsterdam'' to Admiral
Piet Heyn
Piet Pieterszoon Hein (25 November 1577 – 18 June 1629) was a Dutch admiral and privateer for the Dutch Republic during the Eighty Years' War. Hein was the first and the last to capture a large part of a Spanish treasure fleet which tra ...
during an expedition from 20 May to capture the
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet ( es, Flota de Indias, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the es, label=Spanish, plata meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to ...
. In September this attack was successful near
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. On 10 January 1629 the fleet returned to the Republic. Out of the bounty of eleven million guilders, De With was granted about 500 guilders, with which he was very dissatisfied, as he imputed to himself a crucial role in the capture by taking a
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
in August, the crew of which provided essential information regarding the whereabouts of the treasure fleet.
In 1629, the five
Dutch admiralties
The Dutch Republic had five admiralties:
# Admiralty of Amsterdam (1586–1795)
# Admiralty of Friesland (1596–1795)
# Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier (1589–1795)
# Admiralty of Rotterdam (1574–1795)
# Admiralty of Zeeland (1584–1795)
Al ...
refused to allow Heyn, effectively their new supreme commander, to enlarge his staff with a special tactical-operational officer, for which function Heyn had De With in mind. De With now hoped to be appointed flag captain on the ''Vlieghende Groene Draeck'', but Maerten Tromp was chosen instead. De With was made captain of the ''Prins Hendrik'' in June; the same month Heyn was killed in action. Disappointed and despairing of ever being promoted, De With left direct naval service in November.
In September, his daughter Cornelia was born. From May 1630 to 1633, De With was Commodore of the ''Grote Visserij'', the administrative body controlling and militarily protecting the Herring Fleet. The change, however, was largely a formality as regular warships were used for this task: De With remained captain of the ''Prins Hendrik'' and functioned as flag captain whenever admirals had to make use of this vessel.
In May 1631, his first wife died. In August, he remarried the eighteen-year-old Hillegonda van Goch, the daughter of a Rotterdam patrician. In 1633, his second son Cornelis was born, but the boy died in July 1634. Early in 1634, De With rejoined the navy for four months when Lieutenant-Admiral
Philips van Dorp
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered ...
used the ''Prins Hendrik'' as his flagship for an expedition in the
Gulf of Biscay. During the voyage it became clear that Vice-Admiral
Jasper Liefhebber resented the domineering attitude of De With. Tensions between the two men became unbearable, and De With left his ship and thus the navy in the middle of the campaign. From October 1635 to October 1636, he was
schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive).
In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...
in Brill; in 1636 also, his fourth child was born, Maria. In October 1637, he was appointed
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
in Brill. De With now mainly lived from rent on the land inherited from his parents, supplemented by a share in a river fishing vessel.
Battle of the Downs
![Witte Corneliszoon de With](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Witte_Corneliszoon_de_With.JPG)
Not only De With but also Tromp had left the navy after a conflict with Van Dorp. The fact that the two most talented Dutch navy officers had been sidetracked was caused by an attempt by
stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
Frederick Henry to centralise the cumbersome Dutch naval administration with its five admiralties. Both Van Dorp and Liefhebber were brave men but poor managers. Overworked by the many difficulties and political strife the reorganisation brought with it, they had feared to be replaced by the younger and more competent Tromp and De With. Their removal however, only delayed the inevitable.
In the summer of 1637 the fleet supply system collapsed, bringing the hungry and thirsty sailors on the brink of a general mutiny. 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 ...
repeatedly broke through the Dutch blockade of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.[Charles I of England
Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...]
exploited the crisis to force Dutch North Sea herring fishers to pay for fishing permits. All that caused such an outcry that when Van Dorp offered his resignation, Frederick Henry was forced to accept it, also firing Liefhebber, replacing them on 29 October with Tromp and De With. However, De With was again to be severely disappointed when he was refused supreme command; as Vice-Admiral of Holland and West Frisia, he was second in command under Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp.
In 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 ...
against the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, De With fought at the
Battle of the Downs
The Battle of the Downs took place on 21 October 1639 (New Style), during the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, was decisively defeated by a Dutch force under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. Vict ...
(1639). De With became very jealous of Tromp's popularity after his destruction of the Spanish fleet in
The Downs. In the same battle, he made an enemy of Zealandic Vice-Admiral
Johan Evertsen
Johan Evertsen (1 February 1600 – 5 August 1666) was a Dutch admiral who was born in the 17th century.
Early life
Like his five brothers, Evertsen started his military career as a lieutenant after the death of his father, "Captain Jan". He q ...
and accused him of cowardice and avarice.
Court martial
In 1640, De With was brought to trial when, his fleet having been dispersed by a storm, he had returned to
Hellevoetsluis
Hellevoetsluis () is a small city and municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located in Voorne-Putten, South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and it includes the population centres Nieuw-Helvoet, Nieuwenhoorn ...
alone. The court martial was presided by
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy.
Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...
and though he was acquitted, De With had the compulsive notion that Tromp had tried to influence witnesses against him. Both in 1644 and 1645, De With, along with an enormous convoy of merchantmen (702 on the return voyage of the latter year) forced
the Sound against the Danes, who had tried to impose higher toll rates.
In 1647, De With was sent with a poorly equipped fleet to assist the Dutch colony of
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 ...
from attack by the Portuguese. He refused to cooperate with the
Council of Brazil and, after many months of conflict during which his fleet deteriorated through lack of supplies, he returned against orders with the two remaining seaworthy ships to the Netherlands in November 1649.
On his return, he went to the
States-General to complain about the policy of the colony of Brazil but was himself arrested, charged of insubordination and desertion on 259 points and nearly condemned to decapitation. He was saved only by the intervention of the
States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...
, which pointed out their exclusive right to condemn admirals to death.
In February 1651, he was acquitted of most charges, the punishment being reduced to a loss of wages for the period involved. In September 1651, De With was again on convoy duty.
The First Anglo-Dutch War
In the
First Anglo-Dutch War
The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...
against the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...
, when Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp in the autumn of 1652 fell in disgrace with the
States-General, De With commanded the Dutch fleet at the
Battle of the Kentish Knock
The Battle of the Kentish Knock (or the Battle of the Zealand Approaches) was a naval battle between the fleets of the Dutch Republic and England, fought on 28 September 1652 (8 October Gregorian calendar), during the First Anglo-Dutch War near t ...
but failed in his mission. Morally broken, he remained ill at home for many months, while Tromp replaced him for the
Battle of Dungeness
The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 (10 December in the Gregorian calendar) during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent.
Background
In September 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of En ...
and the
Battle of Portland
The naval Battle of Portland, or Three Days' Battle took place during 18–20 February 1653 (28 February – 2 March 1653 (Gregorian calendar)), during the First Anglo-Dutch War, when the fleet of the Commonwealth of England under General at ...
. On 8 May Tromp officially became supreme commander again and De With fought as subcommander under Tromp in the subsequent actions: the
Battle of the Gabbard
The naval Battle of the Gabbard, also known as the Battle of Gabbard Bank, the Battle of the North Foreland or the Second Battle of Nieuwpoort took place on 2–3 June 1653 (12–13 June 1653 Gregorian calendar). during the First Anglo-Dutch War ...
and the final
Battle of Scheveningen
The Battle of Scheveningen (also known as the Battle of Ter Heijde) was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 31 July 1653 (10 August on the Gregorian calendar), between the fleets of the Commonwealth of England ...
in which Tromp died. De With was temporary commander between 14 August and 22 September but was denied permanent command of the Dutch fleet because of his difficult personality in favour of Lieutenant-Admiral
Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam
Jacob, Banner Lord of Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek, Opmeer, Zuidwijk and Kernhem (1610 – 13 June 1665) was a Dutch nobleman who became lieutenant admiral, and supreme commander of the navy of the Dutch Republic. The name ''Obd ...
. Between 1654 and 1656 he was inactive, only sailing again for the relief of
Danzig.
Death in the Battle of the Sound
![Wittedewith grafmonument](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Wittedewith_grafmonument.jpg)
De With met his end in November 1658 at the
Battle of the Sound
The Battle of the Sound was a naval engagement which took place on 8 November 1658 (29 October O.S.) during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Øresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had invaded Denmark and an army ...
, during the
Northern Wars
"Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. An internationally agreed-on nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised. While the Great Northern War is gen ...
, commanding the vanguard of the Dutch fleet relieving
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
from the Swedish. His ship; the ''
Brederode'', was grounded and surrounded by the enemy at
Oresund. He was first shot through the left thigh by a musket ball and hours later through the breast. When Swedish soldiers boarded the ship he refused to surrender his sword, wrestling with two of them on his knees and exclaiming: "I have faithfully wielded this sword so many years for Holland, so I won't give it up now to some common soldiers!" He collapsed, was brought to his cabin to recover, insisted on walking by himself over the gangplank to the Swedish ship, collapsed again and died. His body was embalmed on orders of
Charles X of Sweden
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...
and displayed as a war trophy in the town hall of
Elsinore by the Swedes, who, in January 1659, delivered his body to the Danish court in Copenhagen; after the Danes had paid their homage, it was transported to the Netherlands and buried with great pomp in Rotterdam on 7 October, in the
church of St Lawrence, where the marble grave memorial, restored after being damaged by the
German bombardment of 14 May 1940, can still be seen.
The arch-rivalry with Tromp
De With had a lifelong rivalry with Admiral
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy.
Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...
. As Dutch naval historian
Johan Carel Marinus Warnsinck J.C.M. Warnsinck (11 November 1882, Hoogwoud, North Holland - 21 July 1943, The Hague) was a Dutch naval officer and naval historian.
Johan Carel Marinus Warnsinck was the son of the notary Cornelis Warnsinck and his wife, Tettje Halbertsma. He e ...
put it: "He was feared and hated by his inferiors (on several occasions, crews refused to let him on board to use their ship as flagship), shunned by his equals and always full of insubordination against his superiors". De With was also seen as courageous, competent and an excellent sailor. He was embittered by the neglect of the fleet between 1639 and 1650.
Pamphleteer
One of the more remarkable aspects of De With's personality was his being a notorious
pamphleteer
Pamphleteer is a historical term for someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (and therefore inexpensive) booklets intended for wide circulation.
Context
Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions: to articulate a polit ...
, publishing many booklets, anonymously or under the name of friends, in which he sometimes praised but more often ridiculed or even insulted his fellow officers. Tromp was a favourite subject for all three categories.
References
* Warnsinck, J.C.M., 1938, ''Drie zeventiende-eeuwsche admiraals : Piet Heyn, Witte de With, Jan Evertsen''
* Doedens, A., 2008, ''Witte de With 1599-1658 — Wereldwijde strijd op zee in de Gouden eeuw'', Hilversum, Verloren,
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:With, Witte de
1599 births
1658 deaths
17th-century Dutch military personnel
Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic
Dutch naval personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars
Dutch military personnel killed in action
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)
Sailors on ships of the Dutch East India Company
People from Brielle