Jacob van Heemskerk (3 March 1567 – 25 April 1607) was a Dutchexplorer and later admiral commanding the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Gibraltar. Brother of Cornelis van "Heemskerck" (historically correct spelling) himself a less renowned explorer of Brazil.[1]
The Netherlands is a country located mainly in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian.
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies, and in many navies is the highest rank. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM". The rank is generally thought to have originated in Sicily from a conflation of Arabic: أمير البحر, amīr al-baḥr, "commander of the sea", with Latin admirabilis ("admirable") or admiratus ("admired"), although alternative etymologies derive the word directly from Latin, or from the Turkish military and naval rank miralay. The French version – amiral without the additional d – tends to add evidence for the Arab origin.
A fleet or naval fleet is a large formation of warships, which is controlled by one leader and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land.
An 1863 painting showing Barentsz and Van Heemskerk charting their route.
Jacob van Heemskerk was born in Amsterdam[2] in 1567. He is described as having delicate feature, large brown eyes, a thin high nose, fair hair and beard, and a soft gentle expression. Under a quiet exterior and plain dress were a daring nature and indomitable ambition for military and naval distinction.[3]
Amsterdam is the capital city and most populous municipality of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 854,047 within the city proper, 1,357,675 in the urban area and 2,410,960 in the metropolitan area. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country but is not its capital, which is Haarlem. The Amsterdam metropolitan area comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, which has a population of approximately 8.1 million.
Van Heemskerk's early fame arose from an attempt to discover an Arctic passage from Europe to China (the Northeast Passage). Two vessels sailed from Amsterdam on 10 May 1596, under the command of van Heemskerck and Jan Rijp. Willem Barentsz accompanied Heemskerck as pilot, and Gerrit de Veer, the historian of the voyage, was on board as mate.
The Arctic is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Alaska, Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Northern Canada, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost -containing tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places.
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia.
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion. Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the third- or fourth-largest country by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
The masses of ice in the straits leading to the Kara Sea, and the impenetrable nature of the pack near Novaya Zemlya, had suggested the advisability of avoiding the land and, by keeping a northerly course, of seeking a passage in the open sea. They sailed northwards, and on 9 June discovered Bear Island in the Barents Sea. Continuing on the same course they sighted a mountainous snow-covered land in about 80 N. lat., soon afterwards being stopped by the polar pack ice. This important discovery was named Spitsbergen (now known as Svalbard), and was believed (incorrectly) to be a part of Greenland.
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. It is named after the Kara River, which is now relatively insignificant but which played an important role in the Russian conquest of northern Siberia. The Kara River name is derived from Nenets word meaning "hummocked ice".
Novaya Zemlya, also known as Nova Zembla, is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean in northern Russia and the extreme northeast of Europe, the easternmost point of Europe lying at Cape Flissingsky on the Northern island. West of Novaya Zemlya is the Barents Sea, and to the east is the Kara Sea.
Bear Island is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island is located in the western part of the Barents Sea, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape.
Arriving at Bear Island again on 1 July, Rijp parted company, while Heemskerck and Barents proceeded eastward, intending to pass round the northern extreme of Novaya Zemlya. On 26 August they reached Ice Haven, after rounding the northern extremity of the land. Here their vessel became anchored in ice and they wintered[2] in a house built out of driftwood and planks from the tween decks and the deck-house of the vessel.
On 13 June they made their way in two open boats to the Lapland coast; but Barents died during the voyage, on 20 June. This was the first time that an arctic winter was successfully faced; The voyage stands in the first rank among the polar enterprises of the 16th century, and led to a flourishing whale and seal fisheries which long enriched the Netherlands.
Sápmi is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people. Sápmi is located in Northern Europe and includes the northern parts of Fennoscandia. The region stretches over four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. On the north it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the west by the Norwegian Sea and on the east by the White Sea.
The Indies
He later commanded several voyages to the East Indies, setting up trading posts on various islands.[2] On May 1, 1598 Van Heemskerck set out from Texel in a fleet of eight ships bound for the East and returned on May 19, 1600. He sailed out again the following year in a combined fleet of thirteen ships with Admiral Wolphert Harmensz. The fleet split at the Azores with Harmensz going to Mauritius and Van Heemskerck heading straight for the Moluccas.[4]
J. K. J. de Jonge described him as "… less of a rough sailor, more of a Drake or a Cavendish, a gentleman adventurer, somewhat proud and lofty, but polished and afraid of naught."[4] When reproached by a factor in Madura for risking the company's property, Van Heemskerck responded, "Where we risk our lives, the gentlemen of the Company must risk their ships and cargoes."[4] He knew how to inspire his men with a blind confidence in himself. When Van Heemskerck was on board the sailors felt safe. A battle they termed a "Heemskerck fight".[4]
Van Heemskerck later served as a vice admiral, protecting Dutch merchant shipping on voyages to China and the East Indies, participating in the second Dutch expedition to Indonesia. He died as a result of leg wounds caused by a cannonball, during the Battle of Gibraltar, an engagement in which a Spanish fleet of 21 vessels was entirely destroyed.[3] His body was returned to Amsterdam to be buried with full honours in the old Church. His suit of armour – minus a thigh plate shattered by the fatal cannonball—is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
↑ Book name: "Journael oft daghelijcx-register van de voyagie na Rio de Plata, ghedaen met het schip ghenoemt de Silveren Werelt". Last sold early 2015 at auction for sold for 43,000 €. A reference is made in the book of Cornelis's Famous brother (Admiral) Jacob van Heemskerck see Rare Book: Amsterdam, Cornelis Claesz. (colophon: printed by Cornelis Claesz., bookseller), 1603. Oblong 4to. 17th-century(?) gold-tooled vellum, sewn on 3 cords, each board with an arabesque centrepiece and double fillets, cloth ties, later endpapers. With a large engraving on the title-page, 5 engraved plates (1 nautical chart and 4 views, numbered [1], 2–3, [4], 5). Plate 4 sophisticated from a later edition. [2], 49 pp.
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