– Mocha, Yemen, August 1626) was a merchant in service of the Dutch East India Company.
Van Speult left the island Texel in 1613, heading for Bantam and arrived after a journey of ten months.
[2] On 27 February 1623, Van Speult ordered the beheading of Gabriel Towerson, the English East India Company's chief factor or merchant at Ambon, along with nine other Englishmen, ten Japanese and a Portuguese.
The men were accused of plotting to kill Van Speult and overthrown the Dutch garrison.
[3] The incident became known as the Amboyna massacre and remained a source of tension between the two nations until late in the 17th century.