Jan Van Hasel

[6] In 1624, a Spanish ship sailing from Siam where it had taken shelter as a result of a storm, attacked the passing Dutch yacht Zeelandt at night.

King Songtham of Ayutthaya sent a message to the Spanish commander, Don Fernando de Silva stating that he should return the ship and set the crew free, since it was captured in Siamese territorial waters.

The request was refused rudely and as a result, the Spanish docked in Siam was attacked and the Zeelandt captured by the Siamese.

In order to negotiate the cargo, the Governor General in Batavia, Pieter de Carpentier, sent Van Hasel to Siam.

[7] In 1628, Van Hasel was appointed the head of the VOC trade mission to the prosperous Mughal port city of Surat.