[1] Motivated by poverty during the upheavals of the Austrian War of Succession (1740–48), de Lichte led a gang of bandits who committed burglaries, robberies, and several murders in Flanders.

Jan De Lichte was born on 7 April 1723 in Velzeke in the County of Flanders to an impoverished peasant family with a long criminal history.

[1] Between 2 and 22 June 1744, the Hanoverian Army was stationed in Velzeke where De Lichte lived at the time, and left the village ruined and plundered.

[1] Between 8 October and 14 December 1748, 101 members of the gang were tried, six including De Lichte were put on the wheel, 19 were hanged, and the remainder were sent to the galleys.

[7] Roel D'Haese [nl] was commissioned to create a statue of Jan De Lichte by the Louis Paul Boon Society.