Jochem Swartenhont

Swartenhondt was born in Amsterdam, and started his career with the merchant fleet, becoming a cabin boy at age eleven.

Later he joined the army to fight against the Dunkirkers but in 1587 he was captured and forced to serve on the Habsburg galleys in Flanders; he managed to escape however and brought with him important intelligence about the Spanish Armada of 1588.

In 1599 he distinguished himself while serving as captain of a ship in a fleet under Vice-Admiral Pieter van der Does during an expedition to Gran Canaria.

From 1609 to 1620 he and his wife, Elisabeth Jacobs Bas (1571-1649), would keep the Prins van Oranje ("Prince of Orange") tavern in Amsterdam, a popular watering hole of many politicians, artists, and writers.

In 1620, when the truce was about to end, at his own request Jochem returned to the fleet as a Vice-Admiral; in 1621 he became Lieutenant-Admiral of Holland and West-Friesland and he commanded a large convoy to the Mediterranean and successfully defended it against an attack by a Spanish squadron.