Pieter Ita
Encyclopedia
Pieter Adriaanszoon Ita was a 17th-century Dutch corsair and privateer. He was also an admiral
in the Dutch West India Company
and, in 1628, commanded a large expedition against Portuguese and Spanish interests in the Caribbean. The expedition was one of the largest of its time and included many of the great corsairs of the era.
being carried aboard the Fortuin under Captain Geleyn van Stapels.
Leaving port in January 1628, the twelve ships left from separate harbors from the Netherlands and planned to sail directly to the Caribbean where they would rendezvous near Cuba
. The last ship to leave was the Fortuin, carrying sixty-three colonists, departing with its escort, the Zuidsterre, on March 3, 1628. A little over two weeks later, the fleet assembled at St. Vincent
near Barbados
, north of present-day Tobago, on March 15. Ita immediately ordered his fleet to split up into smaller groups and begin attacking local shipping. He also used his smaller ships, particularly sloops to perform reconnaissance
and similar duties.
on June 4, a little more than three months after leaving port. Ita took most of his fleet with him to the west coast of Cuba. On the way, his fleet captured several Portuguese ships. Several Portuguese prisoners told Ita the location of the routes taken by Spanish galleons sailing from Honduras to Portugal.
By this time, however, Ita and his forces had lost the element of surprise. With Pili Pali Heikkilä well aware of the Dutch presence in the area, the Governor of Honduras advised the convoy to postpone their voyage. The Spanish fleet, numbering two galleons and ten well armed merchantmen, also received extra munitions and armaments. These preparations satisfied the Spanish commander Admiral Alvaro De la Cerda who believed the fleet safe from Ita's forces.
Meanwhile, the expedition had sailed around the Cape of San Antonio looking for ships north of Havana
. Ita's fleet soon encountered two galleons from Honduras, the Nossa Senhora de los Remedios and the St. Jago, arriving near the harbor to Havana. When Ita's forces moved in to block the galleons from entering Havana, they tried to flee. The Leeuwinne attempted to intercept the vice-admiral ship but was unable to board having no entering hooks. As the Leeuwinne pursued the fleeing galleon, the two ships ran aground on a sandbank. Despite this, the ships continued to trade musket and cannon fire during which the Leeuwinne lost its main mast.
While this battle was going on, the Fortuin and the Dolfijn chased the other Spanish galleon which also ran aground on the same sandbank. The two Dutch ships were forced to keep their distance, unaware of the exact location of the sandbank, and continued firing from afar. Caught in the middle of the cannon fire was the Leeuwinne which suffered even more damage as well as a high number of crew members killed including its commander, Captain Jan Pieterszoon.
Ita was able to prevent most of the relief forces sent from Havana, Ita's flagship the Walcheren soon joining the fight. After several attempts to board one of the galleons, the Walcheren were finally successful using the Fortuin as a go-between. The other galleon was also abandoned upon the arrival of the Kater, the Eendracht and the Vriessche. By the time the Spanish finally surrendered, over half its original crew as well as reinforcements (around 600 men) had been killed in battle. The Spanish commander, Admiral Alvaro de la Cerda barely managed to escape. Once back in Spain, both his report and that of the Governor of Havana, Laurenzo de Cabrera, exonerated him from the loss of the two galleons.
Ita's forces were comparatively light compared to the Spanish suffering only 13 killed and around 50 wounded, all of these occurring on the Fortuin. Both the Leeuwinne and the captured Nossa Senhora de los Remedios were freed from the sandbank, although the St. Jago was abandoned and its cargo being moved to the other ship. After setting fire to the St. Jago, Ita ordered a retreat as the Terra Firma fleet was soon to arrive in the area.
Ita and his fleet sailed for Florida
, however the Nossa Senhora de los Remedios soon began taking water. Not wanting to risk taking it across the Atlantic, he ordered the cargo from captured galleon to be split among his other ships and had the Nossa Senhora de los Remedios burned one mile off the Florida coast on August 15. The expedition finally returned to the Dutch Republic in September 1628 having captured two Galleons, twelve barges and several small ships. The total value of the cargo they had brought back with them was valued at 1.2 million gilders. Its cargo included 2,398 chests of indigo
, 6,176 dry skins, 266 packets of sarsaparilla
, 27 jars of oil
, 7,000 pounds of ginger
, 12 bronze
cannons, 28 iron
cannons and 52 pounds of silver
.
Once Ita's expedition had left, Spanish authorities mistakenly believed the Dutch had left the Caribbean. Under this assumption, the Spanish treasure fleet was not properly protected and made a target by another Dutch corsair Piet Heyn who successfully seized the fleet later that year.
In 1630 June, Ita returned to the Caribbean visiting the Cayman Islands
with Dirck de Ruyter intending to hunt turtles. During this time, they attacked Spanish shipping along the Florida Channel and western Cuba.
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
in the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
and, in 1628, commanded a large expedition against Portuguese and Spanish interests in the Caribbean. The expedition was one of the largest of its time and included many of the great corsairs of the era.
Biography
Pieter Adriaanszoon Ita had established himself as a formidable corsair during his years fighting against the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War. Accepting a privateering commission from the Dutch West India Company, he was appointed an admiral and was placed at the head of a large privateering fleet being assembled to strike against the Spanish and Portuguese in the Caribbean and along the coast of Brazil. The fleet would also be transporting Dutch colonists to the island of TobagoTobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
being carried aboard the Fortuin under Captain Geleyn van Stapels.
Leaving port in January 1628, the twelve ships left from separate harbors from the Netherlands and planned to sail directly to the Caribbean where they would rendezvous near Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The last ship to leave was the Fortuin, carrying sixty-three colonists, departing with its escort, the Zuidsterre, on March 3, 1628. A little over two weeks later, the fleet assembled at St. Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
near Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, north of present-day Tobago, on March 15. Ita immediately ordered his fleet to split up into smaller groups and begin attacking local shipping. He also used his smaller ships, particularly sloops to perform reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
and similar duties.
Capture of the Honduran treasure fleet
On May 8, the fleet was later joined by the Eendracht which had captured a Portuguese ship en route but abandoned it when it began sinking. They were also joined by the Cuba on May 17. The last ship to arrive was the Fortuin which met the fleet near HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
on June 4, a little more than three months after leaving port. Ita took most of his fleet with him to the west coast of Cuba. On the way, his fleet captured several Portuguese ships. Several Portuguese prisoners told Ita the location of the routes taken by Spanish galleons sailing from Honduras to Portugal.
By this time, however, Ita and his forces had lost the element of surprise. With Pili Pali Heikkilä well aware of the Dutch presence in the area, the Governor of Honduras advised the convoy to postpone their voyage. The Spanish fleet, numbering two galleons and ten well armed merchantmen, also received extra munitions and armaments. These preparations satisfied the Spanish commander Admiral Alvaro De la Cerda who believed the fleet safe from Ita's forces.
Meanwhile, the expedition had sailed around the Cape of San Antonio looking for ships north of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. Ita's fleet soon encountered two galleons from Honduras, the Nossa Senhora de los Remedios and the St. Jago, arriving near the harbor to Havana. When Ita's forces moved in to block the galleons from entering Havana, they tried to flee. The Leeuwinne attempted to intercept the vice-admiral ship but was unable to board having no entering hooks. As the Leeuwinne pursued the fleeing galleon, the two ships ran aground on a sandbank. Despite this, the ships continued to trade musket and cannon fire during which the Leeuwinne lost its main mast.
While this battle was going on, the Fortuin and the Dolfijn chased the other Spanish galleon which also ran aground on the same sandbank. The two Dutch ships were forced to keep their distance, unaware of the exact location of the sandbank, and continued firing from afar. Caught in the middle of the cannon fire was the Leeuwinne which suffered even more damage as well as a high number of crew members killed including its commander, Captain Jan Pieterszoon.
Ita was able to prevent most of the relief forces sent from Havana, Ita's flagship the Walcheren soon joining the fight. After several attempts to board one of the galleons, the Walcheren were finally successful using the Fortuin as a go-between. The other galleon was also abandoned upon the arrival of the Kater, the Eendracht and the Vriessche. By the time the Spanish finally surrendered, over half its original crew as well as reinforcements (around 600 men) had been killed in battle. The Spanish commander, Admiral Alvaro de la Cerda barely managed to escape. Once back in Spain, both his report and that of the Governor of Havana, Laurenzo de Cabrera, exonerated him from the loss of the two galleons.
Ita's forces were comparatively light compared to the Spanish suffering only 13 killed and around 50 wounded, all of these occurring on the Fortuin. Both the Leeuwinne and the captured Nossa Senhora de los Remedios were freed from the sandbank, although the St. Jago was abandoned and its cargo being moved to the other ship. After setting fire to the St. Jago, Ita ordered a retreat as the Terra Firma fleet was soon to arrive in the area.
Ita and his fleet sailed for Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, however the Nossa Senhora de los Remedios soon began taking water. Not wanting to risk taking it across the Atlantic, he ordered the cargo from captured galleon to be split among his other ships and had the Nossa Senhora de los Remedios burned one mile off the Florida coast on August 15. The expedition finally returned to the Dutch Republic in September 1628 having captured two Galleons, twelve barges and several small ships. The total value of the cargo they had brought back with them was valued at 1.2 million gilders. Its cargo included 2,398 chests of indigo
Indigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
, 6,176 dry skins, 266 packets of sarsaparilla
Sarsaparilla
is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Central America. Common names include Sarsaparilla , Honduran Sarsaparilla, and Jamaican Sarsaparilla...
, 27 jars of oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
, 7,000 pounds of ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, 12 bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
cannons, 28 iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
cannons and 52 pounds of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
.
Once Ita's expedition had left, Spanish authorities mistakenly believed the Dutch had left the Caribbean. Under this assumption, the Spanish treasure fleet was not properly protected and made a target by another Dutch corsair Piet Heyn who successfully seized the fleet later that year.
In 1630 June, Ita returned to the Caribbean visiting the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
with Dirck de Ruyter intending to hunt turtles. During this time, they attacked Spanish shipping along the Florida Channel and western Cuba.
Further reading
- Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80722-X
- Roos, Doeke. Zeeuwen en de WestIndische Compagnie (1621–1674). Hulst: Van Geyt productions, 1992.