Filips van Zuylen

Filips van Zuylen was a Dutch corsair active in the 1620s. As part of the Groot Desseyn plan, he was particularly active against the Portuguese in West Africa but failed to capture the colony of Luanda, an important center for the Atlantic slave trade, in early 1624. After this initial defeat he decided to wait for reinforcements from Brazil before making a second attempt, this time with fellow corsair Piet Heyn, in October of that same year. While approaching from the south Heyn missed van Zuylen's 3-ship squadron, waiting to the north of Loanda, and decided to go ahead with the attack on his own. Heyn's fleet suffered a disastrous defeat as a result. Many of his ships became stuck in the shallows just outside Loanda and, when other ships stopped to free them, made easy targets for the Portuguese cannons.[1][2] Heyn quickly realized that his seven ships could not breach the colony's heavily defended fortifications. Following a failed nighttime sortie against Portuguese merchant ships moored in the harbor, he ordered a withdrawal and the Dutch corsair fleet retreated back to friendly ports.[3] In 1641, another Dutch corsair, named Cornelis Jol, succeeded in capturing Luanda after a brutal battle. Nevertheless, the colony did not last long under Dutch rule, as it was recaptured by the Portuguese in 1643.[4]

Filips van Zuylen
Piratical career
TypeDutch corsair
AllegianceThe Netherlands
Years active1620s
RankAdmiral

References
  1. Howgego, Raymond John. Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800: A Comprehensive Reference Guide to the History and Literature of Exploration, Travel and Colonization front the Earliest Times to the Year 1800. Potts Point, NSW: Hodern House, 2003. (pg. 508) ISBN 1-875567-36-4
  2. Bruyneel, M. (December 28, 2007). "Piet Heyn (1577-1629)". Constitution.org.
  3. Postma, Johannes. Riches from Atlantic Commerce: Dutch Transatlantic Trade and Shipping, 1585-1817. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003. (pg. 89) ISBN 90-04-12562-0
  4. Ratelband, Klaas, Nederlanders in West-Afrika, 1600-1650. Zutphen, 2003.

Further reading
  • Doedens, A. Witte de With 1599-1658: Wereldwijde strijd op zee in de Gouden Eeuw. Hilversum, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Verloren, 2008. ISBN 90-8704-060-1
  • Heijer, H. J. den. De geschiedenis van de WIC. Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1994. ISBN 90-6011-912-6
  • Visser, Wendy de. Piet Hein en de Zilvervloot: Oorlog en Handel in de West. Hilversum, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Verloren, 2001. ISBN 90-6550-454-0


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