Hendrick van Hoven
Hendrick van Hoven (died 1699, also named Hendrygo van Goven, alias Hind, Hine, Hynd, or Hynde) was a Dutch buccaneer and pirate active in the Caribbean. He was known as “the grand pirate of the West Indies.”[1]
Hendrick van Hoven | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1699 |
| Nationality | Netherlands |
| Other names | Hendrygo van Goven |
| Occupation | Buccaneer |
| Years active | 1699 |
| Piratical career | |
| Nickname | “the grand pirate of the West Indies.” |
| Other names | Hind |
| Commands | Providence |
History
Van Hoven had been first mate aboard Thomas Mostyn's ship Fortune[2], seized for piracy in 1698.[3] All records of Hendrick van Hoven’s own piracy take place in 1699, beginning in March when he used his brigantine to take a sloop. Another sloop captain reported a pirate robbing several ships near Tortuga in April; this was probably Van Hoven, as over the next month he was identified as robbing 18 more ships in the same area.[3] With a wife and children in New York, he was often cited as “Hine of New York”; Governor Bellomont of New York described him as “a bloody villain, has murthered several men, and will give no quarter, they say, to Spaniards that he takes.”[3]
Van Hoven captured the 22-gun ship Providence of pirate hunter William Rhett (who would go on to capture Stede Bonnet) in April 1699; Rhett made “a very generous defence, but was outdone and taken by the said Pirate.”[4] Van Hoven’s crew was a mix of Dutch, French, English, and other sailors; the English under John James (who may have been with Van Hoven since 1697)[5] staged a mutiny, seizing the Providence and marooning Van Hoven with several others a few miles from Nassau.[6] James sailed north, and some reports of his activities mistakenly placed Van Hoven still in command of the Providence until word got out of James’ identity.[3]
Captured by Bahamas Governor Read Elding, Van Hoven was put on trial in October 1699 with several of his crewmates; some of his men had been executed the previous month.[3] He protested that he had only taken Spanish ships[7] and quoted the Biblical trials of King David and Hezekiah before petitioning for a reprieve: “if it cannot be fifteen days, let it be ten; if it cannot be ten, let it be five … to help me save that dear jewel my soul.”[3] His reprieve was denied and he was hanged in Nassau.[8] Former members of his crew threatened Elding, promising to avenge their Captain.[1] Reportedly Van Hoven mumbled about hidden treasure in the southern Bahamas before dying.[7]
See also
- Admiralty court, the venue in which Van Hoven was tried and convicted.
References
- Riley, Sandra; Peters, Thelma B. (2000). Homeward Bound: A History of the Bahama Islands to 1850 with a Definitive Study of Abaco in the American Loyalist Plantation Period. Miami FL: RILEY HALL. ISBN 9780966531022. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- Chapin, Howard M. (1926). Privateer Ships and Sailors: The First Century of American Colonial Privateering, 1625-1725. Paris: Imprimerie G. Mouton. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
- Headlam, Cecil; Fortescue, Sir John William (1908). Calendar of State Papers: Colonial series ... London: Longman. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- Little, Benerson (2010). Pirate Hunting: The Fight Against Pirates, Privateers, and Sea Raiders from Antiquity to the Present. Washington DC: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 9781597975889. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- Donnelly, Mark P.; Diehl, Daniel (2012). Pirates of Virginia: Plunder and High Adventure on the Old Dominion Coastline. Mechanicsburg PA: Stackpole Books. p. 56. ISBN 9780811745833. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 658. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- Barratt, Peter (2004). Bahama Saga: The epic story of the Bahama Islands. Bloomington IN: Author House. ISBN 9781410798305. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- Craton, Michael (1992). Islanders in the Stream: From aboriginal times to the end of slavery. Athens GA: University of Georgia Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780820313825. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
