Pedro de la Plesa

Pedro de la Plesa (fl. 1622) was a 17th-century Spanish privateer. He served as a Dunkirker in the service of the Spanish Crown during the Eighty Years' War. He and Juan Garcia gained notoriety for abandoning their comrade Captain Jan Jacobsen in his final naval battle against the Dutch Republic.

Pedro de la Plesa
Born
Spain
Piratical career
TypePrivateer
AllegianceSpanish Empire
Years active1620s
RankCaptain
Base of operationsDuinkerken
Battles/warsEighty Years' War

Biography

In October 1622, he left from Duinkerken along with Juan Garcia and Jan Jacobsen in an attempt to break through the enemy blockade. However, de la Plesa was immediately sighted by a passing Dutch yacht as he sailed out of Oostende. The ship's captain, Jacob Volckertzoon Vinck, cut his mooring lines and sailed out to a nearby fleet under Admiral Harman Kleuter. Being informed of the Dunkirkers activities, he set out after them at once. He was later joined by another squadron from Den Briel under the command of Captain Lambert Hendrikszoon. As the combined fleet appeared, the two Spaniards realizing they were outnumbered chose to retreat. Sailing toward England, Jan Jacobsen chose to fight the nine pursuing warships. Whether Jacobsen had decided to make a final stand or to cover the retreat of Juan Garcia and Pedro de la Plesa is uncertain, however he died in the long, hard-fought battle.[1]

gollark: But surely, since something something symmetry group, they could only rotate it 8 times before it was just the same?
gollark: Also, we own the copyright on that via having one of our computers enumerate all words.
gollark: Actually, our work is mostly hyperreal or semiapioirreal these days.
gollark: I suppose you're just bad at detecting our subplanck monitoring/computing stations.
gollark: UCorp™™.

References
  1. Bruyneel, M. (2005). "Privateers and Pirates: Pedro de la Plesa". Isle of Tortuga.

Further reading
  • Duquesne, Jacques. Jean Bart. Paris: Seuil, 1992.
  • Histoire de la Société Dunkerquoise. Mémoires de la Société Dunkerquoise pour L'Encouragement des Sciences, des Lettres et des Arts. Dunkerque: Typographie de Vanderest, 1855.
  • Vrijman, L.C. Kaapvaart en zeerooverij; uit de geschiedenis der vrije nering in de Lage Landen. Amsterdam: P.N. van Kampen & Zoon, 1983.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.