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]

History

Van Hoven had been first mate aboard the ship Fortune, seized for piracy in 1698.[2] 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.[2] 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.”[2]

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.”[3] 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)[4] staged a mutiny, seizing the Providence and marooning Van Hoven with several others a few miles from Nassau.[5] 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.[2]

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.[2] He protested that he had only taken Spanish ships[6] 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.”[2] His reprieve was denied and he was hung in Nassau.[7] 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.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Headlam, Cecil; Fortescue, Sir John William (1908). Calendar of State Papers: Colonial series ... London: Longman. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 658. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 Barratt, Peter (2004). Bahama Saga: The epic story of the Bahama Islands. Bloomington IN: Author House. ISBN 9781410798305. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  7. ↑ 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.
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