Biography:Captured a Spanish treasure fleet in 1628 with 4,000,000 ducats of gold and silver. An amount so large it increased the price of silver worldwide and almost bankrupted the Spanish Empire.
Born:November 25, 1577 Birthplace:Delfshaven, County of Holland, Holy Roman Empire Star Sign:Sagittarius
Died:June 18, 1629 (aged 51) Cause of Death: Hit in the left shoulder by a cannonball and killed instantly during a skirmish with privateers near Dunkirk
Historical Events
1624-05-10 Dutch admirals Jacob Willekens and Piet Heyn conquer Salvador da Bahia, the capital of Brazil and a Portuguese stronghold
1627-03-03 Dutch privateer Piet Heyn attacks and conquers 22 Portuguese ships in Bay of Salvador, Brazil
1627-06-10 Dutch privateer Piet Heyn attacks Portuguese ships in the Bay of All Saints, Brazil
1628-09-08 Dutch privateer Piet Heyn captures Spanish silver fleet in the Bay of Matanzas, Cuba
1629-06-18 Sea battle at Dungeness: Piet Heyn beats the Dunkirkers, commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish Monarchy
Grace Hopper
Reinhard Scheer
William B. Cushing
Anne Bonny
Bartholomew Roberts
Henry Morgan