Fish
10-23-06, 04:01 AM
Now we have a General Topic, why not a Admiral topic.
I start with Michiel Adrianson de Ruyter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michiel_de_Ruyter
De Ruyter was born in 1607 in Flushing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing%2C_Netherlands) (Vlissingen) as son of a beer porter. Little is known about De Ruyter's early life, but he probably became a sailor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor) at the age of 11. In 1622 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1622) he fought as a musketeer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musketeer) in in the Dutch army under Maurice of Nassau (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_of_Nassau) against the Spaniards during the relief of Bergen-op-Zoom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen-op-Zoom). That same year he rejoined the Dutch merchant fleet and steadily worked his way up. According to English sources he was active in Dublin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin) between 1623 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1623) and 1631 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1631) as an agent for the Vlissingen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlissingen)-based merchant house of the Lampsins brothers. Although Dutch sources have no data about his whereabouts in those years, it is known that De Ruyter spoke Irish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language) fluently. He would occasionally travel as supercargo to the Mediterranean or the Barbary Coast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Coast). In those years he referred to himself as "Machgyel Adriensoon", his name in the Zealandic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealandic) dialect he spoke, not having yet adopted the name "De Ruyter".
I start with Michiel Adrianson de Ruyter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michiel_de_Ruyter
De Ruyter was born in 1607 in Flushing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing%2C_Netherlands) (Vlissingen) as son of a beer porter. Little is known about De Ruyter's early life, but he probably became a sailor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor) at the age of 11. In 1622 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1622) he fought as a musketeer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musketeer) in in the Dutch army under Maurice of Nassau (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_of_Nassau) against the Spaniards during the relief of Bergen-op-Zoom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen-op-Zoom). That same year he rejoined the Dutch merchant fleet and steadily worked his way up. According to English sources he was active in Dublin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin) between 1623 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1623) and 1631 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1631) as an agent for the Vlissingen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlissingen)-based merchant house of the Lampsins brothers. Although Dutch sources have no data about his whereabouts in those years, it is known that De Ruyter spoke Irish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language) fluently. He would occasionally travel as supercargo to the Mediterranean or the Barbary Coast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Coast). In those years he referred to himself as "Machgyel Adriensoon", his name in the Zealandic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealandic) dialect he spoke, not having yet adopted the name "De Ruyter".