10 Facts About Cornelis Jol

Cornelis Jol was one of several early buccaneers to attack Campeche, looting the settlement in 1633, and was active against the Spanish in the Spanish Main and throughout the Caribbean during the 1630s and 40s.

Cornelis Jol was therefore nicknamed Houtebeen, and became one of the earliest documented pirates to use a wooden peg leg.

Cornelis Jol hailed from the fishing borough of Scheveningen, administratively a part of The Hague.

Cornelis Jol joined the Dutch West India Company in 1626 and quickly climbed the ranks to become admiral.

Cornelis Jol crossed the Atlantic Ocean nine times to attack the Spanish and Portuguese along the coast of Brazil and in the Caribbean.

Cornelis Jol commanded a squadron of seven ships at the Battle of the Downs under admiral Maarten Tromp, a decisive defeat of the Spanish, in 1639.

In 1641, Cornelis Jol set out from Brazil for the coast of Africa, where he took the city of Luanda and the island of Sao Tome from the Portuguese.

Cornelis Jol's son, called Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol, pursued a career at sea as well and served as an officer in the Dutch navy.

Cornelis Jol was captain of the Leiden, under admiral Maarten Tromp during the First Anglo-Dutch War.

Erstwhile AFC Ajax trainer Martin Cornelis Jol is a direct descendant.