Jan van Speyk

Lieutenant-Commander Jan Carel Josephus van Speijk (31 January 1802 – 5 February 1831), also known as van Speyk, was a Royal Netherlands Navy officer who became a public hero in the Netherlands for his opposition to the Belgian Revolution.

Early life

Born in Amsterdam in the Batavian Commonwealth on 13 January 1802, van Speijk was orphaned at the age of 10. When he was 18 years old, he joined the Royal Netherlands Navy after having been refused once prior and served in the Dutch East Indies from 1823 to 1825. He engaged in anti-piracy operations in Bangka Island and Java, which earned him the nickname "Terror of the Bandits" . Van Speijk also served in the First Bone War while in the East Indies.

Belgian Revolution and death

When the Belgian Revolution began, van Speijk was given command of Gunboat ., a small sailing ship armed with one large cannon and multiple smaller ordinances. He was tasked with inspecting all ships going to and from Antwerp since that city had joined the rebellion in early October 1830. Van Speijk participated in the bombardment of Antwerp on October 27. The role of the soldiers in the storming of the ship was limited, however. According to the Dutch fusilier Johannes van Oostendorp, there was a truce in effect at that time. In his eyewitness account, he describes how "the mob" attacked the ship without the support of the soldiers. A number of them reportedly jumped onto his ship to seize the flag. Following this, Van Speijk allegedly went to the cabin, supposedly to retrieve some papers. By sticking his smoldering cigar into a barrel of gunpowder, he then blew up the ship. According to legend, he is said to have spoken the historic last words: "...and become an infamous Brabander? I'd rather be blown up then!" However, a number of sources have cast doubt on the veracity of these words. His supposed last words originate from a letter to his cousin on December 19, 1830, in which he wrote about preferring to blow himself and his ship up rather than surrender to the Belgians, modeling himself after Reinier Claeszen, a war hero during the Eighty Years' War who had similarly blown his ship up to prevent it falling into the hands of the Spanish in 1606.

Twenty-eight of his 31 crewmen also perished in the blast. At least three to seven Belgians, including the two officers who had gone on board, died during the explosion, and the true total has been estimated in the dozens. In 1832, his remains were buried in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, where the remains of Dutch naval hero Michiel de Ruyter are also interred. For his actions related to the bombardment of Antwerp, as captain of Gunboat Number 2, van Speijk was decorated with the Knight's Cross (4th class) of the Military Order of William. A national memorial in his honour is located at the J.C.J. van Speijk Lighthouse in Egmond aan Zee.

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