Willem Crul

Schout-bij-nacht Willem Krul (28 March 1722 – 4 February 1781) was a Dutch States Navy officer who served in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. Born and raised in the Hague, Krul joined the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and made a voyage to Batavia between 1742 and 1744. He subsequently joined the Dutch navy and was made captain of a warship in 1752. In 1778, he was again employed by the VOC and was sent to the Dutch colony of Sint Eustatius. Following the outbreak of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War in December 1780, Krul escorted a convoy of 30 Dutch merchantmen from the West Indies to Holland. A British squadron followed the convoy and at the action of 4 February 1781 killed Krul and captured his ship. Though the entire convoy was captured as well, Krul's defence against the odds made him a national hero in the Dutch Republic.

Early life

Willem Krul was born on 28 March 1722 in the Hague, the son of Arie Krul and Elizabeth Maaskant. Raised in the Hague, Krul's father died shortly after his birth. On 8 February 1746 he married Catrina de Hoogh at the Hague, and together they had a son named Arie Hendrik Willem Krul.

Early naval service

Krul joined the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and in 1742 participated in a voyage to Batavia as a lieutenant on the East Indiaman Anna, returning to Holland in 1744. He subsequently joined the Dutch States Navy and was promoted to captain at sea, being appointed as the caption of Maze in 1752. After moving to Den Bosch in 1753, Krul bought a house in Vught for his mother and two of his then unmarried sisters, Alexandrina and Elizabeth. In 1759 he bought the manor of Landgoed Burgst located north of Breda.

Final assignment

Krul was again employed on 19 October 1778 by the VOC and stationed on the Dutch colony of Sint Eustatius which served as an entrepôt during the American Revolutionary War. In 1779, he was promoted to the rank of schout-bij-nacht. The Dutch, though their ports were protected by their neutral status, were at the center of the arms trade with the American Patriots and were supplying them via this isle with nearly half of their military supplies. This sort of trading with Britain's enemies is what instigated the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, in which Admiral of the White Sir George Rodney was subsequently sent to Sint Eustatius in 1781 to neutralize this trade. Shortly after he had captured Sint Eustatius, lying only 50 miles north of British Saint Kitts, Rodney learned that a convoy of 30 Dutch merchantmen richly laden with sugar and other commodities had just sailed for Holland under the escort of Mars, a 60-gun ship of the line commanded by Krul. Rodney immediately dispatched three ships, HMS Monarch, Panther and Sybil, under the command of Admiral Francis Reynolds, to give chase and capture the enormous 30 vessel prize, with orders to pursue them no further than the latitude of Bermuda.

Krul's convoy was soon located and overtaken near the small island of Sombrero, approximately 90 miles north of Saint Eustatius. After surrounding Krul's ship Reynolds called for the immediate and unconditional surrender of the convoy, which was pointedly declined by Krul who didn't know war on the Netherlands had been declared by Britain. During the ensuing engagement on 4 February 1781 Krul, with a single warship, resolved to uphold the honor of the Dutch flag and confront his pursuers with the hopes of giving the cargo ships a chance to escape. In so doing, however, he had grossly underestimated his opponent's overwhelming firepower. During the fierce thirty minute engagement Krul was mortally wounded. The scattered and defenseless convoy were immediately rounded up by Reynolds' faster war ships and escorted back to Saint Eustatius and taken as prizes of war. The body of Krul was safely preserved during the return voyage back to Saint Eustatius where he was buried with full military honors. The advent made him a national hero in the Netherlands, which soon inspired many works of art. The Rijksmuseum's collection contains at least 21 works of art relating to the naval battle and the death of Willem Krul.