How A Galley Slave Drove the Spanish Empire Into Bankruptcy

[@ChilledfishStick]

I always enjoy watching your videos despite my distaste for violence, but every time I keep wondering, what is the point of the work that went into gathering these bits of history? Why is the study of the misadventures of Charles the Bold, for example, important? Aside of being very interesting, of course. This question is not meant as an insult. I've been wondering about this for a long time. From Google, I get the usual answers. That by learning history, we learn not to repeat the same mistakes, for example. No examples are ever given for when history saved the day. Another popular answer, is that history teaches us about peoples, and their identities. My problem with that, is that identities are formed by what people are taught about what has happened, and not by what actually happened. The same is true for religion. Whether those are true or not, is incidental, in my opinion. If anyone has an opinion about the issue, please be civil.

[@antonjanssen3549]

I would offer the counterpoint that history saved the day so often that even the people involved don't realize it happened. In any society throughout human existence children are exposed to historical teachings from very early on. Wether it be a retelling of an old tribal war by a shaman, a theater piece based on true events, conserved in a religious text or written down in your school textbook matters not. There is no escape from retellings of the past, and they will shape the very way you think and feel. And a surprising lot of the things you take for granted or conmon sense will be influenced by someones fuckup a hundred, a thousand or ten thousand years ago. And every decision you take will subtly or directly be influenced by it. So I do think it makes great sense to assure the accuracy of these retellings...

[@ChilledfishStick]

@@antonjanssen3549 Unfortunately, there's no way for us to check your hypothesis. Regardless, since we can never have a full picture of what happened centuries ago, and even if we did, people can draw different conclusions from the same story. It seems to me like an enormous effort to give people an accurate account of how decisions worked out in very specific circumstances. I think that there are much more effective teaching methods.

[@antonjanssen3549]

@@ChilledfishStick well there is no (ethical) way to prove that hypothesis. But if you think about all the stories you consumed while growing up a lot of them have been shaped by historical events. So your brain got a ton of reference points and analogies of how things might develop, some are historical and some are made up as (very effective) teaching tools. There is no way decisions are not shaped by that. And sure you can teach lessons with fake history, it just turns out that honest attempts at finding the truth lead to better results than the fakes who are most often made by those that seek to gain power from their lies.

[@Genexperiment100]

This might not be the most fullfilling answer but let me try. I think one main aspect why people study (violent) history is because of a human desire for spectacle and curiosity to what was before us. Even in the epic of Gilgamesch, the oldest tale we know, it is told of people long before.

[@ChilledfishStick]

@@Genexperiment100 I find certain topics in history very interesting. I wouldn't watch this channel otherwise. The problem with that reasoning, for me, is that it doesn't answer why the public should fund historians. It would then be a more scientific form of literature for people to buy and consume, no? Very much like donating to this channel in Patreon. This is where historiography is for me right now. I'm very much open to the idea that there is a greater purpose, but I simply can't find it.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

This video is kinda different from our other stuff. We always wanted to get more into the naval side of history. If you like this topic / form of storytelling, please let us know. Also, suggestions for other topics that are related to naval history are more than welcome.

[@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347]

All good! It’s looking good so far!

[@WelcomeToDERPLAND]

I'd love to see some more obscure naval history topics covered like ancient naval battles or the infamous turtle ships of korea.

[@jellepeters2004]

The dutch raid on the medway would be interesting

[@clintmoor422]

maybe just do the golden age of piracy?

[@clintmoor422]

or another idea: corsairs or the dutch east india company?

[@Boomer_among_Zoomers]

Ah yes, our very own Jack Sparrow. The Dutch certainly had some naval legends, quite fitting for one to be a privateer

[@Agnus_Mason]

Piet Hein was also very modern for his time, being the first admiral of low birth and being against slavery, based on his own experiences. He also had his own way of making deals in the indonesian islands, where normally the dutch would employ gunboat tactics, Hein chose the pen over the sword. This led to a bond between the netherlands and the island of Ambon and its surrounding islands so strong, that even 400 years later they would be the only allies of the dutch during the indonesian war of independence after WW2 Truly a magnificent man

[@DenUitvreter]

Being opposed to slavery was actually the norm back then. "All people are children of god" was what the Dutch protestants, who were in power, taught and also the board of the WIC and especially main founder Ussellincx loathed slavery as a barbaric practice of those evil catholics. The VOC was already cutting corners and the WIC would change it stance on slavery in 1637, biblical excuses had to be made up, but slaves on captured Spanish and Portuguese ships had to be freed and there were quite a few blacks regularly employed by the WIC and coming to live in the Dutch Republic. It was not a big deal, Rembrandt had black neighbours in the Jodenbreestraat and the mostly males married Dutch women.

[@Baltic_Hammer6162]

@@DenUitvreter Slavery of black Africans was very much the norm in the mindset of the Dutch/Netherlands Reformed. Maybe there was some Dutch Catholics and "liberals" who were against it, but certainly, absolutely NOT in the Calvinist "reformed". About the time the Dutch and English were ramping up slave trading to North America, the Vatican was putting the brakes on it. You see, in the story of Ham & Noah, Ham was black and therefore cursed to serve his brothern which made slavery okay because they deserved it per the Dutch Reformed doctrine and interpretation of the Bible per John Calvin. I don't what the Vatican used as justification for slavery before they quit supporting it. But I heard the Dutch Reformed version a lot while growing up. Under the label of Horrible History, I did a research project to figure out where and how this idea of "Ham was black" got inserted into religious doctrine. Short story of a very long one....the trail lead to John Calvin. Then everything I read and heard started to make sense how it all came together and was connected. Calvin, real name Jean Cauvin, was one twisted, dark hearted nasty man. He is also a hero of the Scottish Presbyterian church. So the Dutch and Scots/English were in agreement which is why they were the main suppliers.

[@DenUitvreter]

@@Baltic_Hammer6162 It got inserted indeed, on political and commercial demand. They only got away with through the calvinists talent for hypocrisy, allowed for by the distance overseas. Slavery in the Netherlands itself would be unthinkable. Before that slavery was seen as a barbaric practice of the evil catholics and the uncivilized muslims. The English were told be protestant by their king because he wanted to shag Ann Boleyn, that doesn't really count as a relgiious conviction. The catholics had their Valladolid debate, but in the end was a political institution.

[@Baltic_Hammer6162]

@@williamedwardgladstone2343 Encouraged what? Be specific please.

[@DenUitvreter]

@@Baltic_Hammer6162 No. The story of Ham was used when the governor of Dutch Brazil, an otherwise very enlightened protestant, claimed he couldn't run that Portuguese plantation colony without blacks and asked permission from the WIC and the Dutch government to capture a slave fort on the African coast. That was the start of slavery by the WIC and that was in 1637. That's all very well documented. The WIC started out as primarily a war entreprise, financing the necessary ports and presence through trade. This was dominated by very staunch calvinists determined to fight catholic oppression by attacking Spanish income used to finance the war against the Dutch Republic. This was a matter of changes in leadership and moral corruption over the years, of double standards for overseas, hypocrisy in foreign policy, the merchant vs. the preacher as the duality is still called. The descendans of Ham were just as free in the Dutch Republic as anybody else, and the Dutch were no main supplier of slaves in general. The English weren't proper protestants but rebranded catholics. There is a lot of this weird apologeticism for the catholics of those days. The catholic Spanish, Portuguese and French together traded something like 20 times more slaves than the Dutch. 'But they were much bigger', no, not in shipping they weren't, also not together.

[@johnsteiner3417]

This needs to be a movie. The studio that filmed Master and Commander needs to do this.

[@TheEmperor9985]

That would be so badass. We need more movies like that

[@Robin-sf3gk]

There won't be a highbudget movie if nor England or USA is involved

[@Raadpensionaris]

The only succesfull capture of a Spanish treasure fleet. Piet Hein really did something special. It also shows how well the Spanish protected their fleet for it to be only captured once. It wasn't for a lack of trying by their enemies

[@QuantumHistorian]

Did something special? Doesn't sound like he did anything at all! He got spotted, half the fleet avoided him, with the other half almost passed him by. He himself got blown off course, and it's only blind luck that a straggler bumped into him and told him where the rest of the treasure fleet was. And then it's more bad luck for the Spanish, and a lack of knowledge, that led to them being stuck on a sand bar with a tail wind. And then it's sheer incompetence on their part that prevented the ships being scuttled. The only thing Piet Hein accomplished was making fewer mistakes than the disastrous Spaniards. In war that's not nothing, but far short of what deserves to be called "special". He's a hero in the Netherlands because it was politically expedient to make him one, not because of the skill he demonstrated in that one campaign.

[@epiphysiscerebri9386]

@@QuantumHistorian I'm sorry your country doesn't have any heroes

[@Raadpensionaris]

@@QuantumHistorian Of course he was lucky. That was needed to capture that treasure fleet. But it still required excellent seaman ship to capture the fleet. It is a combination of both. And even if it was only luck it is still special because of how rare his achievement was. And I don't believe Piet Hein made any major mistakes. He was just onfurtunate 2 times. Also Piet Hein was already a hero before his capture of the treasure fleet because he was an exceptionally brave admiral and that was reported by Dutch newspapers. Not much to do with politics.

[@Sk0lzky]

@@QuantumHistorian which only makes for a better story. Boasting about having done something reasonable with very little luck involved is something for mere mortals like us. Boasting over getting incredibly lucky? Now that's badass

[@planescaped]

@@QuantumHistorian I get what you're saying, though I do not agree with your assessment.

[@Thraim.]

"They know we know!" "But they don't know that we know they know we know, that's our chance!"

[@IWontBuy-RP]

'This.. makes perfect sense captain, lets get to work 😂"

[@tomz5704]

Reads like a Jack Sparrow quote

[@cretucristian7935]

You should do more of these naval history videos. There are a lot of important events and even heroes in the oceans and seas of 16th and 17th centuries

[@rubencuadros7174]

The best time in the history of navigation, the age of exploration

[@MrEnaric]

'Piet Hein, Piet Hein, Piet Hein sijn naem is cleijn, sijn daden benne groot, hij heeft gewonnen de silver-vloot'. Piet Hein, his name is small, his deeds are great, he won the silver-fleet') We Dutch still sing about this feat in one of our national songs ( mainly during football matches nowadays). Maybe you could do a video on Michiel De Ruiter as well. He led the very last succesful raid in England in 1667 during the battle of Chatham, near London. He destroyed the entire English fleet and took the King's crown ship 'Royal Charles'' with him. The back 'mirror' of this ship is still on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam as a national treasure. The English language still holds harsh sentiments against us due to that raid and following battles (Double Dutch, Dutch courage, to beat the Dutch at sea, etc.) History is always alive!

[@kryptokronicles]

Those things aren't said in a harsh way at all bro, we love your drink

[@DenUitvreter]

They didn't have gin themselves, where would the Brtish be without the Dutch anyway? The Dutch used to be "the frogs" which does make more sense of course, but that was transferred to the French when France became the place of envy. My personal derogatory name for the Netherlands is "the anus of the world" when it was to still to become a superpower.

[@gerriekipkerrie6736]

​@kronicheights_kryptokronic its not anymore but they do come from those wars.

[@carelgoodheir692]

We emigrated from NL to Scotland in '51 but I can still sing that song:-) And, re the time the Dutch destroyed or towed away the English fleet: Samuel Pepys was co-responsible for the fleet's safety. It's loss is the biggest event in his Diary. The little books based on his Diary used to teach school children about 17th Century London mention the plague, the fire and a range of other things - but miss out the loss of the fleet. Getting on for 400 years later it's still not thought right that people in the UK should know about England's most humiliating naval defeat🙂Whereas in NL nobody tries to hide that later French cavalry once captured the Dutch fleet, because it had been allowed to get caught in ice up a river. My dad just thought that was funny.

[@hughsmith7850]

I had a stopover in Amsterdam and ended up staying for a month. I spent days in the Maritime Museum and marveled at the boats in the neighborhood. Got a job on an old flat bottom boat. I believe the Dutch are the Chosen Ones and If it anti Dutch it's not much.

[@JMVD48]

Thank you for this beautiful Dutch history story about Piet Hein.

[@malcolmjcullen]

Your reasoning behind the equivalent value of $11m in 1624 being $400m today is incorrect. You've just applied historical inflation to the original sum. Because of the relative scarcity of capital at that time, $11m was about 10% of Spanish GDP in 1624. It's a rough correlation, but 10% of Spanish GDP today would be $150bn, which gives a better idea of the staggering amount it was at the time.

[@TristanMorrow]

macroeconomics v microeconomics

[@BernardoTorres-w5e]

What an apropos comment .

[@azoniarnl3362]

This story is worthy of a good adventure movie! Drama, glory, war, revenge.. its all there.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Yeah, somebody should tell Hollywood that the early modern period has hundreds of movie-worthy stories!

[@rumpelpumpel7687]

@@SandRhomanHistory there is a naval adventure movie produced by a netherland movie company and it is about a famous dutch captain in the 17th century. Hollywood is not needed for good movies to be made :D they'd probably rewrite the whole story with american characters and places to satisfy their audience ^^

[@normtrooper4392]

I had no idea only one treasure fleet was actually taken. This story seems truly amazing.

[@thomasbeauprez00]

Good video, very interesting. Some extra info: The "Dunkirk" privateer who shot Piet Heyn was from Ostend (Oostende) and called Jacob Besage. He is the most famous Ostend privateer because of this fact. His name is not well known, but we do have a street named after him :-)

[@CyberTribalism]

'T'zyn spekken' klinkt ook als een typisch West Vlaamse uitspraak.

[@SamuelLanghorn]

@@CyberTribalism was heisst das ? Speck as in bacon? was ist T'zyn? die sind?

[@CyberTribalism]

@@SamuelLanghorn 'Spekken' means 'candy' in West Flemish dialect... it could mean the Spaniards where seen as pompous, fancy, and meant derogatory or as in 'we're going to eat them'. Or speck means bacon also in Dutch yes, I assume it's a very old word so it's probably unchanged... could be related to that also... in a wanting to strike terror in the mind of the enemy attitude.

[@SamuelLanghorn]

@@CyberTribalism are you in the Netherlands or SA? what does T'zyn mean? they are? In any case the term T'zyn Spekken does not come across as a swearword unless you have lived in the era 🙂 I guess it is equivalent to the German Pfeffersaecke.

[@CyberTribalism]

@@SamuelLanghorn I got many contacts in SA, but always lived in the Southern Netherlands... the Imperial province of Belgien ;). And grew up in Ostend. T'zyn means something like 'they are' ja. And 'spekken' not a swearword but a derogatory term.

[@ImperatorHispania]

As a Spaniard I admire Piet hein for being the only one in three centuries to capture the "Flota del Tesoro". To give you an idea of how difficult this was, the Dutch sent 10 years later a fleet of 24 galleons under the command of Cornelis Jol to capture a convoy of 7 galleons under the command of Carlos Ibarra that was transporting 30 million pesos. In the Battle of Cabañas in 1638 the Dutch lost 5-7 galleons(depending on the source), the Spanish lost none. It is also known that after the battle the Dutch had to sink several of their ships due to the serious damage during the combat. That is why I respect and admire the great sailor and admiral Piet Hein.

[@crossTempl]

Nonsense

[@Dan-lu5qd]

@@crossTempl What do you mean?

[@GranSinderesis]

@@crossTempl What do you say?

[@garbancitolentejas486]

You are a traitor...As a Spaniard i am PROUD OF JEMMINGEN, Haarlem, Maastricht, GEMBLOUX, Ostende, BREDA....EMPEL.... You know? But of course, I am not a TRAITOR as you. I am very proud Spanish Navy in LA NAVAL in Philippines, PLAYA HONDA, CAVITE, ABROLHOS... And now repeat here.. Spaniards didn´t beat Dutch on sea.....

[@IngenieroBasado]

@@garbancitolentejas486 no

[@pvlgs]

Very good video about Piet Hein and the silverfleet. One remark, as a admiral who had fallen in battle, hé was awarded with a” praalgraf”, which you still can find in the old church in Delft.

[@johne6944]

That's so cool.

[@AudieHolland]

@@johne6944 Good for tourism.

[@martijnb5887]

@@AudieHolland Competition with the new church in Delf is fierce: that is the burial place of the royal family and their predecessors starting with William the Silent who was murdered in 1584.

[@SamuelLanghorn]

what is a Praalgraf? praal, vom Deutschen Prahlen?

[@pvlgs]

@@SamuelLanghorn Wenn früh am Morgen die Werksirene dröhnt Und die Stechuhr beim Stechen lustvoll stöhnt In der Montagehalle die Neonsonne strahlt Und der Gabelstaplerführer mit der Stapelgabel prahlt

[@thedirty530]

I enjoyed this! The Dutch are not talked about much in the Caribbean, nor have i heard about many Dutch pirates. Great work!

[@JeffBilkins]

Some islands are still part of The Netherlands in some form, look on wikpedia for 'Dutch Caribbean'

[@robertobarazzutti3807]

You havewa lot of dutch privateer as CornelisJol, Adriaen Pieter Ita, Jacob Binckes, etc

[@drpepper3838]

Netherlands has many naval heroes and achievements. Winning the longest sea battle in the age of sail. Causing the worst naval disaster for the brits in their history, defeating the combined navies of England/France in the third anglo dutch war. And afcourse stealing the treasure fleet

[@AudieHolland]

*thedirty530* That's probably because Dutch privateers were very organized, under the West Indies Company (WIC). Their fleets were more like later regular navy but they still 'did business' under the privateering rules. A big percentage for the Captain, each crew member his share but by far the most went to the company. And the company being led by the Dutch Republic, it meant that Piet Hein's victory made sure that the fortress city Den Bosch could finally be taken. As you can see in another video.

[@martijnb5887]

A privateer is not a pirate, though at times the distinction became blurred. A privateer is private venture, fighting enemy merchants authorised by his government. Boot is also partly handed to the government. A pirate fights any ship for his own sake. After a war unemployed privateers might turn to piracy, but that does not erase the distinction.

[@chucknorris202]

I LOVE the age of exploration...outside of the Ancient Roman world, I think the Age of Exploration is my favorite historical timeframe. I like everything about it. And its cool to see weapons like Halberds and Pikes(and swords for sidearms) being used alongside Pistols, Muskets, so on, with plate armor(well, a breastplate and helmet and gauntlets, depending on the person of course, but always a breastplate and helmet at least) for defense. Its like a mix of modern(or rather, napoleonic era) weaponry with the weapons and armor of the old world; and that armor was bullet proof(against pistol balls at least). And there were plenty of rivalries in the old world, and PLENTY of vicious hostile savage tribes in the Americas and in various islands to fight and conquer - or live among if you got stranded there. I greatly enjoy reading everything I can about this time period. It has always inspired me a great deal. Sometimes I feel like I was born 400-500 years too early lol.

[@pinchevulpes]

Vicious tribes lol you mean people defending themselves from Spanish Encomienda and utter slavery.

[@chucknorris202]

@@pinchevulpes The Aztecs for one. And plenty more savages like them.

[@pinchevulpes]

@@chucknorris202 you can’t name 3 tribes like the Aztecs. Your racism and ignorance blinds you cur

[@astrotrek3534]

I would not call the Aztecs any more savage than the Europeans. Empires who conquer and exploit are history's most common themes. @@chucknorris202

[@SSHitMan]

​@@astrotrek3534The Aztec Empire conquered and exploited also.

[@MajorCoolD]

It always amazes me how we got all sorts of bullshit stories from Hollywood, but we NEVER get proper history dramas that revolve around ACTUAL events of fantastic proportions.

[@TheDutchMitchell]

this would be an amazing movie

[@phonecallsarejustoverquali1556]

There is the Michiel de Ruyter (The Admiral, 2015) film available here on YT. LIke all period dramas it takes some liberties, and it is perhaps a bit on the romantic/sentimental side for my personal taste. But it is still a very decent movie with naval combat and warfare from this period.

[@philipsalama8083]

@@phonecallsarejustoverquali1556 Thanks for the recommendation!

[@gratefulguy4130]

Because you're supposed to feel guilty for your history & revile your heroes.

[@marcustulliuscicero3987]

I was just thinking the same thing. Hollywood just retells the same stories again and again till it get's boring. There are so many interseting stories out there that receive recognition! The story of Piet Heijn would indeed make for a great movie, complete with personal vendettta plotline.

[@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347]

And he’s back everyone! Get the popcorns and sodas! We’re leaving the castle and Europe and we’re sailing high seas! Yarr!

[@GrudgeyCable]

Think one day we could get a video about De Ruyters great victory over the English at Medway? That would be epic!

[@SandRhomanHistory]

that's definitely on our list.

[@pvlgs]

Even better, the great battles of 1672 and 1673.

[@blockmasterscott]

This is like watching a fictional movie, and it really happened. This is why I love history!

[@lokiman2256]

I’d never heard of this historical figure till now. Really interesting story and a truly fascinating character.. I never knew how influential he was to the major conflicts in Europe. All that loot seriously changed the game for the Dutch! Super cool that the Dutch have their own Francis Drake! Thanks for the amazing content!

[@martijnb5887]

Without Piet Hein, the border between the Netherlands and Belgium would be at the great rivers, instead of 30 km South of the rivers.

[@Vanderstel]

The Seawolf of the Dutch Republic 🐺💪🏻🇳🇱 That sounds so awesome. I’ve been to the house where Piet Hein was born in historical Delfshaven in Rotterdam. Very cool 👌🏻 Delfshaven was also the starting point of the Pilgrim Father’s (pilgrims) that set sail to America with the Mayflower with a extra stop in Southampton

[@Hachiigen_]

Hi man, just found this vid 2 years after release and was kindly surprised that you dit not mispronounce a single Dutch name! Kind regards from The Netherlands.

[@gungnir3926]

This would make an even better movie than most pirate stories. This is epic and almost too convinient for reality that the personal side also matches with large events.

[@hussainqureshi9933]

"That is without a doubt the best pirate I've ever seen..."

[@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347]

So it would seem…

[@BernardoTorres-w5e]

He was not a pirate , he was a privateer .

[@fenriz7068]

Great video. I live 4 streets away from where Piet Hein was born. There is a statue of him looking out over the Delfshaven harbor.

[@curtisbryce5096]

Only 3 types of Dutchmen, The Amsterdam Dutch, the Rotterdam Dutch and the Gawddamned Dutch. The third is the most fearsome.

[@romanplays1]

the gawddamned dutch is the rural north holland/ friesland dutch.

[@SNIPERVIPER141]

It's crazy to think that the personal vendetta of a common man, a slave even can turn the fate of an Empire.

[@AudieHolland]

That's the Hollywood movie that was never made about this man

[@Baltic_Hammer6162]

There's some pirates who held Julius Caesar captive that probably regretted it later. All kinds of stories in history where a single motivated man effected nations.

[@SamuelLanghorn]

what nonsense is that? he was not a slave. He was enslaved as a prisoner of war and then regained freedom after a prisoner exchange.... unfortunately nobody talks about the life and fortune of the common man. How often did these prisoners exchanges happen, what was the motivation, etc.? In some ways the title is dramatized, you sort of get the Spartacus image here, but that's clearly not the case. Nevertheless, well done.

[@arinyescantari7245]

Being born dutch, a nice little thing to know, as a child of the 70s/80s, I grew up with a song about Piet Hein that is still remembered to this day. His victory of getting the zilv'ren vloot.

[@swordsnspearguy5945]

That's gotta be the best privateer I've ever seen.

[@yxx_chris_xxy]

So it may seem...

[@coenbaan1874]

Naval combat in history is basically a contest of deathrolls Roll a d20; 1-5 is a heavy storm, 5-10 is a your food rotting, 10-15 is the wind dying out and 15-20 is a success. Now roll for every week at sea. Good the Dutch have 20% hp before initiative and the Spanish have 10% left.

[@TechWechSech]

I love these videos on Dutch history, amazing effort has clearly been put into them. Please keep them coming

[@catoelder4696]

I'm from Brazil and never heard of this guy. Thanks.

I like that you have decided to make a video about naval history, as it has a lot of potential. It would be interesting if you make a video talking about the Corsairs of Dunkirk; English or Dutch piracy is generally spoken of, but Spain made good use of these too, the Dunkerque piracy being an example for being exceptional sailors who caused much damage to the English and Dutch economy in the 16th and 17th centuries. On the other hand, I would also love for you to make a video of one of the greatest admirals in Spanish history, Álvaro de Bazán... greetings.

[@Tiscoski1]

Thank you for this great video! Since you mentioned it, it would be wonderful to see more videos about the Dutch attempts to occupy Notrtheastern Brazil.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

..so more or less 10 years as a galley slave and the a connonball shatters him to pieces , he did have a go at-least. 3 ( loud) cheers for Piet, what a trooper!

[@ludwigvanel9192]

Still a popular children's somg "Piet Hein heedlft de zilvervloot gewonnen". Piet Hein has won the silver fleet.

[@niektromp5550]

Awesome video, I love your video’s on Dutch history, it is nice to revisit this part of the country’s history from another source. If you want to stick with sea heroes of the republic, I hope you research admiral Michiel de Ruyter,. He attacked the English fleet at anchor in the Themes and brought the capital ship back to the Netherlands. The decorated rear of that ship is still at the national museum. Apparently it was covered up during a state visit of the English queen, as not to embarrass her.

[@wouter.de.ruiter]

And let's not forget Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp ;)

[@velvettblue157]

This would makes such a great movie

[@Zappygunshot]

I learned the song that was written about Piet Heyn and which has persisted to this day when I was in school, but never actually knew much about who he really was or what he did to earn a song. I learned more about him from this one video than I ever did in school, but then again, Dutch schools seem to shy away from the bloodier and more brutal portions of history, and in particular they like to downplay our role in those events. I never learned, for example, what Keti Koti is, what it means, or even that it's an official national holiday, until I saw a parade going by when I was in Rotterdam one 1st of July (years after I'd finished high school) and looked up what that was all about.

[@TheJudge_Carls_Junior_Rep]

Piet reminds me of Gurney Halleck from Dune from being a slave of the harkonen to being a commander of the atreides

[@BernardoTorres-w5e]

The “navigator” mentioned in the video that made the Spanish ships run into a sandbar , was not a navigator , it was a pilot who made that mistake.

[@Niex_Knox]

Wow I am Dutch and never knew he was captured by tge Spanish twice before he singlehandedly turned the war in our favor. Funny thing; in Spain he is considered a huge villain.

[@superpacocaalado7215]

Great vídeo, as always. But I can't deny that the way you pronounced Bahia was very funny.

[@itsrin868]

wow, never heard of this story before, that was really great. sad ending for the protagonist

[@theorenhobart]

it's how every pirate would prefer to die.

[@erbalumkan369]

The capture of the spanish silver helped the Dutch free themselves from the Spanish rule. The Dutch declared themselves independent with the Plakkaat van Verlathinge on july 26 1581, which served as a model for the USA's declaration of independence. I still don't understand why 26 July is not a national holiday in the Netherlands.

[@Cl0ckcl0ck]

That's because it would celebrate the republic, not the monarchy that the English installed around 1815.

[@aniesc3257]

Piet Hein! Piet Hein! Piet Hein zijn naam is klein! Zijn daden benne groot, zijn daden benne groot! Hij heeft gewonnen de zilver vloot! Hij heeft gewonnen! Gewonnen! De Zilvervloot! Hij heeft gewonnen! Gewonnen! De Zilvervloot! My fraternity sang this, freely based on the classic De Zilvervloot, and we never sang more than this hahaha

[@SomeOne-b2k]

Good pronounciation of the Dutch names!

[@Donbasos14]

PIET HEIN, my boiiii, great song as well. Happy to see a video about him!

[@achondar1]

Very Nice video as always. Nice to see the more unknow storys(outside the Netherlands)

[@jamesthomas1595]

I was gonna go back to sleep but then I saw this! More like this please!!

[@thcdreams654]

Another great video. Insightful, well presented, and entertaining. Thanks and keep up the great work. Whatever the format is, it's always well done.

[@richardveekens2195]

Hein was such great tactician, he left the boy on purpose for the Spanish to make mistakes. Dutch so smart.

[@Wow22109]

Yes, pls make moreee vids on naval battles. Commerce of Triangle played a huge part in european 16th-17th century

[@theblackprince1346]

6:20 You are in command now Admiral Piet

[@theorenhobart]

"you have failed me for the last time...'

[@karenness5588]

Good job with the animation. Only suggestion I can think of is to prominently display the dates in a corner of the screen to give one a chronological context. Keep up the good work; this was very interesting. Signed, a Guatemalan.

[@positivefandom9066]

Thank you for the video and the reading list 😊💎❤️

[@LiveFastRaceHard]

Great work on this video!

[@djallass]

without watching this video i knew it was about piet heijn. I read a good book about him, very interesting and a national hero

[@michielvenema7817]

Thx for this wonderful video. Think they should make a movie out of this

[@NexuJin]

The tunnel from center to north Amsterdam is named after Piet Hein.

[@DenisR1973]

Thanks for video. Just one thing to correct - that 3 shoals are much deeper inside the Matanzas bay than you've depicted on map. In previous comment I've leave link to sea map but it was deleted for unknown reason...

[@veso5863]

In the video for the siege of Breda you mentioned the movie Alatriste, totally worth watching btw, they mentioned this event but i never even thought it was this interesting

[@young749Au]

very well presented!

[@9delta988]

And to this day children sing praising his name.

[@glendanison3064]

Yes I would really like more naval videos.

[@caniconcananas7687]

An ortographical advice: In the Castilian language, also known as Spanish by non Spanish people that ignore that there are several other Spanish languages, the sign over the vowels English call "tittle" and Spanish call "acento" or "tilde" is written in the opposite direction. Not Bazàn, but Bazán. The left written tittle is used by the Catalonian language (another of the Spanish languages) and some other European languages. But in Castilian there are only the right tittle (á é í ó ú), the diaereisis only over the u (ü) and, of course, what English call tilde over the n to compound a new letter, the ñ in España. And no, Bazán is not a Catalonian surname and that person was not from Catalonia.

[@istoppedcaring6209]

you forgot to mention that in both Dutch and even Flemish university fraternities the "zilvervloot" is a must sing at cantus (a cantus is basically a ritualistic sing+drink event) (the reason flemish frats sing it is due to the legacy, today it is less so but back in the latter 19th and earlier 20th century university students were usually activists for flemish rights and even independence or union with dutch speaking kin (though the latter was never very prominent because it was certainly looking much to far ahead, even today) dutch songs were a way to keep the language allive during oppressive francification at the time, (Brussels for instance was fully dutch speaking until the french revolution, and only became majority french speaking after 100 years of Belgian rule, the french actually were less oppressive in regards to linguistic opression than the Belgian francophone rulers)

[@plasticbazooka]

I enjoyed this video, your work always impresses me.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

A Wonderful Historical Introducing

[@captainhaddock9582]

Great video, most Dutch en Flemish know him from the song " die Zilvervloot". Would have been nice to have used the song (pretty sure there's no copyright on it, beeing several centuries old)

[@DarkDutch007]

No copyright on the lyrics perhaps, but there can still be copyright owned by the person/group that sings/plays the song.

[@JanLion-zb1bd]

Not only Piet Hein had been a slave. The other two most famous Dutch admirals, Michael de Ruyter and Maarten Tromp Sr. had also been slaves.

[@lordsneed9418]

What a kino story. it's almost too good to be real life.

[@thomastoadie9006]

The house of Piet Hein is still standing in Delfshaven, in what is now a Rotterdam neighbourhood. Very cute little corner of the city too. Well worth a visit, if you’re close.

[@jordi6795]

Interesting episode of the history and very well explained, and what a sounding blow to Spanish monarchy. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@grumpychef1539]

Amazing story and it shows that a few men can change history

[@nejzk2026]

great video

[@irchilly]

Well put together, and a particurarly interesting topic to me! :D A couple generations after this my ancestor privateered for the dutch, Jonas Lambert-Wenman!

[@jasondoherty7497]

Was a treasure fleet a mainly Spanish thing because you don’t tend to think of any of the other nations who would have such vast territories and colonies in the future

[@CosmicFreedoms]

Nothing on the scale of Spain. All naval fleets escorting valuable goods are kind of treasure fleets I guess but Spain had a grand scale, especially with the biggest fleet in the world at the time.

[@runi5413]

Ming China launched some truly epic treasure fleets in its day (15th century) which dwarfed their Spanish counterparts. The most famous one, under admiral Zheng He, was composed of over 300 ships; 60 of which were HUGE treasure ships, laden with gold, silver, silk and porcelain. (Ming China's population and economy were twice the size of all of Europe and it maintained a vast network of foreign tributary states.)

[@gonavygonavy1193]

​@@runi5413 Those ships were badly designed, slow, have questionable seaworthiness and only sailed seven times and didn't bring in nearly enough loot to be worth the cost of the voyages. Really no comparison to the Spanish treasure fleet which sustained the Spanish Empire year after year for over a century.

[@Arbelot]

​@@runi5413Zheng He's treasure fleet, while larger than Spain's, didn't last long as they were too expensive to maintain, and the treasure coming from its tributaries wasn't enough to cover the costs. After the Yongle Emperor died, the Chinese scrapped the ships and focused more on their internal affairs.

[@Arbelot]

​@@gonavygonavy1193I don't think the Ming Chinese were bad ship designers. The reason why it didn't last long was because it was too expensive to maintain, as you stated. Also, subsequent emperors became disinterested in maintaining the treasure fleet and focused more on China's internal affairs.

[@YiaMdj]

pretty awesome that he was so honorable to the spaniard sailors

[@serpounce5699]

Why did the Dutch fleet only make use of one of the Spanish ships? Were they just not worth very much compared to the risk? Did they not have enough sailors to man them? Were they too damaged by running aground?

[@Raadpensionaris]

Not sure but they probably lay to deep in the water for the shallow Dutch coasts. For that reason the Dutch could often not make use of captured enemy ships. You will see this problem come to the forefront in the Anglo-Dutch Wars

[@tanall5959]

@@Raadpensionaris It could be a matter of available manpower. The treasure galleons were MASSIVE ships by comparison to the Dutch warships, and thus had a similar requirement of crew. There might also be the matter of the sail plan and rigging they used. If they had noone who knew how to properly work that rigging, the ships would simply not move except under tow.

[@jeroenwubbels7824]

Shallow waters and sandnamks are the main restriction in using those ships in the North Sea We did the same with english ships when they where captured ( Royal Charles best example, captured during Raid on the Medway 1667)

[@milabugtcher990]

really nice video, thank you for your work

[@waelomer2519]

I loved the story very much Waiting for more 😎

[@TFOLLT]

The dutch found that in prolonged battle, we couldn't beat the spanish. So instead we bankrupted them and with that their armies.

[@obtomSD]

Thank you. Very informative.

[@willhovell9019]

Any relation to Albert Hein supermarkets

[@clintmoor422]

Yo, babe, wake up, the dude with a star fort made a video on pirates.

[@enonh82]

Love the new graphics!

[@johnnoughty7944]

Thanks for your work. I would like to see a video on the trade route from Rome to India.

[@crossTempl]

Thanx for investigating dutch naval history it has plenty of stories like michiel de ruyter look into it please

[@paris-comedordecasadas]

Hi Friend!! I'm Brazilian and studying about this Righ now and i just had find an Awesome book about the war in Brasil between the Spanish empire and the Dutch republic ,Really appreciate your effort to make those Videos !! 👏👏👏

[@BernardoTorres-w5e]

Heine commanded a fleet of 39 ships , according to the video , which to me seems like an unusually large one , large enough it seems to me to confront the Spanish treasure fleet . I am no historian at all , so this is just an amateur opinion . I am Colombian .

[@sarahsidney1988]

Cool video, thanks for your work

[@johne6944]

What a badass. I loved this kind of video it's super cool to learn about a individual that had such a impact.

[@rodrigodiazdevivar6183]

Can you please repeat what was said at 5:48?

[@HellenicWolf]

Great work, man.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

Enjoyed it!

[@philiplakey4464]

Love it! Thanks