Het graf van zeerover Claes Compaen
Under one of those stones lies Claes Compaen (1587-1660). Born in Oostzaan, he was a notorious pirate. He started out as a Capetonian to attack and loot Spanish ships, among other things, during the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). To do so, he was commissioned (a letter of commission) by the Heren Zeventien, the board of the United East India Company (VOC). But Claes Compaen started for himself, his commission letter was withdrawn and from then on he was a pirate. He conquered more than 350 ships and gave himself the name 'Neptune and coninck of the sea'. The corsair got tired of the raw life and longed to return to wife and children he had left behind in Oostzaan. The stadholder granted him a 'pardon', allowing him to return to Oostzaan as a rich fellow in 1627. He died as a poor man in 1660.
Contact
Hannie Schaftplein 101
1511 VT OSTZAAN Plan your route to Het graf van zeerover Claes Compaen