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Van Spilbergen at Santa Maria

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Van Spilbergen at Santa Maria

The expedition of Joris Spilbergen left Mocha on 28th May 1615 and sailed from there so Santa Maria island. It reached the island the next day. Van Spilbergen was wary of possible attacks by the people of the island and he heard that some Spanish were also present there. Hostages were exchanged and Dutch soldiers and the vice-admiral went ashore. When a shot was fired by one of the locals, and they fled uphill, the Dutch responded by opening fire and proceeded to ransack the island entirely. On June 1st the expedition left the island.

The image shows the events on Santa Maria as described by Joris van Spilbergen in his journal. A. Is the main land of Chile, it shows the point Lavapie. B. Are Spanish cavalry that showed up. C. Are the expedition’s soldiers and sailors in battle order. D. Is the town of Santa Maria being burnt down. E. Show skirmishes with the Spanish, when some were killed. F. Is where the Dutch came to the shore and came back with ‘sheep’ (likely llamas) and fresh supplies. G. Shows the Dutch boats rowing back with what they acquired on shore. H. Is one of the Dutch ships close to the shore, where it protects the boats. I. is the rest of the fleet.

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Sources and literature

J.C.M. Warnsinck, De reis om de wereld van Joris van Spilbergen, 1614-1617