Person

Piet Heyn

1577–1629 · 17th century · Also known as Piet Hein

Piet Heyn was a Dutch naval officer and privateer in the service of the Dutch West India Company. In 1628 he trapped the Spanish treasure fleet in the Bay of Matanzas in Cuba and captured its silver; the booty financed the company's conquests in Brazil and paid its shareholders a large dividend. Appointed lieutenant-admiral of Holland, he was killed fighting Dunkirk privateers in 1629.

Piet Heyn
Image: After Jan Daemen Cool · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Dutch RepublicMilitary, Summary

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Piet Heyn. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-heyn
MLA
“Piet Heyn.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-heyn. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Piet Heyn.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-heyn.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Piet Heyn’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/piet-heyn (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻