Piet Hein

Pieter Pietersen Heyn, born in 1577 in Delfshaven, endured a childhood of captivity. At twelve he and his father were seized by Spanish privateers; after four years they were exchanged, only for Hein to be captured again in 1603 and imprisoned in Havana until 1607. These ordeals forged his hatred of Spain and his empathy for enslaved peoples. In 1623 he sailed as a commander for the Dutch West India Company with letters of marque. His greatest feat came in 1628 when he captured the entire Spanish Silver Fleet off Cuba—enough treasure to fund the Dutch Revolt. Though celebrated, Hein urged humane treatment of enslaved Africans. He fell in battle near Gibraltar in 1629. His Rotterdam statue honours not just a naval hero, but an unexpectedly progressive voice on slavery.