Bernard Claesen Speirdyke

Infobox Pirate
name = Bernard Speirdyke
lived = d. 1670


caption =
nickname = Barnard Speirdyke
Bart Speirdyke
type = Buccaneer
placeofbirth = Netherlands
placeofdeath = near Manzanillo, Cuba
allegiance = Netherlands
serviceyears = 1663-1670
base of operations = Port Royal
rank = Captain
commands = "Mary and Jane"
battles =
wealth =
laterwork =

Bernard Claesen Speirdyke, also called Barnard or Bart Speirdyke, (fl. 1663-1670) was a 17th century Dutch buccaneer. Commander of the 18-gun "Mary and Jane", he was a longtime privateer active in Cuba throughout the 1660s and, on his first voyage, successfully attacked and looted the town of San Tomas while sailing along the coast of Venezuela. In early-1670, he set out from Port Royal with letters from Governor Thomas Modyford to the Governor of Cuba "signifying peace between the two nations". As a further show of goodwill, several Spanish prisoners being held in Jamaica were also returned.

However, the Governor of Bayamo was suspicious of his intentions and had an officer search his ship three times looking for evidence of privateering. Having brought a full cargo of European luxury goods, which were in short supply among the local townspeople, Speirdyke soon sold his entire stock. Despite this breech of Spanish law, the governor chose to turn a blind eye.

Setting sail for his return to Jamaica, it was shortly after leaving the harbor that they were hailed by an English ship and asked where they hailed from. When Speirdyke answered Jamaica, the captain revealed himself as Manuel Rivero Pardel, a former Portuguese privateer turned pirate hunter, and called upon the elderly Dutchman to defend himself. Pardel opened fire and the two ships began a battle lasting until the evening when it became to dark to see. Speirdyke was outnumbered 18 to 70, however he continued to fight on.

At dawn, he sailed towards Pardel's ship which he and his men boarded. The Dutchmen were said to have fought bravely and during the savage hand-to-hand fighting that followed resulted in one-third of Pardal's crew being killed or wounded. The numbers of the Portuguese eventually overwhelmed Speirdyke and his men. By the time the Dutch surrendered, the "Mary and Jane" was on fire in two places and five men had been killed including Speirdyke. Sending nine of the survivors back with a message to Modyford of his commission and his intentions of retaliation for the raid of Portobello two years before, he took the remaining four with him as prisoners to Cartagena. [Earle, Peter. "The Sack of Panama: Captain Morgan and the Battle for the Caribbean". New York: St. Martin's Press, 2007. (pg. 135-136) ISBN 0-312-36142-4]

References

Further reading

*Marley, David. "Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present". Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 1998. ISBN 0-87436-837-5
*Rogozinski, Jan. "Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend". New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80722-X