Pieter de Bitter

Pieter de Bitter (circa 1620 - 15 June 1666) was a 17th century Dutch officer of the Dutch East India Company. On 12 August 1665 (New Style) he won the Battle of Vågen against an English flotilla commanded by Thomas Teddiman.

Of Pieter de Bitter's early life and career nothing is known. His name first emerges in 1653, when during the First Anglo-Dutch War he is mentioned as the captain of the "Mercurius", a vessel of forty cannon of the Dutch East India Company, that has been allocated to the squadron of Commodore Michiel de Ruyter, just prior to the Battle of Scheveningen. In that fight De Bitter distinguished himself by disabling the "Triumph" of 62 cannon, the flagship of Vice-Admiral James Peacock who was killed. An hour later the "Mercurius" sank after having been penetrated below the waterline; De Bitter was saved with most of his crew.

In August 1655, during the Dutch-Portuguese War, De Bitter was flagcaptain on the "Ter Goes" of Director-General Gerard Hulft, who commanded a fleet attacking the Portuguese colony of Ceylon from Batavia, the main stronghold of the Dutch East Indies. After Colombo had been taken, De Bitter was in July 1656 sent on a galiot back to Batavia to inform the Council of the Indies of the good news — and bring the sad tiding that Hulft had been killed in action.

In November 1656 De Bitter was made Vice-Commandeur, under Commandeur Adriaan Roothaas of a fleet sent to blockade the Portuguese ports on the coast of Malabar. In the spring of 1657 he returned to Batavia; in August that year he again served under Roothaas on a flotilla blockading Goa. De Bitter's flagship "Terschelling" captured the "Santa Crux" loaded with spices. De Bitter embezzled some of the cargo, for which he would later be lightly punished.

The flotilla having been joined by the main force of Colonel Rycklof van Goens in November, it was decided to split off a large part of the fleet to attack the remaining Portuguese possessions on Ceylon. De Bitter was also used for this expedition, now commanding a larger ship, the "Salamander". This ship and the "Naarden" had the mission to mislead the Portuguese by first sailing to the north and only afterwards rejoin the main force leaving for Ceylon. This ruse failed however because adverse winds drove the vessels towards the Maledives. De Bitter only reached Colombo on 17 February 1658, too late to contribute to the capture of Manaar. However he participated in the fall of Jaffnapatnam on 21 June. Again he was used as a messenger to the Council.

On 19 July 1659 De Bitter, still serving under Roothaas, departed on a fleet of thirteen headed for Goa, on the yacht "Tholen". Blockading the port De Bitter confiscated an English vessel, the "Constantinople Merchant", on accusations of carrying contraband.

In April 1661 De Bitter was appointed both Surveyor of the Ships and Master of Naval Ordnance in Batavia. On 22 July he was appointed Commandeur of a fleet sent to, again, blockade Goa. On 7 January 1663 he was present when Goens captured Cochin. De Bitter functioned as temporary governor of this city. On 12 May 1664 he returned to Batavia; on 21 June he was sent as an envoy to the court of the King of Siam, Narai the Great, and managed to secure a renewal of the Dutch - Siamese treaty on 22 August, returning on 30 November to Batavia.

In December De Bitter was appointed commandeur of a Return Fleet. Twice each year the company sent back spices to the Dutch Republic. As the Second Anglo-Dutch War threatened, it was decided to let an experienced officer command the treasure-laden fleet, which had been made as valuable as possible to assist the fatherland. It was of the utmost importance that this shipment did not fall into enemy hands and De Bitter had received secret instructions to avoid this. En route he learned that war had broken out and that the Dutch home fleet had been defeated in the Battle of Lowestoft. New instructions by the States-General of the Netherlands ordered him to seek refuge in the neutral port of Bergen in Norway. There he was on 12 August 1665 attacked by an English flotilla, violating the neutrality of the port. De Bitter managed to inspire his crews to an effective defence and in this Battle of Vågen beat off the attack with heavy losses for the English.

After being relieved by the Dutch home fleet commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral De Ruyter, De Bitter returned to the Republic and was rewarded by the States-General. He was also given two honorary golden chains by the directorate of the company and on 6 March 1666 appointed commandeur of the next fleet headed for the Indies. De Bitter was anxious to return as his wife and children lived in Batavia. Departing on 15 April, De Bitter died aboard his flagship the "Hollandsche Tuyn" on 15 June from scurvy, off the west coast of Africa.

Literature

*Michael Breet, 2007, "Strijd om de VOC-miljoenen — Slag in de haven van het Noorse Bergen, 12 augustus 1665", Walburg Pers, Zutphen