Joris Pieters van den Broeck (1610 – 27 August 1652) was a Frisian

Frisians

The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...

 sailor in the service of the Admiralty of Friesland

Admiralty of Friesland

The Admiralty of Friesland or Frisian Admiralty was one of the five admiralties of the Dutch Republic...

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Service

In the days before the Battle of the Downs

Battle of the Downs

The naval Battle of the Downs took place on 31 October 1639 , during the Eighty Years' War, and was a decisive defeat of the Spanish, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, by the United Provinces, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp.- Background :The entry of France in the Thirty...

, Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp had chosen a position off the coast near Dunkirk. De Broeck was one of his captains on this occasion, commanding the 67-man, 10-gun Frisian roeifregat Rotterdam, and he was sent by Tromp to investigate the Spanish fleet reported at La Coruña. On receiving Broeck's report on it, Tromp decided to attack and in the ensuing battle Broeck was sent to Calais

Calais

Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....

 to bring back new supplies of gunpowder to the Dutch fleet. Having done so, Broeck rejoined the fleet and managed to capture a 140-man 18-gun Spanish galleon.

On 18 October 1640 he captured an 8-gun 72-man Dunkirker

Dunkirkers

During the Dutch Revolt the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers, were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish Monarchy. They were also part of the Dunkirk fleet, which consequently was a part of the Spanish Monarchy's Flemish fleet ...

 frigate and sail it back into Dokkum

Dokkum

Dokkum is a Dutch fortified town in the municipality of Dongeradeel in the province of Friesland. It has 13,145 inhabitants . The fortifications of Dokkum are well preserved and are known as the bolwerken . - History :...

, followed in May 1642 by his capture of some small Dunkirker vessels and an 80-man 12-gun Dunkirker frigate. In August 1642 he forced a 14-gun enemy frigate to run aground and captured a 140-man 20-gun frigate. In the battle of Plymouth

Battle of Plymouth

The Battle of Plymouth was a naval battle in the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 26 August 1652 and was a short battle, but had the unexpected outcome of a Dutch victory over England. General-at-Sea George Ayscue of the Commonwealth of England attacked an outward bound convoy of the Dutch...

 on 26 August 1652 he commanded the De Westergo in the squadron of Michiel de Ruyter

Michiel de Ruyter

Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...

(and was, apart from de Ruyter, the highest ranking officer present), but he died in the evening after the battle of disease.