Dutch Captain: Jacob Meyndertszoon van Uyl

Jacob Meyndertszoon van Uyl served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He commanded Willem van Brederode's ship Utrecht (28 guns) at the Battle of the Downs in October 1639. Willem van Brederode appears to have died prior to the battle. Jacob Meyndertszoon van Uyl is believed to have been Van Dorp's and Tromp's first flag captain. One issue is that Charles Boxer calls him Gerrit Meyndertszoon, while Dr. De Boer calls him Jacob Meyndertszoon (van Uyl). Dr. De Boer is at least consistent, as in Tromp en de Duinkerkers, he also calls him Jacob Meyndertszoon van Uyl. Jacob Meyndertszoon van Uyl was involved in a battle with Dunkirkers in July 1640, with Witte de With. He was fortunate to be saved by Captain Baselaer's ship. Witte de With's ship was heavily damaged and on fire, close to the powder room. On 14 November 1640, while cruising off the Flemish coast, he took a galliot from Ostende, with three guns, commanded by Captain Jacques Bijl. In January 1641, he was given command of a group to attack two Dunkirker frigates off Plymouth. They took the St. Juan Evangelist, which was originally a Zeeland ship. In early September 1642, he was off England with Matthijs Gilliszoon, under the command of Schout-bij-Nacht Cats. There is another note from Tromp to the States General that calls him Gerrit Meyndertszoon van Uyl, the same as what Charles Boxer called him. The multiple references seem to indicate that Gerrit and Jacob are the same man. In October 1643, he was with Tromp, who had two squadrons dedicated to blockading Dunkirk. One squadron had Tromp along with captains van Coole, the ship of Joris van Cats, Bouckhorst, Jan Gijssen, the ship of Joost Bankert, Swart, Dorrevelt, and Frans Jansen (Janszoon). The other had captains Willem Codde, Lieven de Zeeuw, Den Uyl, Verhaef, the ship of Voorens, Ringelszoon, and the ship Aemilia. We believe at this date, Tromp used the Prinses Roijaal Marie as his flagship. Sources:

1. Dr. M.G. De Boer, Tromp en de Armada van 1639, 1941.
2. Dr. M.G. De Boer, Tromp en de Duinkerkers, 1949.
3. Charles R. Boxer, The Journal of Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp Anno 1639, 1930.
4. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933.