At the Straits of Magalhaes, the winds were adverse, and remained that way for four months. Although there was enough food, the fierce climate still took another 120 lives, while the Patagonians were hostile too.
Finally, in September 1599, the Pacific was reached. The troubles were not over though, and the ships were trapped in a storm. The ships were separated, only the Geloof and the Trouwe remained together, but they were swept back into the Straits, and lost sight as well. The crew was starting to get sick of it all. They wanted to return home and the threat of mutiny was felt. Then the last two ships lost sight of one another too.
The crew of the Geloof met Olivier van Noort, another Dutchman who tried to reach the east through the Straits of Magalhaes (and indeed succeeded, completing the first Dutch (fourth overall) circumnavigation). Sebald de Weert (who after Mahu's dead had been moved to the Geloof) now tried to join forces with Olivier van Noort, and reach the Indies that way. However, his men were too weak, and could therefore not keep up with the ships of van Noort's fleet. Once again they were blown back into the Straits, and after another visit by Van Noort, who too had been blown back, De Weert decided to hunt for penguins at the Penguin Islands, at the eastern end of the Straits When adverse winds and streams again blew them east, De Weert decided to sail back home. They discovered the Sebald de Weert islands, but were unable to land there to replenish their food supplies. Only 36 out of 105 crew members were left when they returned to the Netherlands.
The Trouwe did manage to beat through the Straits, and landed on Chiloe, an island on the Chilean coast. On request of the local population the Dutchmen took a Spanish fortress. The Spanish were locked into the church, and the Dutch plundered the fortress. However, when the Chileans came and started to kill the Spanish, captain Balthasar de Cordes (Van Boekhout had died in Patagonia) protected the Spanish, the Spanish got back their arms, and the Dutch vacated the fortress. The Spanish took their revenge on the Chileans.
The Dutch went for the fortress a second time, and again succeeded in capturing it. The Spanish soldiers fled, the governor and other inhabitants surrendered in exchange for their lives, but most were treacherously killed by the Dutch. The Dutch plundered the place and caused destruction. However, when additional Spanish forces arrived, the Dutch were beaten, and many were killed. The Dutch captured a Spanish ship near Truxillo, and somehow managed to cross the Ocean to Ternate. On Tidore almost all men were killed by the Portuguese, those that managed to escape were captured and taken to Goa.
The Blijde Boodschap, better known as Vliegend Hart (Flying heart) was so short on supplies that they entered the Spanish harbour of Valparaiso, where they were captured by the Spanish. It took a long time for some of them to return home, the last was captain Dirck Gerritsz, who had visited China and Japan in Portuguese service in the 1580s. He was freed in a prison exchange in 1604.
Both the Hoop and the Liefde met hostile Indians, who probably thought they were Spaniards, and lost their captains and a large number of men. After the ships met again, the new captains, Jacob Jansz. Quackernaeck and Huydekooper decided to try to reach Japan. The Hoop was lost in a storm. Quackernaeck's Liefde managed to reach Kyushu, but only six of the remaining 24 men were able to walk.
William Adams, an Englishman, was among the crew members who reached Japan. He was sent to shogun Iyeyasu, who soon became very fond of him. He managed to get freedom for his fellow crew members - a Portuguese interpreter had spread the rumour that they were pirates. Adams remained in Japan for the rest of his life, becoming important and wealthy as a shipbuilder, math teacher and tradesman. Quackernaeck himself reached the Dutch trade settlement in Patani in 1605, carrying an invitation of the shogun for the Dutch to trade in his country. The next year he was killed in a fight against the Portuguese.
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This page has been created by Andre Engels, and is part of Discoverers Web.