Jan Jacobs May van Schellinkhout

Jan Jacobs May van Schellinkhout was a Dutch whaling captain in the 17th century. He became famous because the island of Jan Mayen in the Greenland Sea was named after him.

family

May (also spelled Mey or Meij) was born in the small village of Schellinkhout east of Hoorn in the province of Noord-Holland . He was the brother of Cornelius Jacobsz May , the first governor of Nieuw Nederland . Both brothers were nephews of the then better known seafarer Jan Cornelisz May , who became known through his expeditions to the discovery of the Northeast Passage .

Discovery of Jan Mayen Island

Joan Blaeus map by Jan Mayen from the 17th century

May was the captain of the Gouden Cath . This ship went on an expedition for the Amsterdam Chamber of the Nordic Company and on the occasion of this voyage came across an island in July 1614. The highly respected cartographer Joris Carolus was also on board. He reported on the trip and made a map. His report has been lost, but the map has been preserved. On this map he names a mountain range "Jan Meys Hoeck" ("Jan Meys Winkel"). In 1620 the important cartographer and globe maker Willem Blaeu transferred this name to the entire island. From then on the island was called Jan Mayen . May wasn't the first to discover the island. Rather, there are indications that at least two other seafarers had reached the island a week or two earlier. These were the Dutch captain Jan Janszoon Kerckhoof, who also sailed for the Nordische Compagnie, but was financed privately by Delft , and the English whaling captain John Clarke, who sailed for a company from Dunkirk . May knew that Kerckhoff had already entered the island and thought that he would report his discovery to the Dutch States General . The Delft rivals apparently wanted to keep the place secret in order to take advantage of it. In 1617 this conflict was finally settled and the Dutch company was able to operate whaling from here for 35 years.

Further information

May also went on trips with Willem Cornelisz van Muyden .
After his voyage in 1614 May was appointed captain of warships in the service of the "Admiralty van het Noorderkwartier" in 1622 and 1623.
In May's birthplace Schellinkhout , a street was named after him.

literature

Louwrens Hacquebord: Chapter 21: The Jan Mayen Whaling Industry. In: Stig Skreslet, Bodø Regional University (Ed.): Jan Mayen Island in Scientific Focus. Springer Science + Business Media, New York 2004, pp. 229-238.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Samuel Muller: Geschiedenis of the Noordsche compagnie. Gebr. Van der Post, Utrecht 1874, footnote on p. 167 , translation of the title: History of the Nordic Compagnie.
↑ ^a ^b Gerben Kazimier: De geschiedenis van Schellinkhout, period 1601–1650. In: geschiedenisschellinkhout.nl. October 16, 2015, accessed December 3, 2016 (Dutch).
↑ Louwrens Hacquebord: Chapter 21: The Jan Mayen Whaling Industry. In: Stig Skreslet, Bodø Regional University (Ed.): Jan Mayen Island in Scientific Focus. Springer Science + Business Media, New York 2004, excerpt online .

personal data
SURNAME	May van Schellinkhout, Jan Jacobs
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Dutch whaling captain
DATE OF BIRTH	16th Century
DATE OF DEATH	17th century

[Muller-1] Samuel Muller: Geschiedenis of the Noordsche compagnie. Gebr. Van der Post, Utrecht 1874, footnote on p. 167 , translation of the title: History of the Nordic Compagnie.

[Kazimier-2] Gerben Kazimier: De geschiedenis van Schellinkhout, period 1601–1650. In: geschiedenisschellinkhout.nl. October 16, 2015, accessed December 3, 2016 (Dutch).

[Hacquebord-3] Louwrens Hacquebord: Chapter 21: The Jan Mayen Whaling Industry. In: Stig Skreslet, Bodø Regional University (Ed.): Jan Mayen Island in Scientific Focus. Springer Science + Business Media, New York 2004, excerpt online .