1628-1679
Governor of New Netherland, 1673
Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge (the Younger) was the son of Lieutenant-Admiral Johan Evertsen and the nephew of Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Evertsen, the Elder. He was born on April 16, 1628 in Vlissingen, the Netherlands and by the age of ten was sailing on his father’s ship. Evertsen De Jonge became a Dutch vice-admiral in 1666 and, during the third Anglo-Dutch War (1672- 1674), he was sent on a roving mission to attack English ships in the seas around the Americas. In August, 1673, Evertsen joined forces with Jacob Benckes, a Dutch commander with similar instructions, and together they attacked some English vessels in the Chesapeake Bay. Afterward, the two commanders launched a joint attack on New York harbor and ordered Captain Anthony Colve to land on shore with a force of six hundred mariners. After a brief exchange of fire, the English surrendered. New York became New Netherland, New York city became New Orange, and Fort James became Fort Willem Hendrick. Not long afterward, Captain Colve was appointed military governor-general of New Netherland, and Evertsen De Jonge and Benckes resumed their naval missions.
Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge died in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, on September 20, 1679.