Jan Cornelisz Lichthart (died 30 November 1646), also known as Johan or Johannes Lichthart, was a Dutch admiral in the service of the Dutch West India Company.[1] He distinguished himself as a buccaneer, attacking Spanish and Portuguese fleets and forts in the Caribbean and South America, particularly along the coast of present-day Brazil.
Lichthart, who had lived in Lisbon and spoke Portuguese,[2] played a major part in the Dutch struggle against the Portuguese for possession of Brazil from 1630 onwards (see further Dutch Brazil). For instance, a squadron under his command conquered São Luis do Maranhão from the Portuguese in 1641.[3] And at Tamandaré on September 9, 1645, a squadron under his command destroyed a Portuguese squadron under the command of Jerônimo Serrão de Paiva.[4]
In 1630, he defeated a squadron of three Dunkirker ships following a pitched eight-hour battle.[5]
He died on 30 November 1646 in Brazil, near the São Francisco River, after "drinking cold water when he was much heated."[6]
A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere [2 volumes] ]
. 2008-02-11 . Bloomsbury Publishing USA . 978-1-59884-101-5 . en. 204.