Jan Mendoses Explained

Jan Mendoses was a European pirate or merchant who lived during the 17th century. It is possible that Jan Mendoses' real name was Juan [de] Mendoza. There is considerable doubt about his nationality, some sources claiming he was a Belgian named Mandaus, others that he was Spanish. He may even have been a merchant heading for Russia, rather than the "notorious pirate" claimed by Danish sources.

According to the Danes, he had earlier been raiding the Faroe Islands with the English pirate Thomas Tucker who had formerly served under the English pirate Admiral Easton. In 1614, Tucker fitted out his first pirate command in Morocco and seems to have recruited Mendoses there. Mendoses was captured by the Danish Admiral Jørgen Daa off the north coast of Norway in 1615. The future explorer Jens Munk served on Daa's ship, and a book which Munk took from Mendoses' ship is now in the Danish Royal Library.^[1] Mendoses was taken back to Copenhagen where he was hanged.^[2]

Further reading

• Book: Munk, Jens. Navigatio, septentrionalis Det er: Relation Eller Bescriffuelse om Seiglads oc Reyse paa denne Nordvestiske Passagie, som nu kaldis Nova Dania. Copenhagen. Henrich Waldkirch. 1624. https://web.archive.org/web/20060330074434/http://www.kb.dk/elib/mss/treasures/verden/39_175.htm. dead. 30 March 2006. Danish.
• Danebrog Magazine. Den Danske Admiral. Jens . Munk. 34. 20 May 1882. Danish.
• Book: Knudsen, Johannes. Den danske ishavsfarer Jens Munk. G.E.C.Gad. Copenhagen. 1902. Danish.
• Book: Dahlerup, Verner. Ordbog over det danske sprog. Gyldendal. 1919. 85, 151. Danish.
• Book: The Life of the Icelander Jón Ólafsson, Traveller to India. Jón . Ólafsson. Sigfús. Blöndal. Bertha Surtees. Phillpotts. Richard Carnac . Temple. Lavinia Mary . Anstey. Hakluyt Society. 1923. 14, 30–31.
• Book: Ilsøe, Harald. Bog- og bibliotekshistoriske notitser. Fund og Forskning XXI. 1974. 165–166. Danish.
• Christian 4.s flåde. Den danske flådes historie, 1588-1660. Probst. Niels M.. 26. Marinehistoriske Skrifter. 1996. 87-00-28586-2. Danish.
• Book: Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates: An A-Z Encyclopedia. Da Cappo Press. 1996.

Notes and References

1. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20060330074454/http://www.kb.dk/elib/mss/treasures/verden/53_33.htm . Compendio del arte de navegar. 30 March 2006. The Royal Library. dead.
2. Book: Danish Arctic Expeditions, 1605 to 1620. Christian . Carl . August . Gosch. James . Hall . John. Gatonbe. William . Baffin. Miller . Christy. Jens . Munk. Printed for the Hakluyt Society. 1897. 23–24.