Dutch naval officer Joris van Spilbergen (1568鈥?620) embarked on his first expedition when he went to Africa in 1596. He then set sail for Asia on May 5; 1601; commanding the fleet for the Moucheron trading company; a forerunner of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He met King Vimala Dharma Suriya of Senkadagalapura (Maha Nuvara); today known as Kandy; in Ceylon in 1602 with a view to trading for the island's cinnamon.

In 1607; Spilbergen; onboard Aeolus; fought at the Battle of Gibraltar. In 1614; he sailed beyond the Straits of Magellan and raided the Spanish settlements of the coast of California. He circumnavigated the earth; and returned to Holland in 1617. Spilbergen died a poor man in Bergen-op-Zoom in 1620.