Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Noort, Olivier Van

NOORT, Olivier Van (nort), Dutch navigator, b. in Utrecht in 1568; d. after 1621. Some merchants of his country equipped an expedition to go to the South sea by the Strait of Magellan, and Noort received the command. He left Rotterdam on 13 Sept., 1598, touched at Rio Janeiro, but was driven back, and along the coast suffered many losses by the attacks of the Indians. He resolved to winter in the deserted island of Santa Clara, whence he sailed again on 2 June, 1599. On the 29th he discovered an island near the coast of Patagonia, and stopped there to repair damages. On 23 Nov. he entered the Strait of Magellan, and landed on the northern coast, where he was attacked by the Indians and suffered many losses. Soon afterward he anchored among the Penguin islands, and subsequently he discovered the bays of Olivier, Mauritius, and Henry, but could not explore the latter on account of the ice. On 6 Feb. he left the Strait of Magellan, and, entering the South sea, sailed along the Chilian and Peruvian coasts, pillaging and burning as he went, and capturing several Spanish ships. The viceroy, Luis Velasco, sent a fleet to capture him, but Noort sailed for the Ladrone group. He pillaged the Philippines, visited Java and Borneo, and, sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, arrived at Rotterdam, 26 Aug., 1601. A narrative of his voyage was published under the title of “Beschrijving van de moeyelyke reis rondo m de werldaar de globe, door Olivier van Noort, waarin zyne vreem de lotgevallen in voorkomen” (Amsterdam, 1612; German translation by Gotthard Arties, Leipsic, 1613; French translation, Antwerp, 1613).