Schrijver was the second son of naval captain Philips Schrijver and Cornelia Tijloos, a daughter of naval captain Cornelis Tijloos. Philips was the son of the Amsterdam postmaster at the time, so not a real "patrician", and this hindered his career when he had to compete for advancement with several members of the Dutch nobility. After having been passed over for promotion to admiral several times (despite having had a stellar career during the War of the Spanish Succession in the battles of Cadiz, Vigo Bay, Malaga, and Gibraltar) he resigned his commission in disgust in 1710. Despite his modest ancestry he had amassed a respectable fortune due to wise investments: 200,000 guilders at his death.