 maarten harpertszoon tromp (23 april 1598 â 10 august 1653) was an officer and later admiral in the dutch navy. his first name is also spelled as maerten. ==early life== born in brill, tromp was the oldest son of harpert maertensz, a naval officer who became captain of the olifantstrompâfrom the name of this ship the family name "tromp" probably has been derived, first appearing in documents in 1607. his mother supplemented the family's income as a washerwoman. at the age of nine, tromp went to sea with his father and was present in a squadron covering the dutch main fleet fighting the battle of gibraltar in 1607. in 1610, after his father's discharge because of a navy reorganisation, the tromps were on their way to guinea on their merchantman when they were attacked by a squadron of seven ships under command of the english pirate peter easton. during the fight, tromp's father was slain by a cannonball. according to legend, the 12-year-old boy rallied the crew of the ship with the cry "won't you avenge my father's death?", but the pirates seized him and sold him on the slave market of salÃ©. two years later, easton was moved by pity and ordered his redemption. set free, he supported his mother and three sisters by working in a rotterdam shipyard. tromp went to sea again at 19, briefly working for the navy, but he was captured again in 1621 after having rejoined the merchant fleet â this time by barbary corsairs off tunis. he was kept as a slave until the age of 24, and by then had so impressed the bey of tunis and corsair john ward with his skills in gunnery and navigation that the latter offered him a position in his fleet. when tromp refused, the bey was even more impressed by this show of character and allowed him to leave as a free man. he joined the dutch navy as a lieutenant in july 1622, entering service with the admiralty of the maze based in rotterdam. on 7 may 1624 he married dignom co
1598_births 1653_deaths 17th-century_Dutch_people Admirals_of_the_navy_of_the_Dutch_Republic Burials_at_the_Oude_Kerk,_Delft Dutch_military_personnel_killed_in_action Dutch_naval_personnel_of_the_Anglo-Dutch_Wars Dutch_people_of_the_Eighty_Years\'_War_(United_Provinces) Knights_of_the_Order_of_Saint_Michael Naval_commanders_of_the_Eighty_Years\'_War People_from_Brielle People_of_the_Dutch_Golden_Age