Jacob van Wassenaer Duivenvoorde

Who is Jacob van Wassenaer Duivenvoorde?

Jacob van Wassenaer Duivenvoorde, lord of Obdam, was a famous Dutch naval commander and Lieutenant-Admiral of the United Provinces of the Netherlands during the French Wars of Religion, the Anglo–Spanish War and the Eighty Years' War.

Jacob was the son of Gijsbert van Duvenvoorde en Maria van Hoxwier. In 1604 he married Anna van Randerode van der Aa, with whom he had four children while residing in The Hague. Their youngest child and only son was Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, future supreme commander of the confederate Dutch navy. In 1615 he bought Zuidwijk from the prince of Ligne, a piece of land near Wassenaar and adopted the name "van Wassenaer". Besides his career as naval commander he was governor of Heusden.