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Jochem Hendrickszoon Swartenhont (1566 – 5 June 1627) was a Dutch naval officer in the navy of theDutch Republic from the 17th century.
Swartenhondt was born inAmsterdam, and started his career with the merchant fleet, becoming a cabin boy at age eleven. He attained the rank offirst mate. Later he joined the army to fight against theDunkirkers but in 1587 he was captured and forced to serve on the Habsburg galleys in Flanders; he managed to escape however and brought with him important intelligence about theSpanish Armada of 1588.
In 1596 he became a lieutenant with the Amsterdam admiralty; in 1597 a captain.In 1599 he distinguished himself while serving as captain of a ship in a fleet under Vice-AdmiralPieter van der Does during an expedition toGran Canaria. In 1602 he became a Vice-Admiral with the Amsterdam Admiralty and served under AdmiralJacob van Wassenaer-Duivenvoorde on an expedition to the Spanish coast. From 1603 to 1605 he served as a temporary Vice-Admiral underPaulus van Caerden during an expedition to theWest Indies andBrazil. In 1605 he ended his service, becoming an inn-keeper, but in 1608 again was readmitted as a temporary Vice-Admiral.
He was painted, wearing his military decorations, byNicolaes Pickenoy (1588–1655), who also painted Jochem's daughter Maria.At the start of theTwelve Years' Truce in 1609 he again retired from service. From 1609 to 1620 he and his wife, Elisabeth Jacobs Bas (1571-1649), would keep thePrins van Oranje ("Prince of Orange") tavern in Amsterdam, a popular watering hole of many politicians, artists, and writers. After Jochem's death his widowElisabeth Bas sold it, becoming rich (she left 28,000 guilders on her death).Ferdinand Bol made a well-known painting of Elisabeth in 1640, many years after Joachim's death.
In 1620, when the truce was about to end, at his own request Jochem returned to the fleet as a Vice-Admiral; in 1621 he became Lieutenant-Admiral of Holland and West-Friesland and he commanded a largeconvoy to the Mediterranean and successfully defended it against an attack by a Spanish squadron. In 1622 he acted as temporary Lieutenant-Admiral; after that year he left the naval service for good.
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