Piet Hein, or Heyn (November 25, 1577 – June 18, 1629), Dutch naval officer, privateer, and hero of Dutch folklore.
Hein was born in Delfshaven (today a district of Rotterdam). Son of a captain, he became a sailor during his adolescence. Around the age of 20, he was captured by the Spaniards and served as their galley slave for at least 4 years, before being exchanged for Spanish prisoners.
In 1607, he joined the Dutch East India Company and left for Asia, from where he would return with the rank of captain 5 years later. He then moved to Rotterdam and became a member of the local government.
In 1623, he became vice-admiral and left for the West Indies the following year on behalf of the Dutch West India Company. In Brazil, he captures the Portuguese colony of Salvador. In 1627 he captured many Portuguese ships carrying sugar. This legal "piracy" is in fact what made Hein famous.
In 1628, Hein went to attack the Spanish fleet carrying the treasures of the New World, in this case the silver of the mining colonies. Part of the fleet has been warned of the attack and takes shelter in the nearby Spanish colonies, but the other part continues on its way. Fifteen ships will be trapped near or in Matanzas Bay, on the Cuban coast. Hein thus gets his hands on a loot (gold, silver and various riches) worth more than 11 million florins. This is the greatest Dutch victory in the Caribbean:when Hein returns to Rotterdam in 1629, he is welcomed there as a hero and his treasure will be used to finance the Dutch army for 8 months.
He became lieutenant admiral and disappeared the same year, during one of the many battles against the pirates of Dunkirk. He is buried in Oude Kerk, Delft.
In his honor, a tunnel bears his name in Amsterdam, as well as an old frigate.
Piet Hein (physicist), physicist and poet of the 20th century, is one of his direct descendants.