In 1616, Pieter Adriaansz (Ita) served as captain of the Gouden Haan ("Golden Rooster"), a ship sailing from Vlissingen.

The vessel transported 150 colonists to the Amazon Delta, near present-day Gurupá, where the Portuguese had constructed a fort known as Maricay. In 1623, following the establishment of the Dutch West India Company (WIC), the Portuguese authorities in Brazil decided to eliminate all Dutch and English colonies in the region.

The colony at Maricay was attacked and destroyed in 1623 by the Portuguese general Bento Maciel Parente. During the ensuing conflict, Pieter Adriaansz Ita’s ship, the *Gouden Haan*, caught fire—possibly as a result of enemy fire—and was lost.

Pieter Adriaansz survived and later became a renowned WIC admiral; in 1628, he secured one of the largest privateering prizes ever captured in the Caribbean.

• Portuguese Conquest of Maricay