Joost van Dyk

Joost van Dyk (sometimes spelled Joost van Dyke) was a Dutch privateer (and, reportedly, sometime pirate) who was one of the earliest European settlers in the British Virgin Islands in the seventeenth century, and established the first permanent settlements within the Territory. The islands of Jost Van Dyke and its smaller neighbor Little Jost Van Dyke ("Little Jost"), as well as Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda island, are named after him.

The early colonial history of the British Virgin Islands is not especially well documented. However, it is known that during the early years of the seventeenth century, van Dyk had created a small settlement at Soper's Hole on Tortola's West End, leading a largely unremarkable career as a privateer or pirate, and that he was trading with the Spanish settlers in Puerto Rico in breach of a Papal concession to the Spaniards. Between raids, van Dyk and his crew farmed cotton and tobacco. By 1615 van Dyk's settlement was recorded in Spanish contemporary records as having expanded, and consisting of Dutch, French and English pirates, who had constructed some small defences. At this time the Spanish Governor in Puerto Rico began to regard van Dyk less as an irritation and more as a potential threat to Spanish trading interests in the region. However, at the time the Dutch Republic and Spain were subject to a binding truce. When the truce came to an end in 1620 van Dyk perceived his potential vulnerability, and built a more substantial earthen fort at what would later be named Fort Recovery.

By 1625 van Dyk was recognised by the Dutch West India Company as the private "Patron" of Tortola, and had moved his operations to Road Town (at that time, simply known as "The Road"). During the same year van Dyk lent some limited (non-military) support to the Dutch Admiral Boudewijn Hendricksz, who sacked San Juan, Puerto Rico (although he was unable to take Fort San Felipe del Morro). In 1628 Dutch Admiral Piet Heyn plundered the Spanish treasure fleet, and these two attacks stung the Spanish to retaliation.

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