Witte van Haemstede was born around 1280 - according to some sources in 1281 - as the illegitimate son of Count Floris V of Holland. His mother was Anna van Heusden. Under canon law, children born out of wedlock could not be recognised. Witte therefore grew up as Witte van Heusden.
When his father was assassinated in 1296, his half-brother Jan I, who then became the new count of Holland, gave him the seigniory of Haamstede in fief. The current Haamstede Castle. From then on, Witte bore the name Witte van Haemstede.
He gained a reputation as a hero in various battles between the Flemings, Zeelanders and Dutch. In 1299, he fought in the Siege of Dordrecht, occupying the castle of Putten in South Holland. Nicolaas van Cats (or Kats) also helped in the Dordrecht area as one of the Dutch nobles to strip Dordrecht of its economic rights.
Witte fought in what later became the one of the most important naval battles of the Middle Ages: The Battle of Zierikzee, also known as The Battle of the Gouwe.
Holland controlled the Beoostenschelde, the region around today's Oosterschelde. Flanders owned the rich trading cities of Bruges and Ghent. What was hotly contested between Holland and Flanders was the Bewestenschelde. Taking control of the Western Scheldt would allow those cities to prosper even further. But it was owned by Holland, and that made Holland a major competitor.
In 1304, the Flemings struck, after years of unrest between the Flemish and Dutch counts. Soon the Flemings had conquered large parts of Zeeland and had now settled deep into Holland. Only the wealthy city of Zierikzee was not yet under their control.
In the same year (1304), Witte van Haamstede was knighted in Zierikzee so that he could act as Zierikzee's defender. Months of fighting ensued, but Zierikzee's defences were strong. Witte had meanwhile left for Holland and managed to raise an army of porters and peasants to defend Delft. Legend has it that Witte planted a banner on top of the Blinkert in Haarlem, one of the largest dunes, to deter the advancing Flemings. This succeeded: the Flemings fled.
The Battle of Zierikzee was also won thanks to the help of a the Franco-Dutch fleet led by the Genoese admiral Grimaldi.
Photo: ©Zeeuws Archief
Witte van Haemstede
Ring 2
4328 AE
Burgh-Haamstede
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