Jan van Gelder was a Dutch sea‑captain and son‑in‑law of Michiel de Ruyter who perished in the Battle of Schooneveld (1666). The source lists him among the officers killed when the Dutch fleet suffered heavy losses (see 275). As a member of the naval elite, his service contributed to the protection of the Indische retourvloot, which regularly called at Aceh for the transport of spices and other goods.
Connection to Aceh
Van Gelder’s participation in the fleet that defended the North Sea and the English Channel helped maintain the safe passage of the Dutch East India Company’s merchant ships to the East Indies, including the Sultanate of Aceh.
See Also
Source
De geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Korps Mariniers van 1665‑1945, OCR text, p. 275.