 Joris van Spilbergen was born in Antwerp in 1568.His first major expedition was in 1596, when he sailed to Africa.He then left for Asia on 5 May 1601, from Veere, a seaport on the island of Walcheren in Zealand, in command of the fleet of the company of Balthazar de Moucheron (a trading company before the establishment of the VOC).