 De Ruyter was born on 24 March 1607 in Vlissingen, in the Dutch Republic, the son of a brewery drayman, Adriaen Michielszoon, and Aagje Jansdochter.Little is known about De Ruyter's early life, but he was sent to sea as a boatswain's apprentice at the age of 11, the usual age for Zeeland boys to begin seafaring.In 1622, during the Eighty Years' War against Spain, he fought as a musketeer in the Dutch army under Maurice of Nassau against the Spaniards during the relief of Bergen-op-Zoom.