 The source also mentioned that De Ruyter had a slight knowledge of the Irish language and at least one Irish friend who played a leading role in the capture of in 1667.De Ruyter occasionally travelled as supercargo to the Mediterranean or to the Barbary Coast.In those years, he usually referred to himself as "Machgyel Adriensoon", his name in the Zeelandic dialect he spoke, as he had not yet adopted the surname "De Ruyter".