 It is assumed that he left Bruges to escape the religious persecution of Protestants by the Spanish rulers.Based on references in his work ""Wisconstighe Ghedaechtenissen"" (Mathematical Memoirs), it has been inferred that he must have moved first to Antwerp where he began his career as a merchant's clerk.Some biographers mention that he travelled to Prussia, Poland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden and other parts of Northern Europe, between 1571 and 1577.