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Belgian war of independence, Dutch gunboat commander Jan van Speijk came under attack from a mob of Antwerp labourers.<unk> Belgian war of independence, Dutch gunboat commander Jan van Speijk came under attack from a mob of Antwerp labourers.<unk> When they forced him and his crew to surrender, he ignited a barrel of gunpowder, thus sinking his ship and killing himself and most of the crew.<unk> When they forced him and his crew to surrender, he ignited a barrel of gunpowder, thus sinking his ship and killing himself and most of the crew. Van Speijk went on to become a national hero in the Netherlands.