The Extraordinary Life of Hilletje Jans

Holland during the 18th century: the life of the eight-year-old orphan Hilletje is not at all easy. With nowhere to go, she ends up with her aunt Theresa, owner of a run-down tavern, who promptly blames Hilletje for a murder which she did not commit. The little girl is sentenced to seven years of hard labour in the spinning mill. After that the hardship does not stop - she returns to her aunt who continues to exploit the girl. Hilletje‘s only wish is to run away.

So she puts on men‘s clothes, calls herself Jan Hille, goes away to sea, and finally becomes captain of the ship. Only when Jan Hille is supposed to marry, her cross-dressing is about to be uncovered...

Historical background:

„Thousands of women preferred living as men to their normal life as women. In 17th and 18th century Netherlands alone Lotte van de Pol and Rudolf Dekker discovered 120 authentic cases, and that is onlythe tip of the iceberg, because not every woman who changed her sex was found out and put on trial, ormentioned in newspapers or other sources.  Cross-dressing was an extreme risk for women - thepunishment was often death.  The hard life at sea did not discourage a certain number of women to go that unusual way.  Many of them came from the lowest strata of society and suffered from abject poverty. Seafaring meant for them not only a chance to earn their living, but also the chance to make a carreer. Seamen were always wanted, so it was relatively easy for cross-dressed women to be hired. But they had to be extremely careful if they did not want to be found out, which happened mostly because of some stupid coincidence, not because they failed, were stupid, weak or timid.  In many cases their true sex was only discovered after an injury or illness.“

(After Helga Helsper, Abenteuer auf See. Darmstadt: edition ebersbach)