Jan Tasman (1597-) was a Dutch explorer who was active in Dutch Brazil during the 17th century. In 1642, he founded the colony of Lauerstad in Brazil, and he went to war with the Portuguese colony of Baraceira amid the Dutch-Portuguese War. Following the failed Raid on Baraceira, the Battle of Porto Pindaré, the Battles on the Pindaré, the Battle of Bacuri, and the Battle of Ambos Bancos, the Portuguese attacked the Dutch colony and destroyed it.