As a young man he served under Krzysztof Radziwiłł. After murdering Kacper Jaruzel Brzeźnicki, was condemned to infamy and exile, and left Poland in 1623. He went to Holland where he settled in the Hague. Thanks to support of Krzysztof Radziwiłł he was able to study artillery, military engineering and navigation at Leiden University. In 1637 he became a vice-governor of Dutch Brazil and head chief of Dutch military forces in that country. In 1646 he returned to Poland, where he became General of the Artillery.