At one point, knowing how the makeup of the 226 Dutch ships funded, at the time start of the First Anglo-Dutch War seemed important. The problem being is that although some published sources treat this like a solid number, the real number of ships that participated in the war was fluid.
There are some useful figures in the mix. That is especially true for the Directors' ships and the "36 ships of 1651). There is a direct and obvious mapping between the Noorderkwartier ships and what is found in the list (at least by captain's name).
The source for this information is H.T. Colenbrander's book, Bescheiden uit vreemde archieven omtrent de groote Nederlandsche zeeoorlogen 1652-1676, Vol.I, pp.51-53, published in 1919. I knew of this book from Frank Fox's book, A Distant Storm: the four days battle of 1666 (1996).
The 40 Ships of 1648 Rotterdam-----------8 Amsterdam----------16 Zeeland-------------8 Noorderkwartier-----8 Total:-------------40 The 36 Ships of 1651 Rotterdam-----------7 Amsterdam----------14 Zeeland-------------7 Noorderkwartier-----7 Friesland-----------1 Total--------------36 The 100 Ships of 1652 Rotterdam----------16-1/2 Amsterdam----------33 Zeeland------------16-1/2 Noorderkwartier----16-1/2 Friesland----------16-1/2 Total-------------100 The 50 Directors Ships Rotterdam-----------7 Amsterdam----------24 Zeeland-------------9 Noorderkwartier-----7 Friesland-----------2 Groningen-----------1 Total--------------50
In addition, there were 6 VOC (East-India Company) ships that were allocated to the fleet, beyond the 226. There were two 30-ship building programs plus purchases that were also added, although most of the new construction was completed post-war.
