Dutch Captain: Claes Joriszoon Bontenburch

Claes (or Nicolaes) Joriszoon (or Jorissen) Bontenburch served the Admiralty of the Maze (Rotterdam). There is little information about him. We do know that in 1628, he commanded the ship Abrahams Offerande, which had a crew of 85 men. The Abrahams Offerande was a vessel of 180 lasts. I estimate that a vessel of 180 lasts might have dimensions of about 122ft x 28ft x 12.5ft. Of course, the proportions were probably different than these. He was with the second expedition to Spain from 12 November 1626 to 10 July 1627 under command of Admiral Laurens Reael. He also was likely involved in fighting the Dunkirkers, but definite information is currently lacking. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005.
2. Carl Stapel, personal communication "Ships info from 1628", 2005.