Dutch guns from 1653

The amazing thing is that I now have the gun inventories for many Zeeland ships from March 1653. Some guns of greatly varying shot sizes weighed the same. That explains, in part, why some ships might have what seems to be a very heavy armament: the guns carried turn out to be very light, usually chambered in the normal way, or with the bell-shaped chamber that the Dutch called "klokwijs". Some examples:

18pdr half-cartouwen bronze  3200 lbs
12pdr                bronze  3300 lbs
 5pdr                bronze  1750 lbs
 5pdr klokwijs       bronze  1850 lbs
12pdr sakers         iron    3200 lbs

The captain of the Faem in March 1653

I have this photograph of a page that says that the captain of the Amsterdam Directors' ship Faem (28 guns), in March 1653, was kapitein Jacob Cornelisz Swart. Most documents just say "Jacob Swart", so you don't know if the man was Jacob Andriesz Swart or Jacob Cornelisz Swart. This definitely says "Jacob Cornelisz Swart".

One thing that I just received is a letter signed by Witte de With and Michiel de Ruijter

I still am really interested in understanding better the relationship between Witte de With and Michiel de Ruijter. I just received a letter signed by both Witte Cornelisz de With and "Michiel Adr Ruijter" on board the ship Leeuwarden on 2 May 1653. This is about two weeks after the abortive raid on Scarborough, commanded by Witte de With. that operation is very curious, but unlike his usual decisive mode of operation, in this case, Witte de With held a council of war where they decided not to go into Scarborough Bay with the squadron of about 18 ships, including the Leeuwarden (36 guns) and ships such as Cornelis de Groot's ship Sampson (28 guns).

Joost Bulter's ship in early 1653

Joost Bulter commanded the ship Stad Groeningen en Ommelanden from late 1652 to mid-1653, when the ship was sunk at the Battle of the Gabbard and he was drowned. The first pages showed the ship with just 28 guns, but the latest things I have seen show that the ship carried 38 guns. The 38 guns included four bronze 12pdr, of which two were klokwijs guns (with a bell-shaped chamber) and the rest were divided among 10pdr, 8pdr, and 5pdr guns. The ship was not that large, just 120ft long. This seems to be the ship that the published literature calls "the Kameel". I have yet to understand where that name came from. I would have guessed that the picture on the tafferel had a camel, but I have been repeatedly assured that it could not have had a camel.

The four Amsterdam Directors' ships listed as being lost in the Three Days Battle

On photograph that I just received shows the four Amsterdam Directors' ships that were lost in the Three Days Battle (what the English called the Battle of Portland) from 28 February to 2 March 1653. They were the Croon Imperiael (kapitein Cornelis Jansz Poort), the Groote Liefde (kapitein Bruijn van Seelst), the Arcke Troijana (kapitein Abraham van Campen) and the Sint Francisco (kapitein Stoffel Juriaenszoon). There are no other Amsterdam Directors' shown to have been lost.

Maarten Schaeff's ship Engel

By 27 March 1653, Maarten Schaeff's ship Engel had been paid off. Sadly, the list I just received doesn't have dimensions, but it does had a gun list and crew figures. The Engel was primarily armed with 8pdr and 4pdr guns, with a couple of 12pdr and 3pdr guns, in addition. The crew consisted of 100 men and 20 musketeers. I was interested by the terminology in this list, as they are usually called "landsoldaten" (land soldiers).

The 125ft 40-gun ships

There were a number of 125ft long 40-gun ships in service during 1652 to 1653, while most of the 40-gun ships were 128ft long and of 250 lasts (the last figure is the Dutch gross tonnage measure, before they switched to using tons). One example is the Amsterdam ship Goes, with dimensions of 125ft x 29ft x 11-1/2ft x 7ft. I estimate that this size ship would be measured at 200 lasts, the same nominal size as the Noorderkwartier ship Eenhoorn, built in 1625, but only carrying 28 guns. The Eenhoorn was 125ft x 29ft x 11-1/2ft, as well. The Eenhoorn was often said to be the oldest Dutch warship in service in the war.

Amsterdam Directors' ships in service from late April 1653

Yesterday, I received photographs of a document that lists all the Amsterdam Directors' ships in service, or coming into service, in late April 1653. This is the order in which they appear in the document. I have added captains' names:

Adm   Ship                 Guns Captain
A-Dir Samson               28   Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot
A-Dir Rooseboom            28   Bartholomeus Rietbeeck
A-Dir Valck                28   Cornelis Jansz Brouwer
A-Dir David en Goliat      34   Claes Bastiaensz van Jaersvelt
A-Dir Blauwen Arent        28   Hendrick Claesz van Streeck
A-Dir Engel Michiel        28   Frederick Bogaart
A-Dir Sint Pieter          28   Gerrit Schuyt
A-Dir Catrina              28   Jan Jacobsz Kop
A-Dir Sint Matheeus        42   Cornelis Naeuoogh
A-Dir Faem                 28   Jacob Swart
A-Dir Pellicaen            28   Barent Soudaen
A-Dir Gidion               34   Dirck Jansz Somer
A-Dir Elias                34   Frans Fransz Sluijter
A-Dir Moor                 34   Adriaen Cornelisz van Ackersloot
A-Dir Walvis               28   Abraham Verleth
A-Dir Hollandsche Tuin     28   Harman Walman
A-Dir Moorin               28   Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
A-Dir Keurvorst van Keulen 34   Sijmon Dootjes
A-Dir Hercules             28   Sijmon Veeneman
A-Dir Coninck Davidt       28   Dirck Hendricksz Vogelsang

Books

I have several books that would be good to sell. Two are high value, and not for everyone, while two others might be of more general interest:

1)  Lieuwe van Aitzema, Saken van staet en
oorlogh, in, ende omtrent de Vereenigde Nederlanden,
beginnende met het jaer 1621,ende eyndigende met het jaar 1669. 
's Gravenhage, Johan Veely, Johan Tongerloo, ende Jasper Doll, 1669-1672. 6
volumes in 7. With titles printed in red and black, engraved frontispiece,
engraved portrait. - 
Also: L. Sylvius (= Lambertus van den Bos). Historien onses
tyds, behelzende saken van staat en oorlogh .. Amst.,
Jan ten Hoorn, 1685-1699. 4 volumes. With engraved
portraits and plans. Together 11 volumes.

2)  Pieter Castelyn, Hollandtze Mercurius, Vervatende Het Gepasseerde in Europa, Voornamentlijk in Den Engelze Ende Nederlantschen Oorlog in 't Jaer 1666. Het Seventhiende Deel, Together with the Same, Vols 18 , 19, 20 and 21 (covers
the years 1666 to 1670).

3)  Frank Fox, Great Ships: the Battlefleet of King Charles II, Conway Maritime
Press, 1980.

4)  John R. Stevens, AN ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND EMBELLISHMENT OF OLD TIME SHIPS, 1949. This is number 177 of 500.

5) Dr. Frank Howard, Sailing Ships of War 1400-1860, Greenwich, 1979.

6) L. G. Carr Laughton, Old Ship Figure-Heads & Sterns, Republished by Conway Maritime Press in 1991. The original was published in 1925.

7) N. Aartsma, Michiel De Ruyter 1607-1676, Een Heldenleven in Flechtsvervulling voor het Vaderland, s'Gravenhage, 1942.

8) Hans Christian Bjerg and John Erichsen, Danske orlogsskibe 1690-1860, 1980. Published by Lademanns Forlag. Two volumes, the latter with plans and drawings.

9) E. Keble Chatterton, Sailing Models Ancient & Modern, London, 1934

10) W. Voorbeijtel Cannenburg, Beschrijvende Catalogus der Scheepsmodelen en Scheepsbouwkundige Teekeningen 1600-1900, Amsterdam, 1943

11) J. C. M. Warnsinck, Admiraal De Ruyter De Zeeslag op Schooneveld Juni 1673, s'Gravenhage, 1930

If you have any interest in these, please contact me by email. By the way, I recently sold a copy of John Charnock's History of Marine Architecture to The Ten Pound Island Book Company, along with a copy of Thomas Lediard's book , The Naval History of England in all its branches, London, 1735. I would imagine that they could be purchased there, if you are interested.

Some gun lists from April 1653 for new ships

I was interested to see some photographs that I received yesterday of pages that have gun lists for new ships. They date from April 1653, apparently. The first of them is for a ship with dimensions of 136ft length and 34ft beam. The list includes 44 guns, of which four are bronze 24pdr and six are iron 18pdr guns. There is a fairly large complement of 12pdr guns, with a few 8pdr, 6pdr, and two 4pdr guns.

Luitenants who moved on to command Amsterdam Directors' ships

This is the list of luitenants who later commanded Amsterdam Directors' ships in 1653, and the ships that they commanded:

Adm   Ship                 Guns Crew Commander
A-Dir Blauwen Arent        28   110  lt-cdr Hendrick Hendricksz Heij
A-Dir Roosenboom           30   107  kapitein Bartolomeus Rietbeeck
A-Dir Moorin               28   107  kapitein Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
A-Dir Gideon               34    95  kapitein Dirck Jansz Somer
A-Dir Coninck David        28   164  kapitein Dirck Hendricksz Vogelsang
A-Dir Elias                34   107  kapitein Frans Fransz Sluijter

Uldrich de Jager and Dirck Jansz Soomer

So, which ships, exactly, did former luitenants Uldrich de Jager and Dirck Jans Soomer (or Somer) command? I have some information from early 1652 that shows that Ulrich (or Uldenich or Uldrich) Claesz de Jager was the luitenant of Hector Bardesius on the Amsterdam Directors' ship Gideon van Sardam. That some document shows that Dirck Jansz Soomer was luitenant of Lambert Pieterszoon's ship Nassouw (or Nassouw van den Burgh, later just called the Burgh). This document is really good, as luitenants that we later hear about include:

Ship              Captain                   Lieutenant
Blauwen Arent     Dirck Pater               Hendrick Hendricksz Heij
Gideon van Sardam Hector Bardesius          Ulrich de Jager
Valck             Cornelis Jansz Brouwer    Bartholomeus Rietbeeck
Elias             Jacob Sievertsz Spanheijm Frans Fransz Sluijter
Nassouw           Lambert Pieterszoon       Dirck Jansz Somer
Engel Gabriel     Bastiaen Bardoel          Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
Vergulde Fortuijn Fredrick de Coninck       Dirck Hendricksz Vogelsang

So what were the 32 24-to-28 gun Directors' ships in service in March 1653

De Jonge, in Appendix XXII of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, says that there were 32 Directors' ships in service in March 1653 with 24 to 28 guns. I suspect that the list includes ships with up to 32 guns, as well. So can we name them?:

No.  Adm   Ship                   Guns Crew Commander
 1   A-Dir Valck                  28   111  Cornelis Jansz Brouwer
 2   A-Dir Samson                 28   110  Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot
 3   A-Dir Engel Michiel          28   110  Fredrick Bogaert
 4   A-Dir Sint Pieter            28   109  Gerrit Schuijt
 5   A-Dir Blauwen Arent          28   110  Hendrick Claesz van Streeck
 6   A-Dir Catharina              28   110  Jan Jacobsz Kop
 7   A-Dir Walvis                 30   104  Abraham Verleth
 8   A-Dir Moorin                 28   107  Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
 9   A-Dir Swarte Leeuw           28   110  Hendrick de Raedt
10   A-Dir Faem                   28   108  Jacob Swart
11   A-Dir Rooseboom              30   107  Bartholomeus Rietbeeck
12   A-Dir Gulden Pelicaen        30   120  Barent Tijmensz Soudaen
13   R-Dir Hollandia              26    95  Ruth Jacobsz Buijs
14   R-Dir Roscam                 24    95  Corstiaen Eldertszoon
15   R-Dir Sint Pieter            28   110  Sijmon Cornelisz van der Meer

16   En-Dir Vergulde Sonne        28   115  Jacob Claesz Duijm
17   Ed-Dir Vergulde Halve Maen   30   107  Hendrick Pieterszoon
18   Mo-Dir Swarte Beer           32   104  Jan Olij

19   Vl-Dir Haes                  30   120  Bastiaen Centsen
20   Vl-Dir Arent                 30   100  Teunis Post
21   Mi-Dir Gouden Leeuw          30   120  Jacob Pensen

22   Ha-Dir Sint Vincent          28   110  Adriaen Heeres Kleijntje

In mid-March 1653, it is not obvious to me what the other 10 ships are. Perhaps some of the ships that came into service in April were counted.

De Jonge's March 1653 list

Now that I have seen as much as I have from the Nationaal Archief in The Hague (I have only seen a small fraction of what there is), I would think that the two Friesland 38 gun ships are the Zevenwolden and the Stad Groningen en Ommelanden (actually a Groningen ship). That is almost a certainty, because the list that I just saw in photographs has those two ships with the Zevenwolden, which had 38 guns and a crew of 140 men, and the Stad Groningen en Ommelanden, which had 38 guns and a crew of 110 men. Those are the crew sizes, I believe, in De Jonge's list in an appendix to Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I. Hendrik Jansz Camp's ship seems to be absent from that list.

I am still baffled by the identity of Abraham van der Hulst's ship from May to August 1652

The consensus, at least right now, is that from the beginning of the First Anglo-Dutch War, and probably before that, Abraham van der Hulst must have commanded a convoyer funded in 1648, at the peace treaty with Spain. There were nominally 40 convoyers, but the number actually in service varied. The identity of which ships were funded under that vehicle also seems to have changed over time. From a variety of sources, including Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet about the Dutch fleet that sailed to the Shetlands in July and August indicates that Abraham van der Hulst's ship carried 26 guns and had a crew of 100 men. Those are at least the nominal figures. His ship was not one of those hired in 1652, but was built as a warship. Ships like the klein Zutphen are possible candidates, but it is unclear as to what the comprehensive list is. I am usually uncertain about a number of ships, because they were "hired" in 1652, but were built as warships.

An ill-conceived practice

I will try to be as non-specific as possible, but I would imagine that if this fits you, you will know it. It seems likely to be true that a certain archive organization allows certain people to restrict access to boxes of documents from the 17th Century for extended periods of time, even for over six months. For one thing, there is no justification for this to be allowed. A person can photograph an entire box of documents in a relatively short period. If they don't want to take the time to do that themselves, they can either pay the archive to make copies, or else hire someone like Eric Ruijssenaars, of the Dutch Archives Research Bureau, to take photographs for you. This also has the benefit of reducing the handling of fragile pages that should not be handled too frequently. An archive shouldn't show favoritism, either, towards anyone, even if that person is trying to restrict access to information so that he can get to publication before anyone else(I apologize for being so nasty, but I don't like this practice at all). Let me know of any reason why I am wrong on this, and should change my view.

Ron van Maanen on the Zeeland ship Amsterdam

The Zeeland ship Amsterdam was lost in early November 1653 (Ron van Maanen says that the date was 11 November), in the terrible storm off the Texel, after the return voyage from Norway. I was curious to see what Ron van Maanen had about the ship:

The Zeeland ship Amsterdam
Guns: 2-20pdr, 6-12pdr, 2-10pdr, and 14-other guns
(not enough to show the complete list of 30 guns)
  The ship actually carried an additional 2-24pdr, a total of 17-12pdr guns,
   some 7pdr guns(!) and 2-6pdr guns

The Amsterdam was built with a length of 120ft, one of many ships of that size. The Amsterdam was commanded by Adriaen Kempen up to her loss, and he perished with the Amsterdam. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, "Dutch Warships 1648-1720", 2007
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "ZEELAND", undated

Dutch ship sizes

When you realize that the Maas foot is very similar in size to an English foot of 305mm, then us English-speaking people should be able to better understand how large Dutch ships were in the mid-17th Century. The Dutch flagship at the Battle of Lowestoft, the Eendracht, was 150ft x 38ft x 15ft, in Amsterdam feet of 283mm. In Maas feet, the dimensions were 137-1/2ft x 34-1/4ft x 13-1/2ft. Just for comparison, the Duke of York's flagship, the Royal Charles, was 131ft on the keel x 42ft-6in outside the planking x 18ft-6in depth of hold. The Eendracht was measured from stem to sternpost. I would estimate that the gundeck length for the Royal Charles was about 167ft. That is about 30ft longer than the Eendracht. The beam is much greater, although the Dutch ship was measured inside the planking. I would estimate the beam outside of the planking to be about 36ft, in English feet. Of course, the Royal Charles was an 80 gun First Rate, while the Eendracht was more like a small 3rd Rate, with 73 guns. The lower tier on the Royal Charles had 20-cannons-of-7 (42pdr) and 6-demi-cannons (32 pdr). The Eendracht had just 3-36pdr guns and 22-24pdr guns, considerably less than the English combination of 32 and 42pdr guns. Anyway, no wonder that Lord Obdam, Jacob Wassenaer, ultimately lost his duel at Lowestoft with the Duke of York. The Eendracht exploded, eventually, killing Jacob Wassenaer and almost all his crew. Frank Fox says that five men were saved. Sources:

1. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996
2. Frank Fox, Great Ships: The Battlefleet of King Charles II, 1980
3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

This list of the Dutch fleet from late 1652

This one list of the Dutch fleet from late 1652 is quite informative. It has information such as that Witte de With's flag captain was Jan de Liefde. It also says that at the time, Jan Aertsz van Nes commanded the ship of his father, Aert van Nes. He was a luitenant of his father's ship, the Gelderland. In another case, it has a bracket that seems to associate both Jan Gideonsz Verburgh and Cornelis Adriaensz Kruijck with the VOC ship "Vogel Struijs" (the Vogelstruis). There is another Amsterdam Lt-Commandeur named what looks like Joris Faesz, which I don't recognize. Later on, there is list item that shows that by this date, Crijn Cornelisz Mangelaer commanded the Wapen van Zierickzee, the ship formerly commanded by Cornelis Rocusz Fincen. Even further towards the end of the list are the names of Volckert Schram, commandeur Johannes Bourgoigne, and Harman Munneckes (the way it is spelled here). Carl Stapel says that at this date, Volckert Schram commanded the Noorderkwartier ship Lastdrager.

Ships in Witte de With's fleet in 1645 that served in 1652

There are a few ships in Witte de With's fleet in 1645 which clearly served in the First Anglo-Dutch War, at least in 1652. There are several others that may have served:

Definitely served in 1652:

Adm   Ship                  Guns Crew Commander
R     Brederode             51   183  vice-admiraal Witte de With
A     Zutphen               32   100  kapitein Jan de Lapper
A     Bommel                30    80  kapitein Jan Uijttenhout
N     Wapen van Alkmaar     24    80  kapitein Jan Warnaertsz Capelman
N     Wapen van Hoorn       24    87  kapitein Claes Tesselaer
N     Kasteel van Medemblik 26    80  kapitein Gabriel Anthonisz

May have served in 1652:

Adm   Ship                  Guns Crew Commander
A     Goude Maen            34   100  schout-bij-nacht Johan van Galen
A     Goude Zon             33   100  commandeur Anthonis van Zalingen
A     Wapen van der Goes    32   101  commandeur Willem van Nijhoff
A-Dir Patientia             26    71  kapitein Cornelis Jansz Poort
A-Dir Gouden Leeuw          24    85  kapitein Adriaan Houttuijn
N     Sampson               28    92  kapitein Schellinkhout

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. G. W. Kernkamp, De Sleutels van de Sont, 1890

Another look at Rotterdam ships in May 1653

Lest us look at the list of ships of the Admiralty of Rotterdam that were with the Dutch fleet in May 1653, according to Witte de With's journal:

Adm Ship              Guns Crew Commander
R   Overijssel        22    98  commandeur Haexwant
R   Utrecht           24    98  kapitein Dirck Vijgh
R   Rotterdam         32   120  luitenant-commandeur Pieter Verhaven
R   Gorcum            30   116  kapitein Willem Arensz Warmont
R   Dolphijn          32   116  kapitein Paulus van den Kerckhoff
R   Gelderland        24    99  kapitein Aert Jansz van Nes
R   Brederode         56   268  the ship of lt-admiraal Tromp

A noteworthy feature is that the Overijssel, Utrecht, and Gelderland were all built to the same dimenions, as small frigates. Not all sources acknowledge that, but the relatively well-known list from 26 February 1652 of Rotterdam ships makes that clear. Sources:

1. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Large Amsterdam Directors' ships with the fleet in May 1653

Several of the Amsterdam Directors' ships that were with the Dutch fleet in May 1653 were quite substantial ships. One had fairly long service in the English navy (the Sint Matheeus as the Mathias). This is the list:

Adm   Ship               Guns Crew Commander
A-Dir Sint Matheeus      42   155  kapitein Cornelis Laurensz (Cornelis Naeuoogh?)
A-Dir David en Goliad    34   125  kapitein Claes Bastiaensz van Jaersvelt
A-Dir Elias              34   107  kapitein Frans Fransz Sluijter
A-Dir Gideon             34    95  kapitein Dirck Jansz Sommer
A-Dir Burgh              34   119  kapitein Hendrick Glas

Sources:

1. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The larger ships in Witte de With's fleet in September 1653

Perhaps someone besides me would be interested to see the list of the larger ships in Witte de With's fleet that went to Norway in September 1653. They were joined after leaving by Egbert Meeuwssen Kortenaer's squadron (he probably did not start using the Kortenaer name until later):

Adm   Ship               Guns Crew Commander
A     Huis te Swieten    56   276  vice-admiraal Witte de With
A     Huis te Cruiningen 48   250  commandeur Michiel de Ruijter
A     Amsterdam          50   210  kapitein Jan Gideonsz Verburgh
A     Vrijheid           50   210  kapitein Abraham van der Hulst
Z     nieuw Vlissingen   39   145  kapitein Jacob Wolphertszoon
R     Brederode          54   275  kapitein Egbert Meeuwssen
A     Oosterwijck        55   226  commandeur Gideon de Wildt

Sources:

1. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Ron van Maanen's dimensions for the Oranje

I noticed, again, Ron van Maanen's amazing dimensions for the VOC ship Oranje, a retourschip, commanded by Bastiaan Centsen at the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. Ron's dimensions are 180ft x 52ft x 17ft, with a height between decks of 7ft. These are Dutch measurements in Amsterdam feet. To put these into perspective, let us convert these to English feet:

Dutch measurement:
Length from stem to sternpost: 180ft
Beam inside the planking:             52ft
Hold:                                                 17ft

English measurement:
Length on the keel:                       135ft
Beam outside the planking:           46ft
Depth of hold:                                  15ft

I would estimate the length on the gundeck to be about 175ft in English feet.

Herbert Tomesen, at Artitec, is using a much smaller set of dimensions:

Length from stem to sternpost: 170ft
Beam inside the planking:             38ft
Hold:                                                 18ft

This would translate into English measurement:

Length on the keel:                       127ft-10in
Beam outside the planking:           33ft-8in
Depth of hold:                                  15ft-11in

estimate length on the gun deck: 166ft

This actually seems more reasonable than Ron's dimensions.
Ron is pretty consistent, though, with his large retourschip dimensions.
I have yet to find the source, however.

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships and the Relationship Between English and Dutch Measure", 2003
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "ZEELAND", undated

A ship named Eenhorn, built in 1638

Ron van Maanen has information about an Eendracht built in 1638 and possibly only in service until 1641. The ship was 150 lasts, which could be a ship 116ft x 26-1/2ft x 10ft (Noorderkwartier dimensions for a 116ft ship). Ron has the armament for the Eenhoorn, which was 26 guns: 21-8pdr, 3-6pdr, 1-5pdr, and 1-2pdr. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

modellmarine.de

I just spoke with Frank Fox and he told me that he had been told that modellmarine.de had photographs of Artitec 17th Century Dutch ship models (over one hundred). I see the site but am not sure where to look for the Dutch ship models. I guess the Roads of Texel page must be the one. There are multiple pages so there is quite a bit there.

A question: is this ship Hoorn the ship commanded by Pieter Allertszoon up to the Three Days Battle?

We believe that Pieter Allertszoon commanded the ship Hoorn (or Eenhoorn) from sometime in 1652 up to the time when he was killed in the Three Days Battle on 28 February 1653. Ron van Maanen has the details of what seems to be that ships. The dimensions were 120ft x 27ft x 11ft, with a height between decks of 7ft. The armament was 6-12pdr, 20-8pdr, 4-6pdr, and 2-4pdr guns (a total of 32 guns). Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

The Zeeland ship Vlasbom

Ron van Maanen has the dimensions for the Zeeland ship Vlasbom. The Vlasbom apparently was a ship of the Middelburg Chamber of the VOC that served with the fleet in August 1665. The Vlasbom was commanded by Engel Janszoon had carried 46 guns and had a crew of 171 sailors and 42 soldiers. The dimensions were 135ft x 29ft x 14ft, with a height between decks of 6ft. In August 1665, the Vlasbom was assigned to the Second Squadron, commanded by Lt-Admiraal Cornelis Evertsen. Sources:

1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

This list of ships from March 1653 that were suitable for hiring

This list of ships from March 1653 that were apparently suitable for hiring is very suggestive. There are names such as Jonas, Hoop, Engel Gabriel, and of course, the Profeet Samuel. They sound like the names of ships that actually served in May to August, at least, in 1653. A ship named Jonas was commanded by Joris Collerij. A ship named Hoop was commanded by Boetius Schaeff at the Battle of the Gabbard, where he was killed and his crew mutinied. The Hoop was commanded by Dirck Pater at the Battle of Scheveningen. Adriaan van den Bosch commanded a ship named Engel Gabriel at the Battle of Scheveningen.

Ship           Length
Jonas          139ft
Hoop           123ft
Engel Gabriel  120-1/2ft
Profeet Samuel 124ft

A ship named Medemblik from 1690

There was a ship named Medemblik, Stad Medemblik, or Wapen van Medemblik built in 1690 and captured by the French in 1693. The Medemblik was built at Medemblik (or was in built at Enkhuizen?). The dimensions were approximately 135ft x34ft x 15ft, although there is some uncertainty about them. The French measured the ship at different times and got different results. For example, in 1696, they said that the Medemblik measured 138ft x 39ft x 12ft. Later, the length was stated to be 122ft. Perhaps thay used a different part of the ship for the length measurement. The Dutch used "stem to sternpost". The Medemblik carried anywhere from 50 to 64 guns and had a crew of 210 men. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

The Jonge Prins of 1666

Ron van Maanen has some information that complements what Dr. Weber had in his book about the ship Jonge Prins (or Prins van Oranje), built in 1666 and in service until 1686. the dimensions were 150ft x 39ft x 14-3/4ft x 7-3/4ft (at least nominally). Ron says that the actual measured dimensions, as built, were 150-1/2ftx 39-1/2ft x 14ft-3in x 7ft-2in. The Jonge Prins was built at Medemblik by Cornelis Janssen Olij. Dr. Weber say that the armament at the Four Days' Battle in 1666 was 2-bronze 36pdr, 22-iron 18pdr, 24-iron 12pdr, 12-iron 6pdr, and 6-bronze 4pdr guns. The crew at the Four Days' Battle was 235 sailors and 51 soldiers. Sources:

1. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

The West Cappelle listed in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 should have been the new ship

Since we know that the West Cappelle, built in 1638, was lost at the Battle of Scheveningen, the West Cappelle listed in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 should have been the new ship probably built in 1654. This West Cappelle was in service until 1667. While the original ship is usually listed as 112ft long, the new ship was smaller: 108ft x 26ft x 11ft x 6ft. They apparently loaded as many as 40 guns onto the new ship, which must have terribly overloaded it, unless they were quite small. This is based on the information in Ron van Maanen's "Zeeland" document (undated).

One troubling issue: the ship belonging to the Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC

The outline list of ships at Vlissingen (actually including some ships at the Texel and at Goeree) in early July 1653 names very few ships. One of those named is the ship said to belong to the Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC. The name is given as the David en Goliat and the ship is said to be "old". This is add odds with other information that we have, chiefly from Witte de With's journal, that gives the ship name as Wapen van Nassau. Ron van Maanen even has dimensions for the ship. The page that dates from March 1653, when the six VOC ships were hired for use by the fleet says that the Nassau was a new ship. Ron van Maanen equates Nassau with Wapen van Nassau, and thinks that it is the ship of the Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC. So why does the July 1653 list say what it does?

A document dated 22 March 1653 that describes the "hiring" of the two Genoese ships.

One of the last photographs that I received today was dated 22 March 1653 and says that two Genoese ships were "hired". I had thought that they were purchased, not hired. The document gives the dimensions of the two ships: 146ft x 36ft x 15ft and 140ft x 34ft x ? ft. These ships were later named Huis te Swieten and Huis te Kruiningen. During July 1653, Witte de With was getting the Huis te Swieten ready to be his new flagship and Michiel De Ruyter was fitting out the Huis te Kruiningen. They were not ready in time for the Battle of Scheveningen, on 10 August 1653, but served as their flagships during the voyage to Norway in September to November. In September, the Huis te Swieten carried 56 guns and had a crew of 276 men while the Huis te Kruiningen carried 48 guns and had a crew of 210 men.