Yes, the pictures are "after" the Willem van de Velde de Oude drawings

As with my past work, which can be seen at Kentishknock.com, these pictures are "after" the drawings of Willem van de Velde de Oude.

The Battle of Dungeness picture

I believe that the ship to the left, firing at Blake's flagship was the Campen (40 guns). The Campen was a new ship that had been built earlier in 1652. Joris van der Zaan was the captain of the Campen from September 1652 to the first day of the Three Days Battle (the Battle of Portland) when he was killed. At this date, the Campen still had 4-24pdr guns, a lower tier of 12pdr guns, with the rest being 6pdrs.

Roger Morrice and his World: a workshop

NEW DIRECTIONS IN LATE STUART HISTORY

Roger Morrice and his World: a workshop

The Breakfast Room, Merton College, Oxford. Saturday 14 June 2008, 10.30am - 5pm.

The recent publication of Roger Morrice's Entring Book was an important milestone in the study of late-seventeenth century Britain. This one-day workshop is designed to assess the impact of the Entring Book on the study of the period, and to sketch possible directions for future research into the period.

Speakers include: Alasdair Raffe (Durham), Sarah Cieglo (Yale), Stephen Taylor (Reading), and Jason McElligott (Oxford)

A registration fee of £10 will cover coffees, lunches and tea. Those who wish to stay overnight in Oxford can ask the organisers to book a room for them in Merton College. The cost of a room is £28 per night.

To book a place at the workshop, email either Jason McElligott (jason.mcelligott@merton.ox.ac.uk) or Mark Goldie (mag1010@cam.ac.uk) before 7 June.

A slightly different and possibly improved picture from Dungeness

This is a brighter version of the photo from Dungeness. Which version do you like better? My wife likes the darker picture better.

A "photo" from the Battle of Dungeness on 10 December 1652 (new style)

This is my first version to be exposed that shows a snapshot "taken" at the Battle of Dungness, on 10 December 1652. The picture shows a smaller Dutch ship alongside Robert Blake's flagship, Triumph. They are vigorously firing at each other.

My improved photo from the Battle of Livorno

This version of the ship photo "taken" at the Battle of Livorno in March 1653 has been further modified to look more photographic than drawing or painting. The ship clearly is Dutch built, or at least is depicted that way in the original drawing.

A "photo" of a Dutch ship at the Battle of Livorno in 1653

This is my first attempt at adding photographic elements to a 17th Century drawing. This ship is probably one of the Italian ships hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1652-1653. This "photo" shows the ship in the Battle of Livorno.

The Dutch fleet right before the Battle of Scheveningen

One list of the Dutch fleet that I have is dated 1 August 1653. That is just nine days prior to the Battle of Scheveningen (the Zeeslag bij Ter Heide) on 10 August. The list has ship names, captains, guns, sailors, and soldiers listed. The list is slightly odd in that it was compiled right after some ship changes were made and does not totally reflect them. For example, Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge was flag captain for Johan Evertsen on the new Vlissingen (50 guns, 150 sailors, and 55 soldiers). The West Cappel and the Vlissingen are both listed with Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge. There are some striking features, such as a Middelburg Directors' ship named Bonaventura not being listed. The only new Middelburg Directors' ship was that of Cornelis Tiebij. The name and details are omitted from this list. The list does not actually say which city hired each of the Zeeland Directors' ships.

Lists of ships at the Battle of Scheveningen

I have lists of ships from right before and right after the Battle of Scheveningen (the Zeeslag bij Ter Heide). One curious fact is that I do not see the collection of odd ships that I had thought were in the battle. I was printing the pages with lists last night, so I had a fresh copy with the reference on the pages. For example, while the Roosencrans (44 guns) is there, I did not see the Bonaventura, said to have been hired by the Middelburg Directors. The Bonaventura was the captured English hired merchantman Anthony Bonaventure, captured at the Battle of Dungeness.

One disappointment

I am amazed and disappointed that I still don't have a good list of the Dutch fleet for the Three Days Battle (the Battle of Portland). Even for the Battle of the Kentish Knock, I only have an approximate list. One exists, apparently, but I don't have it yet. Probably the best lists that I have are for the Battle of the Gabbard and the Battle of Dover. I have a pretty good list for the Battle of Scheveningen. I have a good list for the voyage to the Shetlands in July and August 1653. I have only partial information about the fishery protection squadron that was attacked on 22 July 1652. We can hope that the missing information exists somewhere and just has not been found yet, but some of it may just not exist any more.

So, what ship would Bartel Simonszoon have commanded on 12 June 1653?

Perhaps it is all a mistake, but there are several sources that say (perhaps not independenty) that Bartel Simonszoon commanded an Amsterdam Directors' ship that carried 30 guns and had a crew of 120 men. The easy answer is that he is a duplicate with misspelling of Barent Timonsz Soudaen, who commanded the ship Gulden Pelicaen in the Battle of the Gabbard (the Zeeslag bij Nieuwpoort). I have known about this for almost a year, but have been concerned about the "easy answer", because there is a list from 24 June 1653 that gives the crew, as well as the number of guns. Of course, the ship name is omitted. Witte de With's journal gives the guns and crew for "Bartimeus Soudaen's" ship as 30 guns and 120 men, so perhaps there really is a duplicate entry in the status report about the Zeeslag bij Nieuwpoort.

The Dutch fleet lying off Vlissingen on 23 June 1653

Perhaps two-thirds of the Dutch fleet lay off Vlissingen after the Battle of the Gabbard that was fought over 12 and 13 June 1653. We have several lists dating from about 23 June 1653 that list the ships. A few ships were at Goeree and about one third of the fleet lay in the Texel Roads. That was where Witte de With was after the battle. He was apparently the senior naval officer present at the Texel. I can only imagine what the fleet lying off Vlissingen looked like. I assume, from maps that I have seen, that they fleet lay no farther west than Vlissingen and were mostly anchored from there and farther from the open sea.

Confirmation

I was just looking at a document from July 1652 that confirms what I determined by analysis about Rotterdam ships in June 1652:

Five Convoyers

Adm  Ship         guns  captain
R    Gelderland   20    Aert van Nes
R    Gorcum       30    Jan Jansz van Nes
R    Schiedam     30    Dirck Juynbol
R    Dordrecht    26    Sier de Liefde
R    Rotterdam    30    Jan Aertsz Verhaeff

Two for the Mediterranean Sea

R    Gelderland   40    Michiel Fransz van den Burgh
R    Brederode    54    Lt-Adm Maerten Harpertsz Tromp

Four in the North Sea

R    Wapen van Rotterdam   26  Jacob van Boshuijsen
R    Prinses Roijael Marie 34  Joost Willemsz van Coulster
R    Prinses Louise        36  Vice-Admiraal Witte de With
R    Holland               30  Hendrick de Munnick

Two in Brazil

R    Dolphijn              28  Marinus de Clercq
R    Nimwegen              26  Paulus van den Kerckhoff

Eight ships of the 100 ships

R    Maria            26   Quirijn van den Kerckhoff
R    Gulden Beer      24   Jan de Haes
R    Sphera Mundi     26   Reijnout Venhuijsen
R    Hollandia        24   Hendrick Ernestus de Bartrij
R    Roscam           26   Corstiaen Eldertszoon
R    Calmer Sleutel   24   Dirck Vijgh
R    Overijssel       22   Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter
R    Utrecht          22   Leendert Haexwant

My Dutch family connection

I have started doing genealogical research at Ancestry.com. I found out tonight that I seem to have a Dutch ancestor: Matilda Lemon, born in 1812. One 19th Century census says that Solomon Beardsley's mother was born in "Holland". Her name was Matilda Lemon and she was married to Elijah Hubble Beardsley. She died relatively young, in 1860.