Wednesday, May 31, 2006
More about the Prinses Roijael Maria from Carl Stapel
Carl Stapel passed on the following additional information about the Prinses Roijael Maria (which I have slightly edited):
The ship [Prinses Roijael Maria] was taken in June 1652 in an English harbor. Its captain was Joost van Colster son of captain Willem Joosten van Colster. Joost van Colster commanded the Gelderland in the relief squadron to Brazil with Witte de With.
According to the notaries, Joost van Colster left the navy in July 1652 and
became a merchant...!
# posted by Jim : 11:24 AM
The Prinses Roijael Maria
By the early 1640's, the Aemilia was out of service, due in part to hard service in battle in 1639 and damage from a storm while carrying Queen Henrietta Marie from England to the Netherlands in February 1643. Many people wanted to repair the Aemilia, due in part to her significant role in greatly damaging the Spanish Armada of 1639. Jan Salomonszoon, the shipbuilder, preferred to build a new ship in her place. This eventually resulted in the construction of the Brederode, which in May 1645 became Witte de With's flagship. In the Aemilia's place, Tromp moved his flag to the new, but much smaller ship, the Prinses Roijael Maria. Her dimensions, in Amsterdam feet were 124ft x 29.5ft x 13ft. Dr. Elias says that she carried 32 guns in 1643. She carried 34 guns, in 1652, prior to her capture in port, by the English. Her lower tier were mainly 12pdr, while the Aemilia carried 36pdr, 24pdr, and 18pdr on the lower tier (4-36pdr, 11-24pr,12-18pdr, 21-12pdr, and 9-6pdr, altogether). The Prinses Roijael Maria was taken by the English at the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War, which caught some Dutch warships in English ports, where they were seized. The Prinses Roijael Maria eventually served as the Princess Maria in the English service.
# posted by Jim : 10:36 AM
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
By 1664, Amsterdam had discarded their aversion to large ships
By the time that the new construction program, prior to the Second Anglo-Dutch War, had commenced in 1664, Amsterdam had accepted that larger ships were necessary to be able to effectively fight the English. Their ships were often still armed with a mixed armament on the lower deck, due to their not having solved their gun supply problem. Frank Fox says that by the time of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch had acquired sufficient guns to be able to more heavily arm their ships. I do not have much information about this issue, but I do know that Michiel De Ruyter's flagship, the Zeven Provinciën, carried a complete lower tier of 36pdrs in the Third War.
# posted by Jim : 10:58 AM
Monday, May 29, 2006
Many of the ships in Witte de With's squadron that went to Brazil were gone before 1652
Witte de With's squadron that went to Brazil in late 1647 and early 1648 were gone before 1652:
Adm Ship Name Guns Initial Commander Fate
M Brederode 49 Witte Cornelisz de With Sunk in 1658 at Battle of the Sound
M Gelderland 40 Joost van Coulster Not mentioned after 1659
M Dolphijn 32 Job Forant Last mentioned in 1657
A Huis van Nassau 40 Govert Forens Damaged on 28 Sept 1648
captured by Portuguese
A Haarlem 36 Matthijs Gillissen Last mentioned in 1666
A Utrecht 32 Jacob Paulusz Cort Exploded on 28 Sept 1648
A (Groot)Zutphen 30 Cornelis Toelast Last mentioned in 1665
A Overijssel 28 Dirck Crijnen Verveen Sold upon return
N Eendracht 41 Paulus Coolen Burnt in action in 1676
N Wapen van Nassau 38 Lieven de Zeeuw Gone before 1652
N Witte Eenhoorn 30 Jan Gijzen Last mentioned in 1655
N Koning David 34* Willem Claesz Ham Gone before 1652
A Gewapende Ruyter 36 Boetius Schaeff In June 1652, captured by English
Of 13 ships, including the Portuguese prize, 5 were lost or gone before 1652. Several had long service, such as the Noorderkwartier ship Eendracht.
# posted by Jim : 10:30 AM
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Ships needing repairs after the Battle of Portland in 1653
I have a number of documents dating from March 1653, following the Battle of Portland (or the Three Days' Battle, as the Dutch call it) that list ships that had been at the battle, had survived in the Dutch service, and now needed repairs. These are the ships mentioned:
Gidion
Elias
Burgh
Sint Maria
Lam
The ships named are all Directors' ships. They seem to have been ships hired by different Directors. The Lam reference could be one of two ships. One hired by the Middelburg Directors or one hired by the Amsterdam Directors. The Burgh is probably the Rotterdam Directors' ship. The three pages date from 11 March, 14 March, and 22 March 1653, and are from the Nationaal Archief. Rick van Velden found them for me in September 2003.
# posted by Jim : 2:11 PM
Saturday, May 27, 2006
English Captain: John Blythe
John Blythe served in the Commonwealth navy. in 1654, he commanded the 5th Rate Recovery. In 1655, he commanded the prize Hound (36 guns). In 1656, he commanded the 6th Rate Martin (12 guns). From 1656 until 1657, he commanded the 4th Rate Dover (40 guns). Sources:
- R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
- R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
- William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898
# posted by Jim : 2:51 PM
Friday, May 26, 2006
The list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653: the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier
According to the list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653, there were 10 ships in the service of the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier at the Battle of the Gabbard. Number 65 was apparently Pieter Florissen's flagship, the Monnikendam (36 guns). Number 72 was captured by the English. This must be the Stad van Medemblick (26 guns, or perhaps 30 guns by 1653) commanded by Pieter Schellinger. This ship was one of the 36 cruisers funded in 1651 by the Staten Generaal.
# posted by Jim : 11:09 AM
Thursday, May 25, 2006
East India Company ships from the Amsterdam Chamber in July 1653
The July 1653 list of ships includes three ships from the Amsterdam Chamber of the VOC. One of them is listed as being unready. I believe that these are the ships in question:
Ship Commander Guns Crew Length Beam Hold
Gerechtigheid Evert Pietersz Swart
Mercurius Pieter de Bitter 40 200 123ft 30ft 12ft
Huis van Nassau Jan Pietersz van Strijp
Another candidate is the Vrede (although she may have been purchased)
Vrede Pieter Salomonszoon 40 200 131.5ft 32.5ft
I am not absolutely sure about the Huis van Nassau, so as usual, there is a great deal of uncertainty.
# posted by Jim : 10:46 AM
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
The Dolphijn in 1629 and in 1633
I have previously written about the Rotterdam ship Dolphijn in the year 1629. Four years later, she was still commanded by Willeboort Leendertszoon. In 1629, she carried the following guns:
2-brass half-cartouwen 24pdr
2-brass chambered 24pdr
2-brass 12pdr ("veltstucken")
8-iron 8pdr
4-iron 6pdr
2-iron 5pdr
2-iron 4pdr
5-steenstukken with 10 chambers
In 1633, she was armed with the following guns:
2-brass half-cartouwen 24pdr
2-brass chambered 24pdr
2-brass 12pdr
8-iron 8pdr
4-iron 6pdr
4-iron 5pdr
2-iorn 4pdr
5-steenstukken with 5 chambers
As you can see, the armament changed very little from 1629 to 1633. I had expected that there would be no change, but that is not the case. The 1633 information is from the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1633, while the 1629 information is from the Staet for 1629.
# posted by Jim : 10:44 AM
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The mystery remains as to why Vreugdenhil missed so many ships from 1652 to 1653
I had only known that there were a large number of ships not mentioned in Vreugdenhil, from 1652 to 1653, from seeing the list translated and republished in The First Dutch War, Vol.I (from the Hollandsche Mercurius for 1652). From the published sources, there many ships for which I could not apply names. Only after Jan Glete sent me a copy of his notes and then Rick van Velden, at the Nationaal Archief found documents for me, was I able to give names to most of the ships in that list (from about June 1652). It is harder to understand, as Dr. Johan E. Elias, in Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen mentioned by name, and sometimes included the captain's name, for some of the ships in the service of the Amsterdam Directors. This was quite a bit before Vreugdenhil compiled his list. Dr. Ballhausen made no attempt, apparently, to use anything but published sources, so his book is even less useful, in that respect. Of course, Dr. Ballhausen did use some very obscure published sources, and he did supply names of ships and information not published elsewhere, except for the original source. Apparently, Vreugdenhil used Dr. Ballhausen's book for part of his list, although Vreugdenhil seems to have been savvier than Dr. Ballhausen.
# posted by Jim : 10:50 AM
Monday, May 22, 2006
More Directors' ships
This is somewhat redundant, but I have firmed up in my mind those who employed the ship Kameel, commanded by Joost Bulter. I will also list the Harlingen (Friesland) Directors' ships. One was apparently retired after the Battle of the Gabbard, and captains were changed.
Adm Ship Name Guns Crew Commander
Gro-Dir Kameel 42 Joost Bulter
Ha-Dir Vergulde Pelicaen 28 100 Adriaan Heeres Cleyntien
Ha-Dir Sint Vincent 28 105 Andries Douweszoon Pascaert
After the Battle of the Gabbard, Andries Douwesz Pascaert was dismissed from the service. Adriaan Heeres Cleyntien commanded the Sint Vincent until her loss in the storm in early November 1653. Joost Bulter's ship, of course, was sunk at the Battle of the Gabbard, by gunfire. Joost Bulter was killed in the battle. The July 1653 list of ships at Vlissingen (and Goeree and the Texel) indicates that the Kameel was a ship in the service of the Admiralty of Friesland, but that seems to be not the case. Also note that most sources don't list the guns or armament of the Sint Vincent. The Vergulde Pelicaen is not mentioned by name in any published source. A handwritten list from September 1652 supplies the names and captains of both Harlingen Directors' ships. Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet supplies the guns and crew information. We were able to confirm Dr. Ballhausen's giving 42 guns as the Kameel's armament, as I have Richard Badiley's biography, where that information is listed.
# posted by Jim : 10:34 AM
Sunday, May 21, 2006
New construction in Zeeland between 1653 and July 1654
As part of the new construction program initiated during the First Anglo-Dutch War, seven new ships had come into service with the Admiralty of Zeeland between 1653 and July 1654. I have based this list upon the appendix in Vol.I of J. C. De Jonge's book, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. This is the list, with ship names applied, based on the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654:
Ship name Guns Crew Length Beam Hold Commander
Zeelandia 50 95 136 34 13.75 Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge
Utrecht 40 95 134 33 13.5
Vlissingen 40 95 130 34 13.5 Frans Mangelaer
Middelburg 40 90 130 34 13.5 Cornelis Evertsen de Oude
Kampveere 40 90 130 34 13.5 Pieter Gorcum
Dordrecht 40 90 130 34 13.5
Sources:
- H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984
- J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858
- Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, 1654
- A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938
# posted by Jim : 11:54 AM
Saturday, May 20, 2006
English Captain: Daniel Baker
Daniel Baker served in the Commonwealth navy. In 1656, he commanded the Hopewell pink (20 guns). From 1656 until 1657, he commanded the Lizard (20 guns), a Royalist prize. Sadly, neither the ships nor Daniel Baker are otherwise mentioned in sources available to me. Sources:
- R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
- R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
# posted by Jim : 5:15 PM
Friday, May 19, 2006
I appears that I have solved the cross browser issues in this blog
I have been particularly unhappy with how this blog appeared in Internet Explorer. Even in Firefox, there were "issues". I seem to have solved them. The only question is how the blog would appear on a lower resolution display. I was forced to do some "absolute positioning" with CSS to get an acceptable appearance.
# posted by Jim : 3:24 PM
The Noorderkwartier ships from the July 1654 list
De Jonge has a list in an appendix to Vol.I of his six volume work that lists Dutch ships in service in 1654. This list seems closely aligned with the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, dated in July 1654. There is some additional information in De Jonge's list, as he supplies lengths for some Zeeland ships beyond what I found in my copies of the Staet. I thought it must be useful to try and fill in parts of the list with actual names (De Jonge omitted ship names). Here is my attempt for the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier:
Jozua 50 95 136 34 14
Gelderland 50 95 136 34 14
Drie Helden Davids 46 90 130 34 13.5
Caleb 46 90 130 32.5 12.5
Jupiter 46 90 130 32 12
Eendracht 41 90 130 32 12
Monnikendam 38 80 120 28.5 11
Alckmaer 32 90 130 32 12 Reynst Cornelisz Sevenhuysen
Wapen van Enkhuijsen 34 80
Eenhoorn 30 80 125 29 Jan Jansz Heck
Enkhuijsen 30 80 116 26.5 10 Claes Backer
Casteel van Medemblick 28 80 120 27 11 Adriaan Houttuijn
Enkhuijsen 28 80 116 26.5 10 Dirck Gerritsz Pomp
Jonge Prins 28 80 120 28 11.5 Cornelis Barendsz Slordt
Wapen van Monnikendam 28 75 116 26.5 10 Arent Dirckszoon
Prinses Roijael 26 75 125 30 11.5 Captain (Willem?) Ham
Hoorn 26 75 116 26.5 10
Sources:
- James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
- J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858
- Staet van Oorlogh te Water for the year 1654, 1654
# posted by Jim : 10:25 AM
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Cafe Press has the canvas bags in stock
I have been waiting for this: Cafe Press has the canvas bags in stock. My wife likes the Brederode "photo", in particular:
# posted by Jim : 11:42 AM
The nine Zeeland Directors' ships
Zeeland as allocated nine ships from the 50 Directors' ships funded in 1652. Again, we have a list of nine ships from the Hollandsche Mercurius list, reprinted in The First Dutch War, Vol.I and also from Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet. This is the list:
kapitein Jan le Sage Mi-Dir Vergulde Haan 30 105
kapitein Jacob Adriaansz Penssen Mi-Dir Gouden Leeuw 30 110
kapitein Johannes van Regermorter Mi-Dir ? 30 105
kapitein Bastiaan Tuynemans Mi-Dir Sint Laurens 30 105*
kapitein Jan Thyssen Vl-Dir Witte Lam 32 110
kapitein Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge Vl-Dir Vlissingen 26 110
kapitein Allert Janszoon Vl-Dir Dubbele Arend 28 110
kapitein Cornelis Rocusensz Fincen Zi-Dir Liefde 34 110
kapitein Jan Olivierszoon Ve-Dir Wapen ter Veere 38 125
The Sint Laurens was captured by the English on 29 May 1652, in the opening battle of the war, near Dover and the Downs. The issues again revolve around the existence of at least one other ship that was known to be Zeeland Directors' ships. By July 1652, Leendert den Haen commanded the Haes in 't Veld (30 guns and a crew of 108 ships). This ship seems to have been the one later commanded by Bastiaan Centsen. The exact timing is unclear, but by the Battle of Dungeness, Bastiaan Centsen was captain of the Haes in 't Veld. He took the English ship Hercules after the battle.
# posted by Jim : 4:46 AM
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Carl Stapel has a really good list of Dutch ships in service before the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War
Carl Stapel shared with me his list of Dutch ships in service before the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War. Right now, the list primarily covers Directors' ships. His list for the Rotterdam or Maze Directors is quite good:
Adm Ship name Guns Crew Commander
M-Dir Burcht 28 105 Adriaen de Zeeuw
M-Dir Jonas 36 125 Johan de Lieffde
M-Dir Meerman 30 120 Jacob Cleijdijck
M-Dir Prins Symon Cornelisz van der Meer
M-Dir Prins te Paard 38 110 Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon
M-Dir Sint Andries 26 105 Ruth Jacobsz Buys
M-Dir Sint Pieter 29 110 Isaac de Jongh
I thought that his information for Adriaen de Zeeuw makes a good deal of sense. I suspect that his name for Ruth Jacobsz Buys' ship is derived from me, and that I had just made an estimate, so I would like to find more information to have more confidence in the name of his ship. In any case, I am going forward with the information from Carl's list as my "current working assumption".
# posted by Jim : 6:08 PM
Known war losses from the first 24 Amsterdam Directors' ships
Of the first 24 ships hired by the Amsterdam Directors in early March 1652, none were lost during 1652, except for the Prins Maurits. That changed in 1653. These are the ships that were lost and their fate. I have only listed the original captain:
Captain Ship Guns Fate
Abraham van Kampen Arke Troijnane 28 Sunk at the Battle of Portland
Cornelis Jansz Poort Kroon Imperiael 34 Sunk at the Battle of Portland
Nicolaes de With Prins Maurits 34 Wrecked in November 1652
Bartholmeus Rietbeeck Rooseboom 28 Captured at the Battle of the Gabbard
Stoffel Juriaenszoon Sint Francisco 28 Captured at the Battle of Portland
Jacob Syverstz Spanheym Elias 34 Captured at the Battle of the Gabbard
Bruyn van Seelst Groote Liefde 38 Captured at the Battle of Portland
Several of the captured ships saw long service in the English navy, such as the Groote Liefde, which was recaptured by the Dutch at the Battle of Lowestoft, in June 1665.
# posted by Jim : 10:21 AM
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Amsterdam hired ships in March 1653
From my list of ships in service with the Dutch fleet in March 1653, there are the Amsterdam hired ships:
Hired ships
Rank Name Adm/Dir guns Sailors Soldiers Ship
kapitein Willem van Nieuhoff A 40 130 20 Aertsengel Michiel
kapitein Lucas Albertssen? A 36 130 20 Drie Coningen
kapitein Adriaan van den Bosch A 36 130 20 Engel Gabriel
kapitein Evert Anthonissen A 32 130 20 Hollandia
kapitein Albert Claesz de Graeff A 32 100 20 Hollandia
kapitein Jacob Troncquois A 30 100 20 Omlandia
kapitein Sijmon van der Aeck? A 30 100 20 Amsterdam
kapitein Jacob Schellinger A 28 100 20 Venetia
kapitein Jacob Janssen Roocher A 28 100 20 Julius Caesar
kapitein Cornelis Janszoon A 28 100 20 Jupiter
kapitein Hendrick Govertszoon A 28 100 20 Star
kapitein Pieter Tuenisz Bontebotter A 28 100 20 Zwarten Arend
kapitein Pieter van Breen A 28 100 20 Sint Pieter
kapitein Sijbrant Jansz Mol A 28 100 20 Witte Olifant
kapitein Meijndert Theunisz OosterwoutA 28 100 20 Salomons Ordeel
kapitein Adriaan Rodenhaes A 28 100 20 Rodenhaes
kapitein Pieter Jansz de Vries A 28 100 20 Suzanna
kapitein Harman Sonne A 28 100 20 Madonna della Vigna
kapitein Jan Boermans A 28 100 20 Prins Willem
kapitein Cornelis van Velsen A 28 100 20 Gelderland
kapitein Adriaan van Loenen A 28 100 20 Goude Reael
kapitein Jan ter Stegen A 28 100 20 Prinses Aemilia
? ? A 28 100 20 Hoop
? ? A 28 100 20 Engel
kapitein Hendrik Adriaanszoon A 26 90 20 Sampson
? ? A 24 80 20 Goude Leeuw
? ? A 24 80 20 Patientia
? ? A 24 80 20 Keyser
? ? A 24 80 20 Hoop
kapitein Hillebrant Jeroenszoon A 24 80 20 Hollandsche Tuin
kapitein Dirk Pietersz Heertjens A 18 70 15 Windhond
The ships with unknown captains were paid off sometime before this, or around this time and their captains were reassigned to replace captains who were dismissed from the service. A feature of this list is that there seems to be no room for a mystery ship, such as that commanded by Abraham van der Hulst in 1652 (a ship of 26 guns). That was why it seemed that he might have commanded the Sampson (26 guns), later commanded by Hendrick Adriaanszoon. Another question is if the Hoop (28 guns) listed here was the ship commanded by Boëtius Schaeff at the Battle of the Gabbard, when he was killed.
# posted by Jim : 10:21 AM
Monday, May 15, 2006
The 36 Cruisers funded in 1651
The first really substantial preparation for the coming war by the Dutch was the funding of 36 cruisers to add to the 40 ships funded after the Peace of Münster in 1648. We know the identity of the 7 Noorderkwartier ships, thanks to the document included in Vol.IV of The First Dutch War:
Prinses Roijael, 34 guns Captain Albert Corneliszoon 't Hoen crew 140
Jonge Prins, 28 guns Captain Cornelis Barentszoon Slordt crew 115
Eendracht, 40 guns Captain Jacob de Boer crew 140
Alckmaar, 28 guns Captain Jan Warnaertszoon Capelman crew 95
Monnikendam, 36 guns Captain Pieter Florissen crew 138
Wapen van Enkhuizen, 34 guns Captain Gerrit Femssen crew 110
Stad van Medemblick, 30 guns Captain Pieter Schellinger crew 110
As for the others, we suspect that ships that were completed from about 1650 until 1652 fall into that bucket:
Admiralty of Amsterdam
Vrede, 44 guns Commandeur Gideon de Wildt (1650)
Vrijheid, 44 guns Commandeur Augustijn Balck (1651)
Overijssel, 28 guns Captain Jan van Campen (1650)
Campen, 38 guns Joris van der Zaan (1652)
Jaarsveld, 44 guns Joris van Cats (1651)
Maagd van Enkhuizen, 34 guns Cornelis Tromp (purchased in 1651)
Admiralty of Zeeland
Amsterdam (1651)
Ter Goes (1652)
Zeeridder (1652)
The rest must have been commissioning of existing ships, like the Noorderkwartier ships. At this point, unless we can find more information, we cannot do any better than guess.
# posted by Jim : 10:21 AM
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The planned Dutch ships for the First Anglo-Dutch War
I have only been able to find the allotments of Dutch ships for the First Anglo-Dutch War from H. T. Colenbrander's book of documents from foreign archives:
Forty ships of 1648
Rotterdam 8 ships
Amsterdam 16 ships
Zeeland 8 ships
Noorderkwartier 8 ships
Total 40 ships
Thirty-Six ships of 1651
Rotterdam 7 ships
Amsterdam 14 ships
Zeeland 7 ships
Noorderkwartier 7 ships
Friesland 1 ship
Total 36 ships
One Hundred Ships of 1652
Rotterdam 16-1/2 ships
Amsterdam 33 ships
Zeeland 16-1/2 ships
Noorderkwartier 16-1/2 ships
Friesland 16-1/2 ships
Total 100 ships
Fifty Directors’ ships of 1652
Rotterdam 7 ships
Amsterdam 24 ships
Zeeland 9 ships
Cities of the Noorderkwartier 7 ships
Friesland 2 ships
Groningen 1 ship
Total 50 ships
The first thirty ship building program
Rotterdam 5 ships
Amsterdam 10 ships
Zeeland 5 ships
Noorderkwartier 5 ships
Friesland 5 ships
Total 30 ships
The fractional ship numbers just make the list less useful.
Sources:
- H. T. Colenbrander, Bescheiden uit vreemde archieven omtrent de groote Nederlandsche zeeoorlogen 1652-1676, 1919
# posted by Jim : 6:19 PM
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Directors' ships from later in 1653
Dr. Elias, in volumes V and VI of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen identifies some Directors' ships that were in service later in 1653 (some of them were lost in the storm in early November 1653):
- Burgh, Hendrick Andriaenszoon Glas, Rotterdam Directors (13 August 1653)
- Catarina (28 guns), Jacob Janszoon Coppe, Amsterdam Directors (30 January 1653)
- Halve Maen (30 guns), Hendrik Pieterszoon, Edam Directors (June 1653)
- Hollandsche Tuin (32 guns), Joris Janszoon Block, Amsterdam Directors (28 January 1653)
- Keurvorst van Keulen (34 guns), Amsterdam Directors (4 April 1653)
- Koning David (28 guns), Captain Vogelsang, Amsterdam Directors (4 April 1653)
- Koning Radboud, Jan Rootiers, Medemblick Directors (9 November 1653)
- Leeuwin, Claes Janszoon, Middelburg Directors (21 May 1653)
- Luipaard, Cornelis Tiebij, some Zeeland Directors (9 November 1653)
- Moor, 34 guns and a crew of 108 men, Adriaen Cornelisz van Ackersloot, Amsterdam Directors (28 January 1653)
- Moorin (28 guns), Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol, Amsterdam Directors (28 January 1653)
- Pelikaan (or Gulden Pelikaan) (28 guns), Barend Tijmenszoon Soudaen, Amsterdam Directors (18 March 1653)
- Purmerland, Andries Sijbrantszoon, Amsterdam Directors (19 July 1653)
- Samson (28 guns) (27 January 1653)
- Schacht den Harculus, 28 guns, Amsterdam Directors (4 April 1653)
- Sint Johannes (28 guns), assumed to be an Amsterdam Directors' ship (8 February 1653)
- Sint Matheeus, Cornelis Laurenszoon, Amsterdam Directors (June 1653)
- Sint Pieter (28 guns) (10 January 1653)
- Sint Pieter, Simon Corneliszoon, Rotterdam Directors (13 August 1653)
- Vergulde Zon (28 guns and a crew of 108 men), Jacob Claeszoon Duijm, Enkhuizen Directors (not the Monnikendam Directors, apparently) (1652 and 1653)
- Walvisch, 30 guns and a crew of 110 men, Abraham Verleth, Amsterdam Directors (perhas 17 August 1653)
There is ambiguity about several of the ships. For example, was the Halve Maen hired by the Edam Directors or Monnikendam Directors? Was the Zon, commanded by Jacob Claesz Duijm, hired by the Enkhuizen Directors or the Edam Directors? There are some references from July 1653 that are different from the other references. The Vergulde Zon is perhaps inconsistent with the rest, as she was a ship hired in 1653, but her situation was ambiguous, and it seemed worth clarifying the record. The Vergulde Zon fought in the Battle of the Gabbard, in June 1653, and was taken by the English. One positive thing is that Vol.V of The First Dutch War, agrees with the Directors for the two ambiguous ships.
# posted by Jim : 2:26 PM
Friday, May 12, 2006
I am still looking at alternatives for publishing reference material
Frank Fox has been encouraging me to get at least some of my research into print. Because of the presumed limited audience for 17th Century naval history and ship data, I have thought that a publishing-on-demand solution would be what was needed. Cafe Press, who provides our "gear" and hosts our store with my various pieces of art on them, also does publishing on demand. They have a more limited set of options than Lulu, started by the founder of "Red Hat", the Linux company. there are also other options, for a cost, such as Xlibris.
Some of my projects are the sort of thing that the Society for Nautical Research has published in the past. Frank Fox says that there is no funding for anything from them, these days. Some of my projects that are pretty far progressed include: - Dutch Naval Officers: 1600-1720
- English Naval Officers: 1642-1720
- Dutch Ships in Various Operations in the First Anglo-Dutch War
- Dutch Ships: 1620-1720
- The First Anglo-Dutch War
Other longer-term projects include English translations of some books:
- Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933
- Jodocus Hondius, Onstelde-Zee, Oft Zee-Daden, 1654
# posted by Jim : 6:35 AM
Thursday, May 11, 2006
English Captain: Thomas Wright
Thomas Wright served in the Commonwealth navy. In 1652, he commanded the hired ship John and Elizabeth (26 guns). He may have commanded her at the Battle of Plymouth on 26 August 1652. From 1653 until 1655, he commanded the Heartsease (36 guns). He fought in the Battle of the Gabbard on 12 and 13 June 1653. He was assigned to James Peacock's division in the Red Squadron. He very likely fought in the Battle of Scheveningen on 10 August 1653 (all these dates are new style). From 1656 until 1660, he commanded the Fame. The Fame must be the captured French Renommée, which eventually served a fireship. Sources:
- R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
- R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1966
# posted by Jim : 7:07 PM
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Dutch ships and captains
So, given how much we have learned, what Dutch ships are there where know about the ship and not the captain, or know about the captain and not his ship's name? This is the current list, as far as I can tell. Hopefully, I have not overlooked too many:
Adm Ship Guns Crew Captain
Z ? 26 100 Adriaan Banckert (1652)
Z ? 18 100 Lambert Bartelszoon (1652)
Ho-Dir ? 28 105 Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker (1652)
N ? ? ? Jan Bourgoigne (1652)
Z ? ? ? Daniel Cornelisz Brackman (1652)
R-Dir ? 26 105 Ruth Jacobsz Buys (1652)
Z ? ? ? Jan Duijm (1653)
A ? 26 100 Abraham van der Hulst (1652)
? ? ? ? Andries Kroeger (December 1652)
En-Dir ? 28 110 Gijsbert Malcontent (1652)
N ? ? ? Herman Munnekes (December 1652)
Mi-Dir ? 30 105 Johannes Regermorter (1652)
Z ? ? ? Jacob Wolfertszoon (1652)
A Achilles 32 ? ?(from 1630, but July 1654)
? Arke Noach 24 80 ?(22 July 1652)
?-Dir Colburg ? ? ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir Harderin ? ? ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir Harderwijk ? ? ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir Herenberg ? ? ?(30 March 1652)
A-Dir Keurvorst van Keulen 34 ? ?(4 April 1653)
?-Dir Samson 28 ? ?(27 January 1653)
En-Dir Sampson van Enkhuizen 28 100* ?(22 July 1652)
A-Dir Schacht den Harculus 28 ? ?(4 April 1653)
? Sint Jan Baptist 22 80 ?(22 July 1652)
?-Dir Sint Johannes 28 ? ?(8 February 1653)
?-Dir Sint Pieter 28 ? ?(10 January 1653)
?-Dir Wesp ? ? ?(30 March 1652)
?-Dir Zutphen ? ? ?(30 March 1652)
A Zwaan 28 100* ?(22 July 1652)
# posted by Jim : 10:48 AM
Monday, May 08, 2006
Some interesting tidbits from Dr. Ballhausen about ships at the Battle of Scheveningen
While Dr. Ballhausen seems to have not used any archival documents, he did do a comprehensive review of the published literature, much of it quite obscure. He often makes assessments that I would not accept. I will list some interesting information about ships and captains from the list for Scheveningen (Katwijk-aan-Zee):
Adm Captain Ship Guns Crew
Jan Bonkier Zeepaard ? ?
A Cornelis Cornelisz Jol Moorin 28 105
Z Cornelis Evertsen de Oude Wapen van Zeeland 26-28 130
or Zeeuwsche Leeuw
Mi-Dir ? Antonius Bonavetura 36-38 110
A Pieter Teunissen Bontebotter Zwarte Arend 28 100
F Frederick Stellingwerff Zevenwolden 38 135
F Lieutenant Hasselgants Sara 24 85
Ha-Dir Ariaan Heeres Kleintje Sint Vincent 28 100
Vl-Dir Michiel De Ruyter Witte Lam 40 150
flag captain Gillis Janszoon
Mi-Dir Markus Hartman Gekroonde Liefde 36 145
A-VOC Jacob Swart Gerechtigheid 45* 200*
WIC? Captain Ezechiel Gecroende Haes ? ?
A Jan Rootjes Raadhuis van Medemblik ? ?
(or is it the Koning Radbout or Radbout van Medemblik of the
Medemblick Directors, as Dr. Elias says)
A Captain Dirick (Dircksz?) Zeepaardstoet van ? ?
Enkhuizen
N Reynst Cornelisz Zevenhuisen Mars 45* 200*
I have made a few corrections to the information.
# posted by Jim : 6:25 PM
Sunday, May 07, 2006
More ships which fought in the Battle of Scheveningen
From Dr. Elias, in Vol.V of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, we know more ships that fought in the Battle of Scheveningen. Some of these duplicate what is in other lists:
Adm Ship Guns Crew Commander
A-Dir Blauwe Arend 28 110 Hendrik Claesz van der Streeck
A-VOC Huis van Nassau ? ? Jan Pietersz van Strijp
NQ Peereboom 24 80 Tijs Tijmansz Peereboom
Mi-VOC Zwarte Bul ? ? Willem Folkertszoon
A Groningen 42 140 Gillis Thyssen Campen
A Westfriesland 28 140 Hendrik Huyskens
A Zutphen 26 120 Hillebrandt Jeroenszoon
A Gouden Reael 28 110 Adriaan van Loenen
A-Dir Moor 34 108 Adriaan Cornelisz van Ackersloot
A-Dir Walvisch 30 110 Abraham Verleth
NQ Prins Maurits 32 110 Cornelis Taenman (sunk)
NQ Monnikendam 38 138 Pieter Florissen
R Rosencrans 42 ? Jan de Haes (partially burnt)
A Jonas ? ? Joris de Caulerij (Colerij)
F Graaf Willem 12 ? Jan Coenders
A Brak 18 70 Poppe Brinckers (Binckes)
Z Vlissingen 40 ? Jan Evertsen, flag captain
Jan Pouwelszoon
A Vrijheid 46 170 Witte de With, flag captain
Abraham van der Hulst
R-Dir Sint Pieter ? ? Simon Corneliszoon van der Meer
R-Dir Burgh ? ? Hendrik Adriaansz Glas
Z Liefde ? ? Jan Thyssen
Z Hollandia 38 160 Adriaan Bankert (sunk)
Z Westcappel 28 110 Claes Janszoon Sanger (sunk)
Z Eendracht 24 98 Andries Fortuijn (burnt)
Z Zeeuwsche Leeuw 30 120 Cornelis Evertsen de Oude (sunk)
A Hollandia 32 120 Evert Antonissen (sunk)
A Dolphijn 32 100 Gerbrand Schatter (sunk)
A Omlandia ? ? Maarten Schaeff (sunk)
F Zevenwolden 38 135 Frederick Stellingwerff (sunk)
A-VOC Mercurius 40 200 Pieter de Bitter (sunk)
Z Witte Lam 40 145 Michiel de Ruyter
NQ Hoorn 28 105 Pieter Aldertszoon
R Gorcum 30 131 Willem Adriaanz Warmont (killed)
R Roskam 26 105 Corstiaen Eldertszoon
R Brederode 54 270 Maarten Tromp (killed), flag captain
Egbert Meeuwssen Kortenaer
I have taken some of the data from my unpublished list of Dutch ships and captains. Between all the lists, we have a good number of the ships that fought at Scheveningen. There is also the list of captains from Michiel De Ruyter's squadron, for example. The latter has one error, because Anthony Foppenthey (or Fappenlain) was Hendrik Huysken's lieutenant on the Westfriesland.
# posted by Jim : 5:41 PM
Saturday, May 06, 2006
So what does the July 1653 list indicate about the Directors?
The July 1653 list has relevant information about the Directors and which ships were taken at the Battle of the Gabbard:
Directors of Edam
Directors of Monnikendam
- one ship was captured
- The other ship was a great ship, which was also very good. The ship was not ready for service in war, however.
No ships are listed for the Directors of Enkhuizen.
The Hoorn Directors have one ship listed: - Not ready for service in war. The ship has sand ballast.
# posted by Jim : 6:03 PM
Issues about captains, ships, and who they served
There seem to be some inconsistencies about which captain and ship served which Directors. On page 94 of Vol.V of Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, Jacob Duym is said to have served the Edam Directors and commanded the Zon ( Vergulde Zon), but in Hendrik de Raedt's pamphlet and in Aitzema (page 822, Vol.III of Saken van Staet in Oorlogh in ende omtrent de Vereenigte Nederlanden) he is said to have been in the service of the Enkhuizen Directors. In the same reference in Aitzema, Hendrick Pieterszoon is said to have commanded a ship, the Man van Edam, an Edam Directors' ship. The Man van Edam must refer to the Maan, or Halve Maan, which was captured by the English at the Battle of the Gabbard. Again, Dr. Elias, in Schetsen, writes that Hendrick Pieterszoon was in the service of the Monnikendam Directors. I found the page in Aitzema because Dr. Ballhausen referred to it, in reference to his list for the Battle of the Gabbard, where he mentioned the Man van Edam, commanded by Hendrick Pieterszoon.
# posted by Jim : 5:19 PM
Ships we think that we can identify in the July 1653 list of ships at Vlissingen
There are a few ships in the July 1653 list of ships lying at Vlissingen that are explicitly named. There are also a good number that we can identify from the context:
List No. Adm Name Guns Crew Commander
13 A Gelderland 28 100 Cornelis van Velsen-blown up
47 M Brederode 54 250 Lt-Admiral Tromp-most ready of all
65 Ed-Dir Vergulde Star 28 108 Jacob Claesz Duijm-captured
66 N Monnikendam 38 138 Pieter Florissen-ship
of the commandeur
72 N Stad Medemblik 30 110 Pieter Schellinger-captured
76 Mo-Dir Halve Maan 30 110 Hendrik Pieterszoon-captured
77 Mo-Dir Zwarte Beer 32 115 Jan Cornelisz Oly
87 Z Neptunus 28 134 Adriaan Jansz den Oven-captured
100 Mi-VOC Zwarte Bul ? ? Willem Folkertszoon
101 F Zevenwolden 38 135 Frederick Stellingwerff
102 F Sara 24 85 Luitenant Hasselgants-unready fluit
103 F Westergo 28 98 Tijmen Claeszoon-captured
104 F Kameel 42 ? Joost Bulter-sunk
105 Ha-Dir Sint Vincent 28 105 Ariaan Heeres Cleijntien
From other sources, we can fill in more ships, but not by list number.
# posted by Jim : 3:41 PM
Friday, May 05, 2006
Perhaps this might be of interest to others
I have been doing more research about the Dutch fishery protection squadron that was captured or sunk on 22 July 1652:
I am less sure of the mappings between the complete list
of captains, ships, and admiralties:
Ship Guns Crew Captain Adm References
Paulus (Sint Paul)24 80 Dirk van Dongen M 1DW4,p.383,Vreug 194
Waterhond 24 80 Renout Venhuijsen M 1DW1, p.383, Vreug 213
Kalmar Sleutel 24 80 Dirk Vijch M 1DW1,p.383, Vreug 141
Wapen van Holland 30 110 Herman Munnekes N 1DW4,p.314,Vreug 208,
1DW1 p.383
Adam en Eva 24 80 Jan Heck N 1DW4, p.314, Vreug 91
(from The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, page 314, this appears
to be a ship hired by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier,
despite what Vreugdenhil says. The Adam en Eva is listed in a group
of Noorderkwartier ships on page 314 of The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, as I wrote.
Ship Gun Crew Captain Adm References
Sampson van Hoorn 24 80 Willem Ham N 1DW1,p.383,1DW4,p.313,
Vreug 182
Sampson van
Enkhuizen 28 100 En-Dir? 1DW1,p.383,
Vreug 181
Land van Beloften 24 80 Jan Noblet N 1DW4,p.314,Vreug 146
Marcus Curtius 24 80 Hendrik Kroeger A 1DW4,p.310,Vreug 153
Juffrouw Catharina 24 80 Dirk Bogaart A 1DW4,p.310,Vreug 100
Zwaan van Amsterdam 28 100 A 1DW1,p.383,Vreug 219
Arke Noach 24 80 A 1DW1,p.383,Vreug 163
Sint Jan Baptist 22 80 A 1DW1,p.383,Vreug 188
I had thought that this might have been one of the squadron of possibly
15 ships, but this was taken by James Peacock in October 1652.
Vreugdenhil had listed the Morgenstar (Morgenster) as being a fishery protection
ship
Ship Guns Crew Captain Adm References
Morgenstar 20 80 ? Vreug, p.160
Key:
References:
1DW1 = The First Dutch War, Vol.I
1DW4 = The First Dutch War, Vol.IV
Vreug = Vreugdenhil's list from 1938
Admiralties:
A = Admiralty of Amsterdam
M = Admiralty of the Maze
N = Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier
En-Dir = Enkhuizen Directors
# posted by Jim : 3:14 PM
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Marco Schuffelen keeps adding new, good stuff
I have been remiss in not checking Marco Schuffelen's site more frequently. He now has a page called " Everyday Dutch". As I continue to struggle to learn more Dutch, and to learn to speak and understand spoken Dutch, I need this kind of material. I can read a good deal of Dutch, at least if the topic is 17th Century Dutch naval and maritime history. Since I want to be visiting the Netherlands to research, I would like to have some basic facility with the spoken language. His main site (the new one) " Hear Dutch Here" has the cool picture: "The Bitter Draught" of the guy who has just tasted something really bad (presumably extremely bitter). This is his old home page.
# posted by Jim : 7:26 AM
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
I have taken on a new project: to transcribe and translate Witte de With's journal for 1 October to 5 November 1658
Now that I have Witte de With's journal from 1 October to 5 November 1658, I need to transcribe and translate it. I suspect that the contents will be of some historical interest. They chronicle the last month of Vice-Admiral Witte de With's life, at least from a professional perspective.
# posted by Jim : 7:24 AM
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
The journal of Hendrick Ernst de Bertry
I had seen that there was a pamphlet listed in Knuttel's list that contained part of Hendrick Ernst de Bertry's journal. Carl Stapel says that it is for the period of the voyage to the Shetlands in July and August 1652. Captain de Bertry commanded the hired ship Hollandia for the Admiralty of the Maze. I am always hoping to discover more information about Dutch captains and warships in 1652 and 1653.
# posted by Jim : 6:47 PM
The journals of Witte de With
When the Brederode was taken by the Swedes at the Battle of the Sound, the ship was in a sinking condition and they "ransacked" the ship. For that we may be thankful, as they rescued Vice-Admiral Witte de With's letters and journals. They are in the Swedish archives, with the papers of the Swedish Admiral Wrangel. Carl Stapel had told me about the journals. Prof. Jan Glete, who is in Stockholm, at the university, had seen them, told us about the letterbook. He was disappointed that there were no ship lists, as I am, although I did not really expect to find anything but lists of captains. Those do exist in the journal. Thanks to Ambassador Antoine van Dongen, Dutch Ambassador to Sweden, I have a copy of Witte de With's journal from 1 October to 5 November, 1658. The last date is the last entry in the journal. I find the handwriting very neat and relatively easy to read, although I can only read part of the words, without more details study. There are quite a few lists of captains. This may blow apart one theory of mine, about a certain captain's name. Grove gives the name as Jan Samplon, while Witte de With seems to have written the name as Jan Semplon. After reading more of the journal, I must say that the handwriting is not uniformly neat. Some of it is harder to read, as it might have been written more hastily. I really am grateful for the kindness of the Ambassador in sending me the copies.
# posted by Jim : 6:16 PM
Monday, May 01, 2006
English Captain: Matthew Dawson
Matthew Dawson served in the Restoration navy as a fireship commander. In 1672, he commanded the Success fireship (6 guns). In April and May 1672, the Success was attached to the Rear Admiral of the Blue Squadron's division. The Success was sunk in 1673. In 1673, he commanded the Thomas and Edward fireship (6 guns). The Thomas and Edward was sold in 1674. Finally, on 7 May 1678, the King appointed him as captain of the Spanish Merchant fireship (8 guns). The Spanish Merchant was sold in 1686. Oddly enough, the second edition of Anderson's list has missing entries in the index, which is why I used the first edition. Sources:
- R. C. Anderson, Journals and Narratives of the Third Dutch War, 1946
- R. C. Anderson, Lists of Men-of-War 1650-1700: Part I English Ships 1649-1702, 1935
- J.R. Tanner, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Vol.I, 1903
# posted by Jim : 5:49 PM
|
|