Abraham van der Hulst's ship in 1652

One outstanding question is which ship Abraham van der Hulst commanded in the period of June to August 1652. Two contemporary sources, which I do not believe are independent sources, are the Hollandsche Mercurius for 1652 and Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet, show him commanding a ship of 26 guns with a crew of 100 men. We know from Witte de With's journal that covers September 1652, that Abraham van der Hulst commanded a 40-gun ship that had a crew of 130 men. From the list in The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, that I date from about mid-March 1653, that he commanded the Groningen, a 40-gun ship, prior to moving to the Vrijheid, following Augustijn Balck's death. The listing in Witte de With's journal then probably means that Abraham van der Hulst commanded the Groningen in September 1652, and at the Battle of the Kentish Knock. If it were not for the Hollandsche Mercurius and Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet, we would conclude that he probably commanded the Groningen through the earlier part of 1652, as well. I have not seen another source that would indicate that anyone else commanded the Groningen during that timeframe. I must say, though, that in other cases, the lists from the Hollandsche Mercurius and Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet seem pretty accurate. I do know of a deviation, although not so great, that Gerrit Nobel's ship, the Burgh van Alkmaar actually had 30 guns and a crew of 98 in September 1652, not the 24 guns and the crew of 95 men (not so great a deviation) listed in the published sources. I had thought that perhaps Abraham van der Hulst had commanded the elusive Achilles, built in 1644, up to August 1652, but the existence of the ship is unproved, except for Vreugdenhil and other lists that have obvious inaccuracies. So the question to be answered is if there are handwritten lists with captains, possibly ship names, and guns and crews for June to August 1652 that might clarify this issue. Sources:

1. Pieter Casteleyn, Hollandsche Mercurius, 1652
2. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933
3. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
4. Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, 1654
5. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938
6. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Carolus Quintus

The ship Carolus Quintus fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. Joris Kuiten commanded the ship, which in June 1665 was listed as carrying 54 guns and having a crew of 200 men. Ron van Maanen has the details, including a gun list. He says that the Carolus Quintus was a ship belonging to the Amsterdam Chamber of the VOC:

The ship Carolus Quintus, Capt. Joris Kuiten

Length from stem to sternpost:  132ft
Beam:                            32ft
Hold:                            13-1/2ft

52 guns:
 8-18pdr
12-12pdr
20- 8pdr
12- 3pdr

Crew:  225 men

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

So what is in J. C. De Jonge's notes?

J. C. De Jonge was the author of the multi-volume book Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. To my taste, the best parts of the book are in the appendices. Those for Vol.I are particularly interesting. Now we learn that De Jonge's notes and papers are in the Nationaal Archief. De Jonge had access to documents that were destroyed in the disastrous Minstery of Marine fire in about 1844. The question is if his notes contain the names of ships for which he has gun lists and also for the lists of ships, does he have the names? The one list that I am particularly interested in is that for March 1653. Having the names of the ships in that list would answer many remaining questions. Carl Stapel has the reference for De Jonge's papers:

"the notes of dr J.C. de Jonge filenr 1.01.47.30 almost 1 meter in length... !!" in the Nationaal Archief in The Hague.

Ron van Maanen largely does not mention captains in his list

I consider the fact that Ron van Maanen largely does not mention captains in his list to be a major shortcoming, even though the list is amazing a really useful. For example, when he lists a ship named Hollandia, from a list in April 1653, which Hollandia is that? He gives the dimensions: 120ft x 29ft x 13ft, with 32 guns and a crew of 130 men. The height over hold is 6-1/2ft. We have to guess, then, which ship this was. The Wrangell collection list gives Albert de Graeff's ship dimensions of 130ft x 29ft x 13ft, which seems to be suspiciously similar, except for the length. The other candidate is the Hollandia (32 guns) commanded by Evert Anthonisz Marre ("Evert Anthonissen"). Since the Hollandia immediately before this was sunk in action in 1653, that is more likely to be Evert Anthonissen's ship. Ron gives it dimensions of 120ft x 29ft x 11ft, with a height over hold of 6-3/4ft. He lists 32 guns and a crew of 140 men. Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
2. list of Amsterdam hired ships from the Wrangell Collection, Riksarkivet, Stockholm

I had wondered about the Rotterdam ship Vrede

I had known about the existence of a Rotterdam ship named Vrede that had served in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. I had speculated that the Vrede was a 130ft ship, as at the Battle of Lowestoft, the Vrede allegedly carried 40 guns. Ron van Maanen has dimensions and says that the Vrede was completed in 1653, so presumably could have appeared in the latter stages of the First Anglo-Dutch War. This is what I know:

The ship Vrede

Length from stem to sternpost:  111ft
Beam:                            27ft-3in
Hold:                            12ft
Height over hold:                 6ft-6in

Operations:

June 1665, Battle of Lowestoft, commanded by Laurens van Heemskerck
August 1665, with De Ruyter's fleet, commanded by Eland du Bois
August 1666, St. James's Day Battle, commanded by Juriaan Juriaansz Poel
May 1667, took part in operations near England, commanded by Jan van Brakel
   Broke the chain at Chatham

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996
3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

Zeeland Directors' ship with Witte de With in September 1652

At one point in September 1652, there were four Zeeland Directors' ships with Witte de With's fleet:

Adm    Ship             Guns   Crew   Captain
Vl-Dir Dubbele Arend    28     111    Aldert (Allert) Jansz
Mi-Dir Leeuwinne        30*    120*   Capt. (Johannes van) Regermorter
Vl-Dir Haes             26     120    Bastiaan Sempsem (as given)
Mi-Dir Gouden Leeuw     30     110    Capt. (Jacob) Penssen

* not given in the journal for September 1652

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships and Captains 1652-1654", 2006
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Some more news from Witte de With's journal

There are a number of ship's whose guns and crew have not been widely known, or at leat these figures. In Witte de With's journal for September 1652, there are a number of examples:

Adm     Ship               Guns  Crew  Captain
Z       Hollandia          38    138   Felip Joosten
Z       a ship             24     90   Pieter Gorcum
N       Burgh van Alkmaar  30     98   Gerrit Nobel
F       Frisia             29    108   Schelte Wigglema
F       Gelderland         28     77   Laurens Degelcamp
A       Groningen          40    130   Abraham van der Hulst
R-Dir   Prins              34    130   Corstiaen Corstiaenszoon

The 17 ships that sailed to Zeeland after the Three Days' Battle

At the conclusion of the Three Days Battle (AKA The Battle of Portland), the 17 surviving Zeeland ships sailed together for home. I have left the Admiralty/Directors as given in Witte de With's journal:

Adm    Ship               Guns  Crew   Captain
Z      Hollandia          38    127    Vice-Admiral Jan Evertsen
                                      flag captain Adriaan Bankert
Z      Wapen van Zeeland  28    127    Commandeur Cornelis Evertsen de Oude
Z      Vlissingen         28     95    Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge
Z      West Cappelle      26    110    Claes Jansz Sanger
Z      Liefde             26*    86*   the ship of the late
                                         Joost Bankert de Jonge
Vl-Dir Haes               30    120    Bastiaan Semptsem
                                       (presumably the same as
                                          Centen, Senten or Sentsen)
Vl-Dir Dubbele Arend      30    100    Schipper Teunis Poort
Z-Dir  a ship             18     90    Lambert Bartelszoon
Mi-Dir Leeuwinne          30    120    Luitenant of Capt. Regermorter
Mi-Dir Gouden Leeuw       30    120    Jacob Adriaansz Pennse
Z-Dir  Gecroonde Liefde   23     93    Dingeman Cats
Z      Vlissingen*        34    134    Jan Pouwelszoon
Z      Zeeridder          28    114    Gilles Janszoon
Ve-Dir Wapen van der Vere 37    116    Jan Olivierszoon
Z      a ship             23    100    Jacob Wolferszoon
Z      Liefde*            30    120    schipper Johannes van Regermorter
                                         the ship of Cornelis Mangelaer
            

Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910
2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Jan Gideonsz Verburgh's ship Graaf Willem

From Ron van Maanen's document, we know the specifics for Jan Gideonsz Verburgh's ship Graaf Willem, built circa 1649. The Graaf Willem was taken by the English at the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653. From Witte de With's journals, we know that on 10 April 1653, the Graaf Willem carried 40 guns and had a crew of 155 men. These are the details:

The ship Graaf Willem, Capt. Jan Gideonsz Verburgh

Length from stem to sternpost:  125ft
Beam:                            31ft
Hold:                            12-1/2ft
Height over hold:                 7ft

40 guns:
4-18pdr, 16-12pdr, 16-8pdr, 4-6pdr

Crew: 155 men

Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The name of Ruth Jacobsz Buys' ship

In the journal of Witte de With for September to October 1653, on page 201 of archive E8812, there is the handwritten name of Ruth Jacobsz Buys' Rotterdam Directors' ship:

Rotterdam ships in Witte de With's journal

Witte de With's journal has pretty good coverage of Rotterdam ships with the fleet from September 1652 up to November 1653. If Ruth Jacobsz Buys' ship in September to November 1652 was a new ship, then my previous estimate of Sint Pieter, from Ron van Maanen's list might be true. First, we start with September 1652:

Admiralty of Rotterdam

Captain                   crew guns Ship (not listed in journal)
Vice-Admiral de With      150  36   Prinses Louise
the ship of Lt-Adm. Tromp           Brederode
Capt. van Nes             123  30   Gorinchem

Rotterdam Directors

Captain                      crew guns Ship (not listed in journal)
Capt. Corstiaen Corstiaensz  130  34   Prins
Capt. Ruth Jacobsz Buys                Hollandia
 

We next see lists for May 1653:

Admiralty of Rotterdam

Captain                      crew guns Ship (not listed in journal)
Commandeur Haexwant           98  22   Utrecht
Capt. Vijgh                   98  24   Overijssel
Lt-Cdr. Pieter Verhaven      120  32     
Capt. Willem Arentsz Warmont 116  30   Gorinchem
Capt. Kerckhoff              116  32   Dolphijn
Capt. Aert Jansz van Nes               Gelderland
The ship of Lt-Adm Tromp     268  56   Brederode

Rotterdam Directors' Ships

Captain                             crew guns Ship (not listed in journal)
Capt. Ruth Jacobsz Buys              95  26   Hollandia
Corstiaen Eldertsz                   95  24   Roskam
Capt. Sijmon Cornelisz van der Meer           Sint Pieter
Capt. Jacob Cleijdijck              168  38   Prins

Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC

Captain                         crew guns Ship (not listed in journal)
Jan Arensz van der Werff        124  32   Wapen van Nassau

This seems to be from July 1653:

Admiralty of Rotterdam

Captain                      crew  guns  Ship (not listed in journal)
Lt-Admiral Tromp             290   55    Brederode
Capt. Haexwant               100   22    Utrecht
Capt. Vijgh                  105   24    Overijssel
Lt-Cdr Pieter Verhaven       106   30     
Capt. Aert Jansz van Nes      99   24    Gelderland
Capt. Abel Roelantsz Verboom 155   36    Prinses Louise

Rotterdam Directors' Ships

Captain                             crew  guns   Ship (not listed in journal)
Capt. Jacob Cleijdijck              147   38     Prins
Capt. Ruth Jacobsz Buys             100   26     Hollandia
Capt. Sijmon Cornelisz van der Meer              Sint Pieter

Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC

Captain                         crew  guns   Ship (not listed in journal)
Jan Arensz van der Werff        128   36     Wapen van Nassau

These are the ships with the fleet from September to November 1653:

Admiralty of Rotterdam

Captain                  crew guns Ship
Capt. Egbert Meeuwssen   275  54   Brederode
Capt. Abel Roelantsz     131  36   Prinses Louise
Capt. Aert van Nes       114  24   Gelderland


Rotterdam Directors' ships

Captain                  crew guns Ship
Capt. Cleijdijck         146  38   Prins
Capt. Ruth Jacobsz Buys  100  26   Hollandia (there is a word preceding this)

Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC

Captain                  crew guns Ship
Capt. van der Werff                Wapen van Nassouw

Admiralty ships of Zeeland with Witte de With's fleet in October 1653 (Revised)

Witte de With's journal also lists the ships belonging to the Admiralty of Zeeland that were with Witte de With's fleet in October 1653:

Ship                 Guns  Crew  Captain
't Wapen van Ceulen  30    120   Mangelaer (revised)
Amsterdam            32    120   Kempen
Zeeridder            30    124   Gillis Jansz (guns and crew Aug 1653)
Vlissingen           34    134   Jan Pouwelsz (guns and crew Aug 1653)
Liefde               23     94   Dingeman Cats
Goes                 25    110   Kuijper
Salmander            34    125   Pieter Marcusz

Johannes van Regermorter's ship

From the Witte de With's journals, I found that Johannes van Regermorter's ship was named Leeuwinne (the archaic spelling). Johannes van Regermorter was killed in the Three Days Battle (Portland), but his ship survived. One of Witte de With's lists from May 1653 gives the name. In August 1652, Johannes van Regermorter's ship, a Middelburg Directors' ship, carried 30 guns and had a crew of 105 men. Sources:

1. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The ship of Jan Arentsz van der Werff

Jan Arentsz van der Werff commanded a ship of the Rotterdam chamber of the VOC. From the list of ships at Vlissingen in July 1653, we know that the ship was named David and Goliad (or Goliat). From the journals of Witte de With, we know that the ship carried 32 guns and had a crew of 124 men in May 1653. This information is contained on page 121 of the E8812 archive.

There is some priceless information in the papers and journals of Witte de With

I just received the papers and journals of Witte de With from the Riksarkivet in Stockholm. The page images are huge (circa 10MB), but that makes them more readable. One of the things that make the documents so valuable are that there are lists of captains and the number of guns and crew of their ship. There are two other figures which I have yet to figure out. For example, for the ship of Jan Arensz van der Werff, the David en Goliad, carried 32 guns and had a crew of 124 men. I had been doubtful that we would ever know that sort of information. Hendrick Pieterszoon's ship, the Edam Directors' ship Halve Maan, carried 30 guns and had a crew of 107 men. The lists do not contain the name of the ship, but from other sources, we can supply the name.

Ships in service for the Admiralty of Friesland in March 1653

If anything, the picture seems obscured with regard to which Friesland ships were still in service in March 1653. J. C. De Jonge, in an appendix to Vol.I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen has an outline of the list. That outline omits mention of ships either known to be in service or at least mentioned in Ron van Maanen's list. This is the outline:

Admirality of Friesland

Warships
Number    Guns   Crew    My Notes
2         38     110-140 Zevenwolden and Groningen?
2         28     110     Breda and Westergo

Hired ships
Number    Guns   Crew
2         30     110     Schaapherder and Postpaard
3         24-26  90      Sint Nicolaas, Sara, Gelderland?
1         16     60      Waterhond

Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910
2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900
3. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858
4. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

The Amsterdam ship Edam is still something of a mystery

The Amsterdam ship Edam, also known as the Zwarte Bul, is still something of a mystery. The Wrangell Collection document gives the length as 124ft, while the traditional dimensions had a length of 120ft. Ron van Maanen has various sources quoted that give a variety of dimensions, as well as those of the Wrangell Collection document:

Wrangell Collection document:  124ft x 28ft x 11ft  6-1/2ft
"traditional dimensions":      120ft x 28ft x 11ft  6-1/4ft
5 April 1653:                  124ft x 28ft
7 July  1653:                  124ft x 28ft
7 July  1654:                  120ft x 28ft
31 March 1665:                 123ft x 30ft
14 April 1665:                 124ft x 29ft

There is also some variation in the armament:

Wrangell Collection document:  6-brass 12pdr, 14-8pdr, 4-brass 6pdr, 4-6pdr
16 November 1652:  6-12pdr, 12-8pdr, 12-6pdr
 4 April    1653:  6-12pdr, 14-8pdr,  8-6pdr
 7 July     1653:  6-12pdr, 14-8pdr, 10-6pdr
   April    1655:  6-12pdr, 14-8pdr,  8-6pdr, 2-6pdr (?) drakes
14 April    1665:  18-12pdr, 16-6pdr, 4-3pdr

Sources:

1. list of Admiralty of Amsterdam hired ships from 1652 from the Wrangell Collection, 1652
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

More about the Zeeland jacht Dordrecht from Ron van Maanen

Ron van Maanen says that the 17-gun jacht Dordrecht had been purchased in 1652, and had been named the Japonder. When purchased, the ship had 12 guns aboard. By 1653, the Japonder had been renamed Dordrecht, and was said to be 13 years old. The Staet van Oorlog te Water van 1654 gives the length as 85ft, but another document from 21 July 1653 (as seen by Ron van Maanen) gives the length as 100ft. At that point, the crew consisted of 70 sailors and 20 soldiers. On 29 March 1653, the armament was 4-12pdr, 7-6pdr, and 6-3pdr guns. We believe that this was the jacht commanded by Pieter Gorcum, during the First Anglo-Dutch War. Sources:

1. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900
2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
3. Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, 1654

The VOC ship Breda in the First Anglo-Dutch War

Ron van Maanen has the details about the VOC ship Breda that apparently served in the summer of 1653. The ship was hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam, and was from Hoorn, according to Ron's notes. These are the details:

The ship Breda

Length from stem to sternpost: 170ft
Beam:                           38ft
Hold:                           21ft
Height over hold:                7ft

32 guns: (30 July 1653)
 4-18pdr
18-12pdr
10-6pdr

Crew: 196 to 296 men

Sources:

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

Are the Kalmar Sleutel dimensions in Maas feet?

I was just looking at Ron van Maanen's document and saw the dimensions for the Kalmar Sleutel, which was sunk on 22 July 1652, while in the fishery protection squadron, when attacked by English frigates. Ron gives rather small dimensions: 103ft x 25ft x 11ft. I had originally assumed that these were Amsterdam feet, but they are quite small, and I know suspect that they are in Maas feet, which would make the vessel more normal size. One factor was that Ron gave the armament as 22-28 guns. I don't see 28 guns on a 103ft vessel. If the dimensions given were in Maas feet, the converted Amsterdam dimensions would be about 112ft x 27ft x 12ft, which are quite reasonable. This is derived from Ron van Maanen's list "Dutch Warships 1600-1800".

Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker's ship in 1652

Based on a study of Ron van Maanen's list, it would appear that Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker's ship, which was hired by the Hoorn Directors, was named the Liefde. This was a ship that was 8 years old in 1652. These are the details from a combination of sources:

The ship, the Liefde, Capt. Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker
hired by the Hoorn Directors

Length from stem to sternpost:  135-1/2ft
Beam:                            27ft
Hold:                            13-1/2ft
Height above the hold:            6-1/4ft

28 guns

Crew:  105 men

Sources:

1. Ron van Maanen, Dutch Warships 1600-1800, undated, but circa 1992
2. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652

The Vlissingen Directors' ship Witte Lam

At the beginning of the war, the Vlissingen Directors' ship Witte Lam carried 32 guns and had a crew of 110 men. The Witte Lam's captain was Jan Thyssen. The Witte Lam, by late 1652, had become Michiel De Ruyter's flagship and had been upgunned to 40 guns and had a crew of about 145 men. From Ron van Maanen's list, "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", we know that the dimensions of the Witte Lam: 129ft x 28ft x 12-1/2ft. Another reference Ron found gave the length as 130 ft. The height "over hold" was 6-1/2ft. I have always taken that to mean the height above the main deck to the upper deck. Sources:

1. Pieter Casteleyn, Hollandsche Mercurius, 1652
2. Ron van Maanen, Dutch Warships 1600-1800, undated, but circa 1992
3. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
4. Francis Vere, Salt in Their Blood - The Lives of the famous Dutch Admirals, 1955

My theory is that the Engel Gabriel (28 guns) is the same as the Engel

It might not be true, but it would explain why we have not seen the Engel Gabriel (28 guns) mentioned. Ron van Maanen says that the Engel (28 guns) was in service from 1652 until 1653. He gives the armament as 4-12pdr, 12-8pdr, 10-4pdr, and 2-3pdr. The captain was Maarten Schaeff. The details for the 28-gun Engel Gabriel are somewhat different, but not too different: 6-12pdr, 12-6pdr, 8-4pdr, and 2-3pdr. So far, this is just a theory, but it would explain a lot.

A gun inventory from 1652

One of the pages in the papers of Dr. S. Hart, from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam, includes a gun inventory. My copies are pretty bad, generally, and this page does not have the inventory number at the top. It seems to be with pages for a ship named Amsterdam, but the number of guns is only 24, not the 28 from the other page:

 4 pieces of  12 lbs   3100 lbs
                       3150 lbs
                       3120 lbs
                       3220 lbs

 8 pieces of   8 lbs   2849 lbs
                       2840 lbs
                       2770 lbs
                       2940 lbs
                       2732 lbs
                       2970 lbs
                       2990 lbs
                       2960 lbs

10 pieces of   6 lbs   1725 lbs
                       1690 lbs
                       1775 lbs
                       1740 lbs
                       1659 lbs
                       1800 lbs
                       2100 lbs
                       2020 lbs
                       2170 lbs
                       2200 lbs

 2 pieces of    3 lbs   848 lbs
                        842 lbs

What may have been Johannes Michielszoon's ship in 1652 to 1653

Ron van Maanen has information about a storeship that was hired by the Admiralty of Zeeland and was in service in 1653. This was a transport that was used as a victualler and ammunition ship. The ship was the Walvisch (20 guns). The Walvisch was hired from Daniel Thijssen Gillissen. If we stretch things a bit, we can imagine that this might have been the ship commanded by Johannes Michielszoon in 1652 and up to the Three Days Battle in 1653. The ship survived the battle but Johannes Michielszoon was killed. His ship had a crew of 100 men, according to the pamphlet of Hendrick de Raedt.

I have an odd question

This may seem odd or goofy, but I wondered if I went back in my time machine, and could see the Dutch fleet at sea in 1652 or 1653, how would I tell which ships were present? Much later, it was the custom in the British and American navies to put the name of the ship on the stern, but did not think, from the van de Velde drawing evidence, that this practice was common in the Dutch navy during the First Anglo-Dutch War. Of course, the Reinier Nooms painting of Tromp's flagship Aemilia at the Battle of the Downs does show the name on the stern. Presumably, the flags flown might be useful, as well as position in the squadron, but that would not be enough to make the identification. The other possibility, which might be useful, in many cases, is to see the taffrail or upper stern, and see the painting or carving that is there.

The Friesland jacht Waterhond

We know that there was a 16-gun jacht in the service of the Admiralty of Friesland in 1653. The ship is listed in the list of ships in service in March 1653 an appendix to Vol.I of J. C. De Jonge's book Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen. This ship is the jacht Waterhond, and Ron van Maanen has the details in his list "Dutch Warships 1600-1800". Carl Stepel has found that the Waterhond was hired in Amsterdam on 22 September 1652 "from nobody less then David de Wildt secretary of the Admirality of Amsterdam for a rent of Hfl. 1.250, per month". The captain's name is mentioned in The First Dutch War, Vol.V: These are the details:

The jacht Waterhond, Capt. Oosteroon

Length from stem to sternpost:  100ft
Beam:                            24ft
Hold:                            11ft
Height over hold:                 5-1/2ft
16 guns

Crew: 60 men

The Witte Eenhoorn

The ship Witte Eenhoorn (or Hoorn, or Eenhoorn) was apparently a ship we knew about, of the standard Noorderkwartier dimensions for 120ft ships: 120ft x 27ft x 11ft. Ron van Maanen says that the ship was in service from 1636 until 1672. One new piece of information is that the height over hold was 6-1/2ft. Ron van Maanen does not list it, but we know the armament in July 1654 from the Staet van Oorlog te Water for 1654:

32 guns:
 6-iron 12pdr
20-iron  8pdr
 2-brass 6pdr
 2-iron  6pdr
 2-iron  4pdr

The ship Amelia, in 1652

Willem van der Zaan commanded a ship variously called Amelia or Aemilia in 1652. The Amelia operated in the service of the Admiralty of Amsterdam. The Amelia is described in the document from the Wrangell Collection:

The ship Amelia, Capt. Willem van der Zaan

Length from stem to sternpost:  120ft
Beam:                            28ft
Hold:                            10-1/2ft
Height over hold:                 6-1/2ft

28 guns:
 4 brass      12 lbs
14 gotelingen  8 lbs
 4 brass       6 lbs
 4 gotelingen  6 lbs
 2 drakes      4 lbs

Crew: 90 men

More thoughts on the Rotterdam ship Schiedam

Carl Stapel pointed out that Dirck Juynbol was appointed to command the Rotterdam ship Schiedam in early 1652, when Marinus Juynbol was removed from command. From the 26 February 1652 document from the Admiralty of Rotterdam (as it calls itself there, rather than the Admiralty of the Maze), we know that the dimensions for the Schiedam in Maas feet of 308mm were 106ft x 25ft x 10ft. These approximately translate to the same dimensions as the Gorinchem in Amsterdam feet: 116ft x 27ft x 11ft. We know from such lists as Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet that Dirck Juynbol's ship carried 30 guns and had a crew of 131 men. This is all but identical to the armament and crew for Gorinchem (30 guns and a crew of 130 men). Why would Dirck Juynbol not have commanded the Schiedam through the rest of 1652 until the ship was lost at the Battle of Dungeness on 10 December 1652?

Ron van Maanen's list of ships

We really would like to know Ron van Maanen's sources so we can find the documents that he saw. The reason is that Ron usually omitted gun lists that I know were on certain documents (because I have copies of them). His list is a really tremendous work, and is extremely helpful. I find, though, that he makes some mistakes about ships, probably based on Vreudenhil's list. We also have information that he had not seen, mostly from the Wrangell Collection document and from S. Hart's papers from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam. He also omits ships, such as that which seems to have been named Scheletje (24 guns and a crew of 70 men). His list seems to confirm that there were ships hired by the Directors in 1652 that were not part of the fifty funded by the Extraordinarie Equipage (50 hired by the Directors and 100 ships hired by the admiralties)

The Jaarveld, wrecked in January 1653

The ship Jaarsveld was taken to the Mediterranean Sea by Joris van Cats, as his flagship. After he was removed the Jaarsveld became the flagship of Johan van Galen. The Jaarsveld fought in the Battle of Monte Christo on 27 August 1652 and continued in service until the ship ran onto an uncharted rock off Livorno. Ron van Maanen has the dimensions of the ship:

The ship Jaarsveld
built for the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1651

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            32ft
Hold:                            13ft
Height over hold:                 7ft

44 guns

Crew: 150 men

The Rotterdam ship Schiedam

From the list of Rotterdam ships from 26 February 1652, we know the dimensions in Maas feet of 308mm of the ship Schiedam (26 guns). Ron van Maanen includes that ship in his list, and says that the ship was lost in action. He has a note for which I do not have the key, at least for now.

A candidate for Ruth Jacobsz Buys' ship from Ron van Maanen's document

After study of Ron van Maanen's document, one candidate for Ruth Jacobsz Buys' ship is suggested: the Sint Pieter of 24 to 28 guns and a crew of from 100 to 122 men. Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet gives the ship 26 guns and a crew of 105 men.

The hired ship Susanna

The ship Susanna was hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam for service in the Mediterranean Sea in the First Anglo-Dutch War. I could not find the dimensions on the page from the papers of S. Hart from the Gemeentearchief, which does not mean that they are not there. What makes these documents hard to read, besides the sloppy writing, is that there is a lot of "bleed-through" from the other side of the page, as they were written with ink, used in liberal amounts. I had to consult one of the documents from Ron van Maanen that has the length, beam, and height above the hold. The captain and crew size are from the First Dutch War, Vol.IV. These are the details:

The ship Susanna, Capt. Pieter Jansz de Vries

Length from stem to sternpost:  133ft
Beam:                            29-1/2ft
Hold:                            unknown
Height above hold:                6-1/4ft

Guns:
 4-12pdr
10-8pdr
 6-6pdr
 6-4pdr
 2-3pdr
 2-steenstukken

Crew:  100 men

The hired ship Venetia

One of the pages in the papers of S. Hart, from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam tells about the hired ship Venetia. The Venetia served in the Mediterranean Sea and was commanded by Jacob Schellinger. These are the details:

The ship Venetia, Capt. Jacob Schellinger

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            28ft
Hold:                             unknown
Height over hold:                 6-1/4ft

28 guns:
10-12pdr
14-6pdr
4-3pdr

17th Century Naval Wargaming is back

Thankfully, after I put in a support request with Blogger, they got 17th Century Naval Wargaming back so that it is visible.

A spurt of new information

I am experiencing one of the spurts of information that periodically happen. The wild thing is that more is on the way, in the form of the letters and journals of Witte de With, from Sweden. Typically, it can take several years to really digest the new information. One of my goals is to compile a complete list of Dutch warships used in the First Anglo-Dutch War, including dimensions, with the "height above hold", and lists of guns carried. It is likely that project cannot be totally completed, at least until someone perfects a timemachine (at least some of the information may not exist anymore).

A hired ship named Engel Gabriel

In the notes of S. Hart, from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam, there is a ship mentioned named Engel Gabriel, with an inventory. The data I can read is as follows:

Length from stem to sternpost:  136ft
Beam:                            29ft-6in

36 guns:
18-12pdr
 2-8pdr
12-6pdr
 4-4pdr

This is a ship hired in 1652, in Amsterdam. On what might be the second page, it is signed by Isaac Sweers on 12 August 1652.

Abraham van der Hulst's ship in 1652

I may have already said this, but my current estimate is that Abraham van der Hulst probably commanded the ship Achilles, built in 1644, in 1652. This ship is number 2 in Vreugdenhil's list. After I found out that Dirck Schey commanded the ship that was number 1 in Vreugdenhil's list, I was looking at possibilities for a regular warship that was not otherwise seen, and this ship is really the only possibility of ships that we know about. The only thing we know about the Achilles of 1644 is that the length of the ship was 120ft. According to the lists we have, Abraham van der Hulst's ship carried 26 guns in June to August 1652 and had a crew of 100 men. Sources:

1. Pieter Casteleyn, Hollandsche Mercurius, 1652
2. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
3. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938

Is this ship model supposed to be the Gouda that served in the First Anglo-Dutch War?

One ship included the Wrangell Collection list of ships hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1652 is the Gouda. Just the inclusion of the Gouda in this list is controversial, because the Gouda seems to have been built as a warship. I noticed a picture of a Pyro ship model from the past of a Dutch warship named Gouda:

I wondered if this was supposed to be a model of the Gouda that is in this list and which fought in the First Anglo-Dutch War. The ship was built about 1636 and was commanded by Jan Egbertsz Ooms. The Gouda was lost in the storm in early November 1653, along with many other ships from Witte de With's fleet. This is the data from the list:

the Ship Gouda, Capt. Ooms

Length from stem to sternpost:  116ft
Beam:                            29ft
Hold:                            11-1/4ft
Height between decks:             6ft-7in

28 guns:
 4 brass            12 lbs
12 gotelingen        8 lbs
 4 brass             6 lbs
 6 gotelingen        6 lbs
 2 brass chambered   4 lbs

Crew:  90 men

So how did Dutch ships carry their guns?

I do not have information for 1652 and 1653 about how Dutch ships carried their guns. Most Dutch ships were apparently two deckers, although the waist was not armed. I can only speculate, although I can at least make educated guesses.

For example, Hendrick Kroeger's ship 1652, up until 22 July, was the Marcus Curtius. The Marcus Curtius carried 6-iron 8pdr, 8-iron 6pdr, 4-iron 4pdr, probably 4-iron 3pdr, and 2-iron 2pdr. Presumably, the lower tier consisted of 6-8pdr, 8-6pdr, and 4-4pdr, for a total of 18 guns. That would mean 9 guns on a side. I would then guess that 4-3pdr were carried on the quarterdeck and 2-2pdr on the forecastle. The 2pdr could also have been on the poop. A different plan would have been used for Albert Claesz de Graeff's ship, the Hollandia.

The Hollandia was armed with 4-brass 12pdr, 14-iron 12pdr, 14-iron 6pdr, and 2-iron 4pdr. I would hazard a guess that all the 12pdrs were on the lower tier, all the 6pdrs were on the upper tier, with the waist unarmed, and the 2-4pdr were on the poop (or whatever level that would be, one deck higher).

Sources:

1. list of Amsterdam ships hired in 1652, from the Wrangell Collection at the Riksarkivet, in Stockholm, Sweden

English Naval Officer: George Delavall

George Delavall served in the English and British navies from the very late 17th Century until the 1720's. He was appointed Captain on 28 October 1695. He was operating in the Mediterranean Sea with John Munden in the 1698-1699 timeframe, when George Delavall commanded the Conventy (42 guns). He fought in the Battle of Velez Malaga on 13 August 1704 (old style). He commanded the Tilbury (50 guns) in the battle. He was a member of parliament from 1715 for West Looe. He was appointed Rear-Admiral of the Blue on 28 March 1718. He fought in the Battle of Cape Passaro on 11 August 1718 (old style). He flew his flag on the Dorsetshire (80 guns) with John Furzer as his flag captain. With Thomas Kempthorne, in the Royal Oak (70 guns), he chased two ships, but did not catch them. He had taken the Spanish Isabela (60 guns). He was appointed as Rear-Admiral of the Red on 10 March 1719. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral of the White on 16 February 1723. He died on 22 June 1723. Sources:

1. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898
2. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.III, 1898
3. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994

Isaak Sweers' ship, the Engel Gabriel (36 guns)

The document from the Wrangell Collection has the details of Isaak Sweers' ship Engel Gabriel. This was a large, hired ship. He served in Michiel De Ruyter's fleet in the summer of 1652 and probably fought in the Battle of Dungeness, on 10 December 1652. His ship was sunk by gunfire on the first day of the Three Days Battle on 28 February 1652. These are the details of the ship:

The ship the Engel Gabriel, Capt. Sweers

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            30ft
Hold:                            13-1/2ft
Height between decks:             6-1/2ft

36 guns:
18 gotelingen   12 lbs
10 gotelingen    8 lbs
 4 gotelingen    6 lbs
 4 gotelingen    4 lbs

Crew:  120 men

The Amsterdam Directors' ship Walvisch

Carl Stapel identified a document that gave the dimensions and armament of the Amsterdam Directors' ship Walvisch. The Walvisch was commanded by Abraham Verleth and fought in the Battle of Scheveningen. In Vol.V of Schetsen uit de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, Dr. Elias gives some information about the ship: Walvisch (30 guns and a crew of 110 men). After seeing the information that Carl found, I equate the Walvisch with an unnamed ship that appeared in a list of four new ships, simply referred to as "the first", "the second", "the third", and "the fourth". That document shows the ship as carrying 28 guns:

the ship Walvisch, kapitein Abraham Verleth
Length from stem to sternpost:  128ft
Beam:                            29ft
Hold:                            12-1/2ft
Height between decks:             7ft
28 guns:
10-12pdr
 8- 8pdr
 8- 6pdr
 2- 3pdr

Crew: 110 men

Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot

I had not remembered that there was a document which definitively says that Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot commanded the Amsterdam Directors' ship Samson (Sampson). I had thought that it just said "Cornelis Cornelisz", but it adds "groot" at the end. The copy is bad, so it is a good thing that I have another page with the Samson's specifications. I am most familiar with Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot from his part in talking Witte de With out of attacking Scarborough, after sailing there in April 1653, on a raid. This is the information about the Samson:

The ship, the Samson
kapitein Cornelis Cornelisz de Groot

Length from stem to sternpost:  119ft
Beam:                            28 or 28-1/4ft
Hold:                            13ft
Height between decks:             6-1/4 or 6-1/2ft

28 guns:
12-12pdr
 6- 8pdr (or 8-8pdr)
 8- 6pdr (or 6-6pdr)
 2- 3pdr

Crew:  110 men

It is not unusual that the information is not consistent across documents. The best document lacks gun information. There may be another document, and I probably need to check my original copy to see if I can read more.

Do we actually know information about the Rotterdam Directors' ship Sint Pieter?

I could not account for a ship named Sint Pieter that appeared in documents from 1653, along with ships known to have been hired by the Amsterdam Directors. On a page that says something about ships in the Sound (Orisondt), there is a ship named Sint Pieter at the bottom of the page. The captain's name is blank, unlike the other ships. We do have the specifications for the ship:

Sint Pieter

Length from stem to sternpost:  123ft
Beam:                            28ft-7in
Hold:                            12-1/2ft
Height between decks:             6-1/2ft

28 guns:
10-12pdr
 8-8pdr
 8-6pdr
 2-3pdr

The page was copied poorly, so we cannot read the crew size, which must be on the original, bound page. Given the heading on the page, perhaps the list could include a non-Amsterdam vessel. Otherwise, there is a mystery ship named Sint Pieter hired by the Amsterdam Directors (which is always a slight possibility).

How much we know about the Zeeland jacht Dordrecht

I had not remembered how much information there is about the Zeeland jacht Dordrecht. The two sources are the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 and two appendices to Vol.I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen:

the jacht Dordrecht
Length:  85ft
Beam:    21ft (est)
Hold:     9.5ft (est)
17 guns:
 4  12pdr
 7   6pdr
 6   3pdr

Crew:    50 men

Similar jachts in 1666 had dimensions of 86ft x 22ft x 9.75ft

Abraham van der Hulst's ship in 1652

I have reached the conclusion that Abraham van der Hulst's ship during the summer of 1652 must have been a States' ship, not a hired ship. That is what Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet and the Hollandsche Mercurius list indicate. I realized that I had forgotten that since we know that Dirck Schey commanded the ship Achilles listed as number 1 in Vreugdenhil's list, then ship number 2, also named Achilles, is not known to have been commanded by anyone in 1652 (or any other date). Right now, the Achilles of 1644 seems like the best candidate for being the ship commanded by Abraham van der Hulst in 1652. That leaves us the further question as to who commanded the Achilles from late 1652, or at least what happened to the ship. Sources:

1. Pieter Casteleyn, Hollandsche Mercurius, 1652
2. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652
3. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938

The hired ship Catharina

The ship Catharina (apparently called Juffrouw Catharina by Dr. Elias in Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen) was commanded by Dirck Bogaart. The Catharina was apparently hired on 4 June 1652 and was taken by the English in the Fishery Protection Squadron on 22 July 1652. The ship was later seen by a Dutch warship in a Norwegian port, flying English colours. This the information about the Catharina from the Wrangell Collection document:

The ship, the Catharina, Capt. Bogaart (called Bogard in the list)
Length from stem to sternpost:  116ft
Beam:                            25ft
Hold:                            11-1/2ft
Height between decks:             6-1/2ft
24 guns:
6 gotelingen       8 lbs
8 gotelingen       6 lbs
4 gotelingen       4 lbs
4 gotelingen       3 lbs
2 brass bases      3 lbs

Crew:  70 men

The 24-gun hired ship Keijser

The 24-gun hired ship Keijser (Keyser) was commanded by Jan ter Stegen. The ship was eventually paid off and Jan ter Stegen took over command of the Aemilia after Willem van der Zaan was moved to the Campen, to replace his dead brother about March 1653. The Keijser was lightly armed, but was well-armed enough to actually serve in the fleet during the summer of 1652. The Keijser was with Tromp's fleet on the voyage to the Shetlands in July to August 1652, when the fleet was dispersed by a severe storm. Such far north latitude severe storms were a feature fo the mini-Ice Age that lasted until the early 1700's. The storm that destroyed half of the Spanish Armada is another example. The document from the Wrangell Collection supplies the specifications for the Keijer:

The ship, the Keijer, Capt. ter Stegen
Length from stem to sternpost:  122ft
Beam:                            25ft
Hold:                            11-1/2ft
Height between decks:             6ft
24 guns:
 6 gotelingen   8 lbs
 8 gotelingen   6 lbs
 8 gotelingen   4 lbs
 2 gotelingen   2 lbs

Crew:  70 men (later, as many as 80 men)

Just to confuse matters more: Hendrick de Raedt's list

To further confuse the picture, Hendrick de Raedt's list calls the following Amsterdam warships States' ships:

Ship     Commander            Guns Crew
a ship   Abraham van der Hulst  26 100
Star     Jacob Paulusz Cort     28  95
Campen   Joris van der Zaan     38 130

Two of these appaer in the document from the Wrangel Collection, and are said to be hired for a specified cost. I would have guessed that Abraham van der Hulst's ship was hired, as there seem to be no States' ship that would have been available for him to command.

Albert de Graeff's ship Hollandia

Albert de Graeff's ship Hollandia appears in the list of ships in Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet as being in Witte de With's squadron in August 1652. That ship is also included in the list of ships hired in 1652 from the Wrangel Collection. This is the information from that list:

The ship Hollandia, Capt. de Graeff
Length from stem to sternpost: 130ft
Beam:                           29ft
Hold:                           13ft
Height between decks:            6-1/2ft
32 guns (actually, 34 guns):
 4 brass guns        12 lbs
14 iron gotelingen   12 lbs
14 iron gotelingen    6 lbs
 2 iron gotelingen    4 lbs

Crew:  90 men

The fireship Graaf Sonderlandt

The document that Jan Glete sent me answers one question that has persisted since before Vreugdenhil made his list. The fireship Graaf Sonderlandt was hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1652. We had not known which admiralty had hired the ship, previously. We had known that the Graaf Sonderlandt was commanded by Hendrick Janszoon, and this document confirms that information. It turns out that we know that the Graaf Sonderlandt had a crew of 18 men, as well.

Dirck Schey's ship, the Achilles (or Achillis)

What the document that Jan Glete sent me says about Dirck Schey's ship, the Achilles (or Achillis, the document calls the ship), is both surprising and explains what had been a mystery. The surprise is that it is obvious that his ship is what Vreugdenhil lists as number 1 on his list. The revelation,however, explains what happened to that ship. To make matters worse, Dirck Scheij's ship was hired in 1652 for the price of f2,000, and was numbered among the Hundred Ships hired in 1652 as part of the Extraordinary Equipage. It doesn't explain number 2 on the list, also named Achilles, which was said to have been completed in 1644. Number 2 is the ship that I had assumed was that commanded by Dirck Schey (or Scheij). Now, that ship is hard to explain. This is the information from the document sent to me by Jan Glete:

The ship Achillis, Capt. Scheij

Length from stem to sternpost:  131ft
Beam:                            29ft
Hold:                            13ft
Height between decks:             7ft-7in
28 guns:
 4 iron gotelingen      12lbs
12 iron gotelingen       8lbs
 8 iron gotelingen       4lbs
 2 iron gotelingen       2lbs

Crew: 90 men

Hillebrandt Jeroenszoon's ship, the Hollandsche Tuin

Hillebrandt Jeroenszoon commanded the small, hired ship on 25 June 1652 and remained in service until about March 1653, when the ship was lying in the Texel, paid off. In August 1652, he was on a convoy to Muscovy. In September, his ship was lying in the Schooneveld with Witte de With's fleet and presumable fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock. In December, he was assigned to a convoy that was to separate from the fleet and head for the French channel ports. This is the data for the ship:

The ship Hollandsche Tuin, Captain Hillbrandt Jeroenssen

Length from stem to sternpost:   116ft
Beam:                             26ft
Hold:                             11-1/2ft
Height between decks:              6ft

24 guns:
6 gotelingen       8lbs
8 gotelingen       6lbs
4 gotelingen       4lbs
2 gotelingen       3lbs
4 gotelingen       2lbs

Crew: 70 men

I use my Zeven Provincien mousepad at work

I currently use my Zeven Provinciën mousepad at work.

I want to make a mousepad of my favorite Brederode drawing, and switch to that one:

There already are some Brederode options, ranging from the photoart piece to the two different versions of the painting. The Zeven Provinciën mousepad is currently available at my CafePress.com store, along with other products, including the mousepads based on the other Brederode artwork.

The large ship Drie Coningen hired in 1652

The large ship Drie Coningen was hired in 1652. The ship was initially commanded by Lucas Albertszoon (or Albertssen). The Drie Coningen fought in the Battle of Plymouth and the Battle of the Kentish Knock. It appears that Lucas Albertszoon was removed from command for his performance at the Kentish Knock. A document, that I date about mid-March 1653, that is published in The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, still shows Lucas Albertszoon as captain. A name appearing in that document does not mean much, as it still shows Jacob Huyrluyt as captain of the Zeelandia, when his lieutenant, Nicolaes Marrevelt was in command. This is the data from the document that Jan Glete sent me from the Wrangel Collection in the Swedish archives:

The ship, the Drie Coningen, Capta. Lucas Aelbrechtsz.

Length from stem to sternpost:   145ft
Beam:                             30ft
Hold:                             14-1/2ft
Height between decks:              6-3/4ft

Armed with 24 guns
and of the State: 12 guns

36 guns:
16 gotelingen         12lbs
10 gotelingen          8lbs
 6 gotelingen          6lbs
 4 gotelingen          4lbs

Crew: 120 men

A different sort of 24 gun ship: the Marcus Curtius

The Marcus Curtius represents a different sort of 24 gun ship than some. The shp is longer, but still carries a light armament. The ship was commanded by Hendrick Kroeger, and was taken by the English on 22 July 1652, while with the Fishery Protection Squadron. This is the data from the document sent to me by Jan Glete:

The ship Marcus Curtius, Capt. Kroeger

Length from stem to sternpost:   120ft
Beam:                             25ft
Hold:                             11ft
Height between decks:              5-1/2ft

24 guns:
6 iron gotelingen      8 lbs
8 iron gotelingen      6 lbs
4 iron gotelingen      4 lbs
4 iron gotelingen      3 lbs (?)
2 iron gotelingen      2 lbs

Crew:  70 men

The low height between decks is striking. The ship also has a length-to-beam ratio of 4.8, which is pretty large.

How do these dimensions for the Edam compare to those measured by the English?

The dimensions for the Edam in the documents that I received from Jan Glete give a greater length than the traditional dimensions. This information gives a 124ft length in Amsterdam feet, while the usual length given is 120ft. The measured length on the keel, in English feet, is 86ft. The ratio between this length and the English length is 1.44, about. The ratio between 120ft and 86ft is about 1.39. This conversion ratio is a factor that includes the rake and the difference between the English foot of about 305mm and the Amsterdam foot of 283mm. Even the 1.39 is large, as the same ratio of for the captured Friesland ship Groningen is about 1.28. The 1.44 figure is even more extreme. I imagine that the 124ft length is incorrect, although it is not impossible that it is correct and the "traditional" length of 120ft is wrong. Published Sources:

1. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984

Simon van der Aeck's ship, the Amsterdam

Another ship listed in the papers that I received from Jan Glete is the ship Amsterdam, commanded in 1652, at least, by Simon van der Aeck. The Amsterdam fought in the Battle of Plymouth in August and probably was at the Battle of the Kentish Knock on 8 October 1652. The ship was still in service in March, and probably took part in the Battle of Dungeness and the Three Days Battle from 28 February until 2 March 1653. These are the particulars:

The ship Amsterdam, kapitein Sijmon van der Aeck

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            29ft
Hold:                            13ft

30 guns:

10 gotelingen of 12 lbs
 8 gotelingen of  8 lbs
 8 gotelingen of  6 lbs
 4 gotelingen of  3 lbs

One of the ships from the list I received from Jan Glete: the Edam commanded by Barent Cramer

This is the data for the ship Edam from the list dating from 1652 that I received from Jan Glete, today:

The ship Edam, Captain Cramer

Length from stem to sternpost: 124ft
Beam:                           28ft
Hold:                           11ft
Height between decks:            6-1/2ft

28 guns:

 6 brass guns of     12 lbs
 4 brass guns of      6 lbs
14 iron gotelingen of 8 lbs
 4 iron gotelingen of 6 lbs

The crew consisted of 90 men

Climatology research in the Caribbean

For a study of 17th Century hurricanes and tropical storms, a researcher is interested in information about merchant and warships that were in the Caribbean and for which log books or journals might exist. Send me any information that you might have and I will pass it on to the researcher. I will also cross post this on the other 17th Century naval history-related blog (17th Century Naval Wargaming).

More about 8 October , 9 October, and 10 October 1652

After the English fleet had been sighted and had closed to a half mile, it was the two East Indiamen that were with the fleet that had drifted off, as well as three warships. At the end of 8 October 1652, Jan Jansz van Nes, in the Gorcum (30 guns) (or Gorinchem) was missed. The English had taken the ship, and had removed Jan Jansz van Nes and his son from the ship, but Willem Adriaansz Warmont had retaken the ship. Witte de With says that the ship was totally dismasted. Cornelis Jol's (Cornelis Holla) ship, the Leiden (28 guns), had lost its mainmast. Gerrit Nobel's ship was wrecked and sank. His ship, the Burgh van Alkmaar (24 guns) had blown up in the battle. Adriaan Nicolaesz Kempen's ship, the Amsterdam (30 guns), had lost its bowsprit, as had Cornelis van Houten's ship, the Witte Lam (30 guns). The East Indiaman Vogelstruis had apparently missed the battle, having become separated in the rough weather, and rejoined at midday on 9 October. On 10 October, the wind was from the west, and Witte de With held another council of war. They could see the English fleet to the west southwest. They found out that four ships had sailed to the Texel without orders. These were the ships of Lambert Pieterszoon (the Nassaouw, 34 guns), the ship of Ewout Jeroenssen (the Zutphen, 28 guns), the ship of Jacob Andriesz Swart (the Faam, 28 guns), and the ship of Laurens Degelcamp (the Gelderland, 24 guns). The decision was made to sail to the Goeree Gat, so they altered course, accordingly. This is based on the account in Witte de With's journal, published in The First Dutch War, Vol.II. Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900

Mr. Van Dongen on the situation at Antwerp in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Mr. Van Dongen's notes in the rear of his paper about Witte de With make interesting reading in themselves. He tells the story in one note about the unfortunate situation of Antwerp. In the early 1600's, trade in Antwerp suffered, while the northern provinces in the Spanish Netherlands prospered. Earlier, Antwerp had been a prosperous seaport, much as Amsterdam was. The north effectively could blockade Antwerp, as access from Antwerp to the sea was by way of the Scheldt estuary. Antwerp also had the experience of being taken by Spanish troops in 1576, and 6,000 of the population were killed. Later, prior to the Armada campaign, the Duke of Parma, Alessandro Farnese had occupied the city and caused further disruption (from 1584 until 1585). Part of the Duke's program was to force all Protestants to leave the city. The deteriorating situation at Antwerp caused many people to flee. Many moved to the United Provinces, the seven northern provinces of the Spanish Netherlands that were in rebellion against Spain. Assets from Flanders helped to finance the newly formed United East Indies Company (the VOC). Antwerp did not regain unrestricted access to the sea until 1839! Sources:

1. Antoine Francois van Dongen, "Making Waves": the life and times of Admiral Witte de With (1599-1658), 2005

New information on the way

At the beginning of 1652, prior to the outbreak of war, the Dutch authorized the hiring of 150 ships to be used a warships. Fifty of these were hired by the Directors in the various cities:

• Amsterdam
• Rotterdam
• Hoorn
• Edam
• Enkhuizen
• Monnikendam
• Medemblick
• Middelburg
• Vlissingen
• Zierikzee
• Veere

The other hundred were to be hired by the five admiralties:

• Amsterdam
• Rotterdam (the Maze)
• Zeeland
• Noorderkwartier
• Friesland, at Harlingen

About fifty ships were quickly hired by the Directors. Dr. Elias said that only 38 ships were initially hired by the admiralties. As 1652 progressed, that number increased. It is not clear that there were ever 150 hired ships in service at the same time during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The fleet became dominated by hired ships, by the summer of 1652, when the wartime building program bore fruit.

A great deal of information exists about the Directors' ships hired by Amsterdam. I have documents from the Nationaal Archief in The Hague that give dimensions and list the guns carried. For the ships hired in April 1653, there is less complete information, as we do not know the captain or size of the crew for ships such as the Keurvorst van Keulen.

The published sources have had few details about the ships hired by the admiralties. The most we have are the captain's name, number of guns, and the crew size. This is often available for Amsterdam ships from The First Dutch War volumes and Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen. The latter has much fewer of those details.

I have information that should be in the mail, or about to be put in the mail, from a number of sources (Jan Glete, Carl Stapel, and the Municipal Archives of Amsterdam, the GAA. There are more details about the various hired ships, often with dimensions and lists of guns. What I find useful, as well, is the date the ship was hired. Where the captain is mentioned, the information is even more useful. I also hope to get the papers of Witte de With from the Swedish national archives, and have made the request.

The more I think about the aborted raid on Scarborough in April 1653, the stranger it seems

I have previously written about Witte de With's expedition to Scarborough, undertaken with the intent of conducting a raid in April 1653. Not following through with the raid seems very uncharacteristic of Witte de With. He had a substantial squadron of ships (something like 17 warships), so he might have done some damage. He let Cornelis de Groot and others talk him out of the raid in a council of war. I have not seen real reason for what the raid would not have been successful. Witte de With seems to have felt like he needed the endorsement of a council of war, prior to making any attempt at attacking. He had come back to active duty after being out of action from early December 1652. He may have actually been on board the Amsterdam jacht Luipaard during the raid. The Luipaard only had 6pdrs as its largest weapon.

English Naval Officer: Sir John Munden

Sir John Munden served in the English navy in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. He was appointed a Lieutenant on 30 November 1677. On 14 December 1688, he was promoted to Captain. He fought in the Battle of Beachy Head 30 June 1690. He commanded the Coronation (90 guns) in the Blue Squadron. On 19 May 1692, he fought in the Battle of Barfleur. He commanded the 3rd Rate Lennox (70 guns) in the Red Squadron. In about 1698 to 1699, he cruised in the Mediterranean Sea in charge of a small squadron to suppress piracy. His ship was the Winchester (60 guns). On 14 April 1701, he was appointed as Rear-Admiral of the Blue. Shortly after, on 1 July 1701, he was knighted. In September 1701, he commanded an Anglo-Dutch squadron that escorted Admiral Benbow past the Scillies, on his was to the Caribbean. On 28 January 1702, he was appointed as Rear-Admiral of the White. In 1702, Sir John Munden was sent with a small squadron to the coast of Galicia in Spain. On 18 May 1702, he chased a French squadron, but they proved to fast for the English ships and made port at Corunna. The operation was generally unproductive, and he was courtmartialed. He was acquitted, but was still dismissed from the service. He died on 13 March 1719. Sources:

1. William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, Vol.II, 1898
2. David Syrett, R. L. DiNardo, The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815, 1994

I suspect that there are many more Dutch ships hired in 1652 and 1653 than are apparent in the literature

From what Carl Stapel is finding in his research, it seems that there were more ships hired by the Dutch in 1652 than is obvious from the published literature, particularly Vreugdenhil's list from 1938. Part of the explanation seems to be that Vreugdenhil did not make use of documents from the archives. Vreugdenhil seems to also on occasion to be mistaken about a ship in his list. Carl Stapel has made a convincing argument that ship number 8 in Vreugdenhil's list, the Engel Gabriel completed in 1636 is in fact the jacht Engel Gabriel, which was out of service before 1648.

Number 8 in Vreugdenhil's list always has been a hole in the analysis

I must admit that I had not emphasized Vreugdenhil's analysis or research results that indicated that ship number 8 in his list of Dutch ships was the ship that was commanded by Adriaan van den Bosch at the Battle of Scheveningen (or Terheide). Vreugdenhil said that ship number 8 had been completed in 1636, and was a States' ship. I had pretty much discounted that and assumed that the ship named Engel Gabriel commanded by Van den Bosch at Scheveningen was actually the Amsterdam Directors' ship previously commanded by Bastiaan Bardoel. I just assumed that ship number 8 was an unsolved mystery, similar to the mystery surrounding the Achilles of 1630, number 1 in Vreugdenhil's list. Once I became aware of the 28-gun ship named Engel Gabriel hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam on 19 June 1652, I altered my thinking. This ship was also completed in 1636 and was plausibly the ship commanded by Adriaan van den Bosch in August 1653.

One answer about how the Engel Gabriel hired on 19 June 1652 might have been employed is as Abraham van der Hulst's ship

I have continued to be concerned about which ship Abraham van der Hulst commanded in 1652. Hendrick de Raedt's list gives the armament as 26 guns and the crew as 100 men. If the Engel Gabriel hired on 19 June 1652 and said to carry 28 guns were the ship commanded by Adriaan van den Bosch in August 1653, then the ship would have been available to be commanded by Abraham van der Hulst in the last half of 1652.

I wondered if Vreugdenhil might have been mistaken about number 8 in his list

The more I think about the issues involved, the more I wonder if the ship listed as number 8 in Vreugdenhil's list might actually be the hired ship that carried 28 guns. What we know is that Vreugdenhil says that ship number 8, the Engel Gabriel, was built in 1636. The hired ship with 28 guns, named Engel Gabriel, was also built in 1636. There is also number 108 in Vreugdenhil's list, which is also named Engel Gabriel, listed as being hired in 1652 and carrying 36 guns. The ship was lost in 1653. This is obviously intended to be Isaac Sweers' ship, which was sunk by gunfire on the first day of the Three Days' Battle (the Battle of Portland). The ship hired on 19 June 1652, in Amsterdam, was a smaller ship armed with 28 guns. Could this have been the ship commanded by Adriaan van den Bosch at the Battle of Scheveningen in August 1653? Vreugdenhil thought it was the ship, but thought it was a States' ship, a purpose-built warship.

The Death of Witte de With

The Dutch Ambassador to Sweden, Antoine van Dongen, wrote a paper about Witte de With, which he calls "Making Waves", the life and times of Admiral Witte de With. He says that the conclusion of the Battle of the Sound, Witte de With had been mortally wounded, but was still alive. He was carried aboard the Swedish ship Draak, along with 70 wounded Dutch sailors. Witte de With died on board the Draak. The Swedes had "rescued the journals and archives" from the Brederode, covering the last six years of her service. Witte de With's journals and letter book are in the Swedish archives.

Friesland hired their ships at Amsterdam

Carl Stapel says that the Admiraly of Friesland hired some very old ships at Amsterdam in 1652. They were ships that "could be put of service within one or two months" hired. One of these ships, the Sint Nicolaes (23 guns and a crew of 85 men) was very small and was sunk in a collision while going on a convoy. The Hector van Troijen was just a bit longer (24 guns and a crew of 70 or 75 men). Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930
2. Carl Stapel, personal communication "hired ships by admirality of Friesland", 2006

How well would I be able to align a list of ships with those we know?

What if we had a list of ships, with admiralties, ship names, number of guns, dimensions, and even gun lists. There may be no indication of which captains commanded the ships. How well would we be able to align such a list with the list of known ships and captains in the Dutch navy for the First Anglo-Dutch War? This may soon be more than just and academic question, if I receive a certain set of information in the mail (hopefully in the next few weeks).

English Captain: Robert Sparks

Robert Sparks fought in both the Parliamentarian and Commonwealth navies. In 1645, he commanded the Anne and Elizabeth, a hired merchant ship which was captured. In the summer of 1645, he was assigned to the "particular service" squadron. In 1653, he commanded the Exeter Merchant. From 1653 until 1654, he commanded the Benjamin (32 guns and a crew of 120 men), also a hired merchant ship. He fought in the Battle of the Gabbard, where he was assigned to Joseph Jordan's division in the Blue Squadron. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
2. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962

Directors' ships armaments

If we were to make a generalization about Dutch Directors' ship armaments in 1652 and 1653, based on what we know, we would say that they had a lower tier of 8pdrs and 12pdrs, or in some cases, 12pdrs and 18pdrs or 24pdrs. The quarterdeck seems to have typically been armed with 6pdrs and there are the ubiquitous 2-3pdr guns, perhaps on the forecastle, or maybe on the poop. There were some of the largest ships which had variations on this pattern. They may well have had nearly a complete upper tier armed with 6pdrs, with an unarmed waist. These are some example ships (all are Amsterdam Directors' ships):

Ship                   Guns Crew Captain                      Gun List
Alexander                28  100 Jan Meyckes                  12-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 4-6pdr, 2-3pdr
Blauwe Arend             28  105 Dirck Pater                   4-18pdr, 8-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-6pdr, 2-3pdr
Catarina                 28  ?   Jacob Jansz Coppe            10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 8-6pdr, 2-3pdr
David en Goliad          34  120 Claes Bastiaansz van Jaarveld 4-24pdr, 14-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 4-6pdr, 2-3pdr
Groote Vergulde Fortuijn 35  135 Frederick de Coninck          4-24pdr, 16-12pdr, 11-6pdr, 4-3pdr
Hollandsche Tuin         32  ?   Joris Jansz Block             4-18pdr, 10-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 8-6pdr, 2-3pdr

Joost Bankert de Jonge in the First Anglo-Dutch War

The information about Joost Bankert's service in the First Anglo-Dutch War is somewhat confusing. We know that he was killed in the Three Days Battle (Portland). The question is whether his ship survived or not. There is a letter about 17 Zeeland ships sailing home after the battle that seems to indicate that Joost Bankert's lieutenant took the ship back to Zeeland with the others. This is a short summary of his ship's service:

Adm Ship     Guns Crew Acq  Type Note   Commander                  Ship  Captain 
Z   Liefde   26   86   1652 h    8/1652 Joost Bankert de Jonge                     De Ruyter's fleet
                                 8/1652 Joost Bankert de Jonge                     The Battle of Plymouth
                                12/1652 Joost Bankert de Jonge                     In Jan Evertsen's squadron
                                12.1652 Joost Bankert de Jonge                     The Battle of Dungeness
                                 2/1653 Joost Bankert de Jonge           killed    The Three Days Battle
                                 3/1653 Joost Bankert's luitenant                  To Vlissingen

English Captain: William Thomas

William Thomas served in the Parliamentarian navy. From 1643 until 1644, he commanded the 5th Rate Eighth Whelp (18 guns and a crew of 60 men). He served in the Summer Guard in 1643. From 1644 until 1646, he commanded the 5th Rate Warwick (22 guns, a crew of 80 men, and 200 tons). He served in the Summer Guard and Winter Guard in 1644. He commanded the Warwick in the Vice-Admiral's squadron in the Summer Guard for 1645 and was also in the Winter Guard for that year. From 1646 until 1647, he commanded the new frigate Nonsuch. He commanded the Nonsuch in the Winter Guard for 1646. In the summer of 1647, he commanded the Nonsuch in the Irish Guard. He was gone from service by the winter of 1647. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
2. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962

English Captain: Richard Willoughby

Richard Willoughby served in the Parliamentarian navy. From 1644 until 1647, he commanded the Globe. The Globe was a vessel of 300 tons armed with 24 guns and with a crew of 100 men. In 1644, he was assigned to the Summer Guard and the Winter Guard. In the summer of 1645, he was assigned to the Irish Guard. Later, he was assigned to the Winter Guard for 1645. In the 1646, he was with the Irish Guard in the summer and in the Winter Guard. He continued in command of the Globe in the summer of 1647, in some unknown capacity. From 1647 until 1649, he commanded the new frigate Nonsuch. He commanded the Nonsuch in the Irish Guard in the summer of 1648 and again in the Winter Guard. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, List of English Naval Captains 1642-1660, 1964
2. J. R. Powell, The Navy in the English Civil War, 1962

This must be the armament for the Jozua in 1654

J. C. De Jonge, in an appendix to Vol.I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandse Zeewezen, has armaments for the ships in the list for July 1654. This must be the armament for the Noorderkwartier ship Jozua, Pieter Florissen's flagship up until the Battle of the Sound in 1658:

Jozua (136ft x 34ft x 14ft)
Built at Hoorn in 1654

Crew:  about 200 sailors and 30 soldiers

50 guns

Lower Tier:
4-24pdr
18-18pdr

Upper Tier:
10-12pdr
10-8pdr

Superstructure:
4-6pdr
4-4pdr

Sources:

1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
2. H.A. van Foreest and R.E.J. Weber, De Vierdaagse Zeeslag 11-14 Juni 1666, 1984
3. J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I, 1858

Ships in service in mid-March 1653 with the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier

This represents my latest estimate of ships in service, both 's Landsschips and hired ships in service with the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier in mid-March 1653:

Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier

States’ ships

Rank             Name                          Adm/Dir guns Sailors Soldiers Ship                  Sources
kapitein         Jacob Corneliszoon de Boer    NQ      40   140              Eendracht             1DW4, 1DWMed, jonge1

Schout-bij-Nacht Pieter Florissen              NQ      36   140              Monnikendam           1DW1, jonge1, Raedt1

commandeur       Bourgoigne                    NQ      34   140              Enkhuizen
kapitein         Ham                           NQ      32   130              Prinses Roijaal

kapitein         Gabriel Antheunissen          NQ      30   110              Kasteel van Medemblik

kapitein         Cornelis Pietersz Taenman     NQ      28   120              Prins Maurits
kapitein         Cornelis Slordt               NQ      28   120              Jonge Prins
kapitein         Jan Heck                      NQ      28    96              Eenhoorn
kapitein         Pieter Schellinger            NQ      26    96              Stad Medemblik
kapitein         Arent Dirckszoon              NQ      24    96              Monnikendam

Hired ships

Rank             Name                          Adm/Dir guns Sailors Soldiers Ship                  Sources
kapitein         Reynst Cornelisz Sevenhuysen  NQ      30    90              Profeet Samuel
kapitein         Willem Ham                    NQ      28    90              Tobias
kapitein         Isaak Codde                   NQ      24    82              Postpaert
kapitein         Tijs Tijmensz Peereboom       NQ      24    80              Peereboom

The Prinses Roijaal Marie and the Eenhoorn were very similar in size

You would not know it from Vreugdenhil, but the Rotterdam ship Prinses Roijaal Marie, completed in 1643, was very similar in size to the Noorderkwartier ship Eenhoorn, built in 1625. The reason you are likely not to know that is because Vreugdenhil gave dimensions for Rotterdam ships built before 1653 in Maas feet of 308mm. They were divided into 12 inches. Amsterdam feet were 283mm, and were divided into 11 inches. The inches were similar in length. The dimensions of the Prinses Roijaal Marie, in Maas feet, were 114ft x 27ft x 12ft, while length given for the Eenhoorn of 1625 was124ft in Vreugdenhil's list. My converted dimensions for the Prinses Roijaal Marie, in Amsterdam feet, are: 124ft x 29.5ft x 13ft. We actually know from one of the versions of the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 gives the dimensions of the Eenhoorn as 125ft x 29ft. We also have seen the size in lasts listed variously as 200 or 220 lasts. Sizes in lasts were often just estimates, so that is one possible explanation for the variation. In any case, if the Eenhoorn were 200 lasts, we could estimate that the hold was about 12ft. The rationale is that by using a last figure that works in other example ships, you can estimate dimensions.

200 lasts = 200 x K
If we chose as K = 217, then 200 = L x B x H / 217
200 x 217 = L x B x H
43400 = 125 x 29 x H
H = 12ft

Of course, the hold depth is entirely contingent on the last factor we chose. Ab Hoving, in his article on Dutch ships in The Heyday of Sail book has a good discussion of lasts and their computation (or non-computation).

Frigateering and the Vrijheid

The Dutch described their building program as "frigateering" in the 1630's to 1650's. They were generally building rather small ships of length to beam ratios of about 4.o and greater. The first serious break from that plan was the construction of the Vrijheid, which was trying to imitate English warships, such as the old 3rd Rates, such as the Garland, Bonaventure, Entrance, and the Portuguese prize, the Convertine. Those ships were all apparently armed with culverins (18pdr) on the lower tier. The Vrijheid was similarly proportioned, but only had 12pdrs, along with 4-24pdr, on the lower tier. Until more of the 1653 and 1654 building program ships completed, too many ships only had 12pdrs as the main armament. Maarten Tromp and Witte de With really wanted to fix the problem, but politically, it was impossible. Only a few large ships were built and purchased.

The Gelderland was a ship built for the Admiralty of Amsterdam in 1639. Her dimensions were 116ft x 27.25ft x 10.33ft. She carried a nominal armament of 28 guns and had a crew of 100 men. This is a summary of her service in the First Anglo-Dutch War:

Adm Ship      Guns Crew Date  St  Note   Commander          Ship Fate  Captain  Note
A   Gelderland 28  100  1652  h   8/1652 Cornelis van Velsen                    at the Wielingen rendezvous
                                  8/1652 Cornelis van Velsen                    De Ruyter's fleet
                                  8/1652 Cornelis van Velsen                    Battle of Plymouth
                                 12/1652 Cornelis van Velsen                    convoy towards Nantes
                                  3/1653 Cornelis van Velsen                    The Three Days Battle
                                  3/1653 Cornelis van Velsen                    Sailed from Amsterdam
                                  4/1653 Cornelis van Velsen                    Lying in the Texel roads
                                  6/1653 Cornelis van Velsen  blown up  killed  Battle of the Gabbard

Amsterdam War Losses up to mid-March 1653

(I obviously need to adjust my template, as the text is very much too wide)
In my researches for filling in the details of De Jonge's list for March 1653, I have my version of the war losses for the Admiralty of Amsterdam for up to mid-March 1653. As a point of interest, De Jonge seems to have omitted mention of several ships from the Fishery Protection Squadron lost on 22 July 1652 that seemed to be from Amsterdam. This is my list:

Losses to date:

Rank      Name                       Adm/Dir  guns Sailors Soldiers Ship                Sources
kapitein  Johan van Galen            A        44   150?    20       Jaarsveld           1DW4, jonge1
kapitein  Barent Pietersz Dorrevelt  A        30   100?    20       Amsterdam           schet2, jonge1

kapitein  Isaac Sweers               A        36   130     20       Engel Gabriel       1DW4, jonge1

kapitein  Jeroen Adelaar             A        30   100?    20       Middelburg          1DW4, jonge1
kapitein  Claes Sael                 A        30   100?    20       Maria               1DW4, jonge1
kapitein  Dirk Bogaart               A        24    80     20       Juffrouw Catharina  1DW4, schet2, jonge1
kapitein  Hendrik Kroeger            A        24    80     20       Marcus Curtius      1DW4, jonge1

This is the complete set of all sources, including those used here:

Key:

Sources:

1DW1 = The First Dutch War, Vol.I
1DW2 = The First Dutch War, Vol.II
1DW3 = The First Dutch War, Vol.III
1DW4 = The First Dutch War, Vol.IV
1DW5 = The First Dutch War, Vol.V
1DW6 = The First Dutch War, Vol.VI
ball    = Dr. Ballhausen’s book
rdhb  = Rotterdamsche Historiebladen
schet2 = Schetsen uit de Geschiedens van ons Zeewezen, Vol.II
schet3 = Schetsen uit de Geschiedens van ons Zeewezen, Vol.III
schet4 = Schetsen uit de Geschiedens van ons Zeewezen, Vol.IV
schet5 = Schetsen uit de Geschiedens van ons Zeewezen, Vol.V
schet6 = Schetsen uit de Geschiedens van ons Zeewezen, Vol.VI
vloot = De Vlootbouw in Nederland
vreug = A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702
glete = Jan Glete’s notes on Directors’ ships 
dir    = Director’s ship documents from the Nationaal Archief from 1652 and 1653
     1-undated but from March 1652 or later with a table
     2-12 March 1652
     3-27 March 1652
     4-30 March 1652
     5-8 November 1652
     6-10 January 1653
     7-27 January 1653
     8-28 January 1653
     9-30 January 1653
     10-8 February 1653
     11-18 March 1653
     12-undated but from early 1653
     13-4 April 1653

ont = Onstelde-Zee
raedt = Pamphlet of Hendrik de Raedt (about the voyage to the Shetlands)
26Feb52 = Admiralty of Rotterdam, 26 February 1652
zdir = Zeeland Directors ships pages from the Zeeuws Archief
fleet1 = list of the fleet 15/24 July 1652 from the Nationaal Archief
fleet2 = list of the fleet 19/20 September 1652 from the Nationaal Archief
staet54 = Staet van Oorlog te Water for 1654
paintings = Michael Robinson, Van de Velde Paintings
cs = communication from Carl Stapel
salt = Francis Vere, Salt in their Blood: The Lives of the Famous Dutch Admirals, 1955.
jonge1 = J. C. De Jonge, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen, Vol.I

I suspect that Herman Munnekes commanded Gerrit Femssen's former ship at the Battle of Dungeness

Herman Munnekes (or Munnick) is difficult to track, particularly as C. T. Atkinson had blown the transcription of Jan Evertsen's journal in The First Dutch War. Vol.III. I am far enough along with my current project, which drive much of Dutch Ships in Various Operations in the First Anglo-Dutch War, to see that the Wapen van Enkhuizen is the only available ship that Herman Munnekes could have commanded at Dungeness. There had apparently been disatisfaction with Gerrit Femssen after the Battle of the Kentish Knock, and we do not see him mentioned in the most obvious published literature after October 1652. He was assigned to Pieter Florissen (Florisz) Blom's squadron at the time. Herman Munnekes had commanded the Wapen van Holland (30 guns) in the Fishery Protection Squadron. The ship was taken on 22 July 1652, and was such as good ship, that she saw service in the English navy until 1656 as the Arms of Holland, until she was accidentally blown up in 1656.

The most likely ship for Abraham van der Hulst to have commanded in 1652

My assessment is that the ship most likely to have been commanded by Abraham van Hulst in 1652 was the 26-gun ship Sampson, hired by the Admiralty of Amsterdam. By March 1653, the ship was commanded by Hendrick Adriaanszoon. There is some possibility that the commanded the ship in August 1652, in which case, it would not be a plausible candidate. The main thing is that the list of ships in the service of the Admiralty of Amsterdam is very well-defined, and there is no room for "mystery ships".

The organization of Jan Evertsen's squadron on Saturday, 7 December 1652

A feature of Jan Evertsen's handwritten journal is that he gives the day of the week, as well as the date. We know that 7 December 1652 was a Saturday, because of that. On 7 December, Jan Evertsen (or Johan Evertsen) gave the organization of his squadron in his journal. He nicely lays out the divisions. Sadly, The First Dutch War, Vol.III, did not preserve that layout. This is his squadron organization:

Vice-Admirael                 Admirael                       Schout-bij-Nacht
Commandeur Cornelis Evertsen  Vice-Admiraal Johan Evertsen   capitein Jan Evertsz de Liefde
Gillis Janszoon               Jan le Sage                    Johannes van Regermorter
Jacob Adriaensz Penssen       Jan Pauwelszoon                Cornelis Cuijper
Bastiaen Centen               Jan Oliverszoon                schipper of Frans Mangelaer
Jacob Wolfertszoon            Joost Banckert                 schipper of Cornelis Rocusz Fincen
                                                             Dingeman Cats

De Ruyter and Witte de With

As we know, Witte de With was trying to get his new ship, the Huis te Zwieten, ready for service. The ship had been built for Genoa, and was purchased for the Dutch navy, along with a smaller ship, the Huis te Kruiningen. Michiel De Ruyter was trying to get the Huis te Kruiningen ready for sea, as well. In the event, neither ship was ready for the Battle of Scheveningen, where both men were squadron commanders. At this date, Witte de With did not have a regular flagship, and he apparently ended up using the Vrijheid, commanded by Abraham van der Hulst, as his flagship. The Vrijheid was probably the most suitable ship available, as the lower tier of guns were 18pdr with four 24pdr guns. Witte de With's favorite ship, the Brederode, was not available at this date, as it was still the fleet flagship. After Tromp's death at Scheveningen and the completion of the new Eendracht (58 guns), the Brederode became available. At least until late 1653, Ebert Meeuwssen Kortenaer, the captain of the Brederode, was temporarily promoted to squadron commander, and he used the Brederode as his flagship for a squadron of 16 ships. By July 1654, Witte de With was back in the Brederode, which he used as his flagship until his death at the Battle of the Sound. Egbert Meeuwssen Kortenaer was Jacob van Wassenaer's flag captain on the Eendracht. Jan de Witt, ruler of the Netherlands, did not trust Wassenaer, a soldier, without experienced supervision to be provided by Kortenaer. By July 1654, De Ruyter used the Huis te Zwieten as his flagship and Cornelis Tromp used the Huis te Kruiningen as his. Sources:

1. C.T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912
2. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930
3. Staet van Oorlogh te Water for the year 1654, 1654

I have thought that the Dutch tried to fight the English at the Battle of the Gabbard (or Nieuwpoort), with the English tactics

In Vol.I of Peter Padfield's book The Tide of Empires, he has a diagram of the Battle of the Gabbard on 12 and 13 June 1653 (new style). That diagram shows both the Dutch and English in informal line of battle. The entries in De Ruyter's journal, as excerpted in The First Dutch War, Vol.V, pages 137 and 138 do not really tell that sort of story, although elsewhere in the volume, I had the impression that the Dutch were in a rather disorderly line. Both sides broke the other's line, repeatedly, from what I have read. All De Ruyter writes is that the Dutch closed the English, starting at about 3pm. that implies that the Dutch had started with the weather gauge, but lost it "by great disorganization". On the other tack, the English gained the wind, and both sides sailed together doing "each other much damage". It was at sunset that Cornelis van Velsen's ship, the Gelderland, exploded. De Ruyter says that only five men were saved. Both fleets stayed in the general vicinity. The Dutch "drifted in a calm". De Ruyter says that early in the morning, the Dutch got the wind, which was from the southwest, and they sailed to the southeast. The English were about a mile distant. The Dutch had a council of war on the flagship Brederode, and then stood "on the defensive", because they were running low on gunpowder. This was a constant problem for the Dutch. The same thing had happened towards the end of the Three Days Battle (the Battle of Portland). On at about 11am did the Dutch close for a fight. The engagement only started in earnest at noon, when they were both about four miles from Dunkirk, which lay to the south-southeast. De Ruyter writes that the wind was now from the southwest, and that the Dutchs sailed, close-hauled, to the east-northeast. The situation deteriorated in the evening. At about 7pm, Pieter Schellinger's ship, the Stad Medemblik was taken by the English. Elsewhere, there is an indication that the ship was burnt. After that, four ships ran together, supposedly caused by Jan Coenders' jacht, the Prins Willem (12 guns). Only the Prins Willem broke free. The others were taken. De Ruyter does not name the ships in his journal, although we know that something like 13 Dutch warships, one fireship, and one advice jacht were taken, blown up, or sunk. The prizes seen to have been taken to the Thames. Dr. Elias, in notes in Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, has the details.

In May 1653, the East Indiaman Prins Willem was back to sailing for the VOC

On 13 May 1653, Michiel De Ruyter encountered two large East Indiamen from Zeeland near the Texel: the Prins Willem and the Oranje. The Prins Willem had been Witte de With's flagship for the Battle of the Kentish Knock, while the Oranje would later fight in the Battle of Lowestoft, carrying 76 guns. The Prins Willem had proved to be a poor sailer and unwieldy, so the ship was returned to the VOC after the Kentish Knock. The Oranje did not participate as a combatant in the First Anglo-Dutch War, but was fitted out as a warship for the Second Anglo-Dutch War. She was commanded by Bastiaan Centsen (Centen, or Senten) at the Battle of Lowestoft. The ship was heavily damaged and was taken by the English. The ship was not worth saving, so she was burnt. Sources:

1. C.T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912
2. Artitec page about the Oranje
3. Frank Fox, A Distant Storm: the Four Days' Battle of 1666, 1996

Jacob Huyrluyt and Nicolaes Marrevelt

On 22 May 1652 (new style), Anthony Young commanded a small squadron of ships patrolling off The Start: the President (36 guns), the Nightingale (24 guns), and the Recovery (24 guns). They saw an approaching group of ships being convoyed by several warships. They proved to be seven "Straatsvaarders", convoyed by two warships, the Zeelandia (34 guns) and the Campen (38 guns). The Zeelandia was commanded by Jacob Huyrluyt and the Campen was commanded by Joris van der Zaan. Jacob Huyrluyt's lieutenant was Nicolaes Marrevelt, who had a distinguished career in the First and Second Anglo-Dutch Wars. Anthony Young attempted to enforce the requirement for Dutch ships to salute English ships, when they were in home waters. Shots were exchanged, and ultimately, Anthony Young let the Dutch proceed, as he did not want to start a war, which everyone felt was imminent. In the event, the war was started a week later, near Dover, when Tromp sailed a fleet of 42 warships into the area, to escape a storm, and encountered two English squadrons commanded by Robert Blake.

The encounter off The Start is the last confirmed presence of Jacob Huyrluyt on the scene. As early as June, Nicolaes Marrevelt, as a luitenant-commandeur was listed as the commander of the Zeelandia, and was for the rest of the war. While a document reproduced in Vol.IV of The First Dutch War mentions Jacob Huyrluyt, he was apparently not present.

Sources:

1. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898
2. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910

Apparently, Isaak Sweers commanded the Engel Gabriel of 1636

Carl Stapel says that Isaak Sweers' journal indicates that he commanded an old States' ship, and therefore, probably the ship built in 1636. That ship carried 36 guns and had a crew of 130 men. The ship was sunk by gunfire in the Three Days Battle (the Battle of Portland). Isaak Sweers was taken prisoner, but escaped with an Spanish merchant, and eventually returned to the Netherlands from Spain (as I recall).

The Reuben, a merchantman that took part in the Battle of Dover on 29 May 1652

A merchant ship, the Reuben, as drafted to take part in the Battle of Dover on 29 May 1652. When R. C. Anderson wrote his Mariner's Mirror article about the English ship lists for the First Anglo-Dutch War, he did not know the name of this ship. He must not have read the literature very closely, as a rather chatty letter written by Thomas White, which was later published, gives the name. The letter also gives the English losses in the battle:

Triumph   8 men killed, 20 wounded
Reuben    3 men killed
Centurion 2 men killed
Victory   2 men killed
Fairfax   1 man killed

The letter appears in Vol.I of The First Dutch War, which is available online in the Google Book Search. Thomas White says that only 36 of the 42 Dutch ships were actually engaged in the battle, and that before the battle, Robert Blake had declined to take the 6 Dutch merchantmen (of the seven convoyed by Jacob Huyrluyt and Joris van der Zaan). His men wanted to take them, but Blake said of them "they were men about honest occasions, and he had no order from the Council of State to meddle with them".

There are at least two "mystery ships" in Vreugdenhil's list

In the early part of Vreugdenhil's list of Dutch ships, there are two obvious "mystery ships". "Mystery ships" are ones that Vreugdenhil lists, but for which there is no mention in the published literature. In what I have seen, the only mention of No.1, the Achilles of 1630, in Vreugdenhil's list is in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654. That list contains essentially what Vreugdenhil has published. He notes, however, that the ship was upgunned to 40 guns in 1653. Given that we have not seen any mention of the ship by that name, it is unclear what the basis was for that note. The source was not Dr. Ballhausen's book. Another mystery ship is the Engel Gabriel of 1636. No armament is mentioned. Given that all the other ships seem to appear in the literature with captains, perhaps that is the mystery ship commanded by Abraham van der Hulst.

The 16 ships of the Admiralty of Amsterdam funded in 1648

At the Peace in 1648, ending the Dutch rebellion against Spain, 40 convoyers were funded to be kept in service. This is my attempt at a list:

Amsterdam (16 ships)

Adm Ship                Guns Crew Date Commander
A   Achilles            28   100  1644 Gillis Schey
A   Bommel              30   100  1645 Pieter van Brakel
A   Dolphijn            32   120  1633 Gerbrand Schatter
A   Edam                28   100  1644 Barent Cramer
A   Gouda               28   100  1636 Jan Egbertsz Ooms
A   Leiden              28   100  1647 Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
A   Star                28   100  1644 Jacob Paulusz Cort
A   Utrecht             30   100  1633 Jan Roetering
A   Westfriesland       28   100  1648 Hendrik Huyskens
A   Zutphen             26   100  1636 Ewout Jeroenszoon
A   Brak                18    70  1649 Pieter van Zalingen
A   Windhond            18    70  1649 Dirk Pietersz Heertjens
A   Overijssel          28   100  1650 Jan van Campen
A   Zeelandia           32   120  1643 Jacob Huyrluyt 
A   Fazant              32   120  1646 Jan Jansz de Lapper
A   Engel Gabriel       ?    ?    1636 

Given that we do not know the armament or crew of this ship named Engel Gabriel, perhaps it could be the ship commanded by Abraham van der Hulst in 1652. We only know of this ship, as it is no.16 in Vreugdenhil's list. I have not seen the ship mentioned anywhere else, by name.

A question seemingly answered

Apparently a book by Arnoldus Montanus, from 1656, has the name of the commander of the Middelburg Directors' ship Bonaventura. This was the former English hired ship Anthony Bonaventure, taken at the Battle of Dungeness. Montanus lists one of the captains of a ship that was lost at the Battle of Scheveningen (or Terheide) as A. Vertien. This is the only name that is not otherwise accounted for by the known ships lost in the battle. That would give us the name of the Bonaventura's captain. We had no information about the Bonaventura's captain, and maybe this is his name. The book is called De Beroerde Oceaan, of twee-jaarige Zee-daden der Vereenigde Nederlanders en Engelsche; Aangehecht Met Deser Opkomst En Voortgang, zeedert twee duisend Jaar ge-eindigt met de dood van Tromp.