A Foundation for 17th Centuray Naval History Research and Marine Archaeology

In the summer of 2002, I realized that what we need is a foundation for 17th Century naval history research and for marined archaeology. For that to be possible, we need a source of funding. The good news is that there is a great deal of material to be examined. We just need to be able to make funding available so that researchers (like us) would be able spend continuous periods of time examining the available records.

Dutch Captain: David Swerius (Sweers)

David Swerius served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He was killed on 21 August 1673, at the Battle of the Texel (Kijkduin). He is first mentioned by Brandt in 1671, when he commanded the small frigate Brak (24 guns and a crew of 77 sailors and 16 soldiers). In May 1672, he commanded the Beschermer (50 guns and a crew of 200 sailors and 45 soldiers). He fought in the Battle of Solebay, and his ship had 15 killed, 17 severely wounded, and 10 lightly wounded. He was in De Ruyter's squadron. David Swerius commanded the Beschermer until his death at the Battle of the Texel. He is listed next in September 1672, with the fleet. At the beginning of the Schooneveld battles in 1673, his ship had a crew of 216 sailors and 29 soldiers. For the Battle of the Texel, the Beschermer had a crew of 200 sailors and 16 soldiers. He was one of six Dutch admirals and captains killed (Isaac Sweers, Jan de Liefde, Jan Pauluszoon van Gelder, David Swerius, Hendrick Visscher, and Dirk Jobszoon Kiela).

I suspect that the correct name is "Sampson"

The name that Grove and I read from the handwritten documents as "Samplon", is almost certainly "Sampson", instead. The handwritten name looks something like "Sampfon", where I put an "f" being a 17th Century, lower-case "s". That is why Brandt wrote the name as "Samson" (actually, something like "Samfon", without the cross on the "f"). The Dutch seem to have written the name as either "Samson" or "Sampson", interchangeably. I will look again at the handwritten text, but this is my current estimate.

Dutch Captain: Hendrick Janszoon de Munnick

Given Hendrick Janszoon de Munnick's presence in the list of ships and captains that took part in the blockade of Danzig in 1656, we must conclude that he was not, in fact, killed at the Battle of Portland. There are a number of cases where we see in The First Dutch War, where there is correspondence telling of a captain's death, and then we find that the writer was mistaken. There is no doubt, however, that his ship, the Wapen van Holland, was sunk at Portland. There were a number of ships of that name taken or sunk, and one of them served with the English fleet as the Arms of Holland. We can be certain that this was not Hendrick de Munnick's ship, as the Arms of Holland was listed on December 27, 1652, in the English service (The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, page 315).

More about Jan Samplon

I have checked my notes for the 1654 list, and Jan Samplon is not listed there. That means that the earliest listing for him is in Brandt, on page 99, where he is called "Jan Samson". Grove's list for the Battle of the Sound gives his name as "Jan Samplon". I also have copies of handwritten documents from right before the Battle of the Sound. I am looking at the page that has his name written, and the name is clearly "Samplon". I have no other sources that refer to Jan Samplon, either before 1656 or after 1658.

Dutch Captain: Jan Samplon (or Samlon)

Jan Samplon served the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier. The earliest that I have been able to find reference to him was in 1654, in the "Staet van Oorlog te Water" for that year. He commanded a Noorderkwartier ship, and was mentioned in July 1654. He was likely to have been a lieutenant in the First Anglo-Dutch War, but I have not been able to verify that. He was present at the Blockade of Danzig in 1656, under Lt-Admiral van Wassenaer. Jan Samplon commanded the Hollandsche Tuin (39 guns and a crew of 120 men) in that operation. He fought in the Battle of the Sound in 1658, where he commanded the Monnikendam (32 guns and a crew of 97 men). The Monnikendam was lost in the Baltic after the battle, in action with the Swedes, and Captain Samplon may have been killed at that time.

Dutch Captain: Adriaan Teding van Berkhout

Mollema's "Honor Roll" briefly mentions Adriaan Teding van Berkhout. He served the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier, and was a lieutenant in 1652. He was promoted to captain in 1665. In 1652-1653, he served as a lieutenant, under Cornelis Tromp, in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1666, he fought in the Four Days Battle and the St. James's Day Battle. We also know that he commanded the Prinses Roijaal (40 guns) from June to August 1665. In 1666, he commanded the Drie Helden Davids (48 guns). In 1671, he commanded the small Noorderkwartier frigate Zierikzee (24 guns and a crew of 87 sailors and 35 soldiers). I have a note that says he commanded the Akerboom at the Battle of the Texel, but I believe that must be an error, and that it was Jacob Teding van Berkhout.

Brandt's biography of De Ruyter

For the period from 1665 until 1676, we are really dependent on Brandt's biography of De Ruyter (Het Leven en Bedrijf van den Heere Michiel De Ruiter) originally published in 1687. For tunately for us, there is a fine facsimile reproduction available that is reasonably priced and readily available. If you have the money, the original is frequently available, although you might have to settle for a later edition. For 1667 to 1676, Vreugdenhil seems to have greatly depended on this work for his list published in 1938.

I need to spend more time studying De Sneuper

I learned some new things from De Sneuper in the last few days. My assessment is that I need to spend more time studying what is there and translating it to English so that I can better read the material. The ship list is useful, in itself. The list of captains is just as useful, if not more so. For example, I learned that Jan Coenders was restored by the Admiralty of Friesland, after being courtmartialed, and that his yacht had the guns fall through the deck, due to the general poor condition of the vessel.

Jan Coenders' ship, the Graaf Willem

I had long thought that we didn't know the name of Jan Coender's ship. I noticed, however, upon a closer reading of The First Dutch War, that his ship was named the Graaf Willem. The passage called the ship a fluit. "De Sneuper" website, however, confirms what I had thought might be the case: the Graaf Willem was the Friese jacht. The obvious thought would be that this is the same Graaf Willem listed by Vreugdenhil, in his list from 1938. If so, then we know that the Graaf Willem carried 10 guns and was built in 1644. Her dimensions were: 74ft x 18.5ft x 7ft. I translated the text about Jan Coenders on "De Sneuper":

• 1653 Sea battle at Nieuwpoort 12/13 June, Captain Coenders on the yacht Graaf Willem
• On 11 July 1653, a courtmartial convicted Jan Coenders and found him unfit for further sea service. The verdict was signed by, among others, M. H. Tromp and M. A. de Ruyter.
• On 30 July Hessel Fransz. commanded the Graaf Willem, instead of Jan Coenders. Jan Coenders had been accused and convicted, but afterwards was rehired by the Friesland Admiralty.
• Battle near Wijk en Zee or Terheide, Jan Coenders commanded the yacht Graaf Willem. The ship was in a very bad state so that the guns fell through the moldy and rotten decks.

Dutch Captain: Adam van Brederode

This is based on my translation of the entry in Mollema's "Honor Roll" with some additional material:

Adam van Brederode served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He lived until 1676. In 1665, he distinguished himself at the Lowestoft in the Haarlem (46 guns). In 1666, he burnt English ships in the Elbe as a reprisal for the attack on the Vlie by Robert Holmes. In 1673, he commanded the Prins te Paard (55 guns) at the Battle of the Texel. In 1676, he commanded the Vrijheid (50 guns) in the battles at Etna and Palermo and in the latter battle was severely wounded.

The Onstelde-Zee and Brandt's biography seem to be a mixture

I actually have a number of texts from the 17th Century. I have the handwritten "Staet van Oorlog te Water" for 1628, 1629, 1631, and 1633, the Onstelde-Zee (1654), pages from Hollandsche Mercurius, Brandt's biography of De Ruyter (1687), and Aitzema's Saken van Staet in Oorlogh. These all seem to be in a mixture of "Middle Dutch" and "New Dutch". "New Dutch" preceded "Modern Dutch". Both of these had different spellings and different words than what is in "Modern Dutch". I discovered this website, today, that addresses the history of the Dutch language. This is on the University College London website. There is a related Dutch website, as well, the The Nederlandse Taalunie.

Dutch Captain: David Janszoon Bondt (or Bont)

David Janszoon Bondt (Bont) lived from about 1600 until 6 September 1652. He served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He was a Lieutenant in 1621, an Extraordinary-Captain in 1644, and Captain in 1652. In 1639, he was a Commandeur at the Battle of the Downs. He was in Commandeur Denijs' squadron on the South side of the battle.

Captain Bondt was initially under Joris van Cats, but Cats was replaced in early July 1652 by another old Mediterranean hand, Johan van Galen. Captain Bondt was killed in action at the Battle of Elba (Monte Christo) on 6 September 1652, while fighting the English. He commanded the 40-gun ship Maan (which had a "man-in-the-moon" painting on the taffrail). The Maan and the Vereenigde Provinciën had clapped themselves alongside Richard Badiley's flagship, the Paragon, but both captains were killed and the ships driven off. The Maan's crew had actually been ready to surrender, but Badiley was too hard-pressed to take possesion of the Maan. The Maan was completed in 1643 and her dimensions were 128ft x 31.5ft x 12ft. Her crew consisted of 140 men.

More about Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter

In 1628 and 1629, Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter commanded the Rotterdam ship Zeekalf. The Zeekalf was a vessel of 170 lasts built in 1623. She had a crew of 85 men and carried 23 guns. Her armament consisted of 2-18pdr, 2-12pdr, 14-8pdr, 1-6pdr, 2-5pdr, and 2-4pdr guns. We are fortunate that this level of detail is available for ships as old as this (at least from the Admiralities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam).

Dutch Captain: Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter

I was disappointed to see that Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter was not mentioned in Mollema's "Honor Roll" nor in Dr. De Boer's book Tromp en de Armada van 1639. C.R. Boxer did note Captain Silvergieter's presence during the campaign of the Battle of the Downs. Cornelis Engelen Silvergieter served the Admiralty of Rotterdam. The "Staet van Oorlog te Water" for 1629 lists him as commanding a Rotterdam ship. He also appears in the list published in Vol.I of The First Dutch War. He commanded a small Rotterdam frigate with 22 guns. At the beginning of the First Anglo-Dutch War, he commanded the Overijssel. From Hendrick de Raedt's pamphlet, we know that he was present on the expedition to the Shetlands. We also know that his ship survived the storm, but he vanished from the scene after they voyage.

Captain Dirck Vijch succeeded Captain Silvergieter in command of the Overijssel, and was still in her in 1654 (at least according to the "Staet van Oorlog te Water" for 1654).

Dutch Captain: Jacob Willemszoon Broeder

Jacob Willemszoon Broeder served the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He was promoted to captain in 1662 and was killed in action on 16 November 1692. In 1666, he fought in the Four Days Battle and the St. James's Day Battle. In 1667, he participated in the Raid on the Medway as commander of the Zeven Provinciën (46 guns). In 1673, he fought at the Schooneveld battles and at the Battle of the Texel. In 1676, he commanded the Kraanvogel (46 guns) in the battles of Etna and Palermo. In 1692, he fought five French privateers with Boutemantel and was captured. He was shortly exchanged. In the same year, he was killed while fighting with Jean Bart in the North Sea. His commands in the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars (and in the continuation against the French alone):

• 1665-1666 Dom van Utrecht (46 guns)
• 1667 Zeven Provinciën (46 guns)
• 1672 Edam (32 guns)
• 1675-1676 Kraanvogel (46 guns)

Morale and competence in the Restoration Navy

A striking feature of the Restoration Navy was the suddenness that morale could collapse in the face of adversity. The foremost example was the loss of the Royal Prince at the Four Days Battle. I believe that Sir George Ayscue was suspect as a naval leader, so I partly atribute the debacle in the Four Days Battle to him. After the Royal Prince grounded, the crew panicked and became unmanageable. A stronger leader might have restored the situation, but Ayscue did not. He seemed powerless to affect the outcome.

A related example played out much differently. When the Henry, John Harman's flagship at the Four Days Battle was fired, the crew also panicked. In this case, John Harman took charge, rallied the crew and put out the fire. The Dutch were amazed to find, later, that the Henry had been saved to fight another day.

The issue may be partly attributed to the extent that crews were pressed. Many men pressed into service maintained a good attitude and served for extended periods, such as Edward Barlow. His journal is a classic, and is illustrated by Barlow's ship drawings (primitive but good).

Perhaps the real answer is the moral tone set during the Restoration period by the King and Duke of York. They were good men, loyal to the navy, but their private lives were not what we would expect in these stricter times.

Abraham Crijnssen's squadron, dispatched to the West Indies in December 1666

In December 1666, Abraham Crijnssen was dispatched from Zeeland to the West Indies with a small squadron. His original squadron had 750 sailors and 225 soldiers. The ships in his squadron were as follows:

• Frigate Zeelandia, 34 guns crew 140 men Captain-Commandeur Abraham Crijnssen
• Frigate West Cappel, 28 guns Captain Simon Loncke
• Frigate Zeeridder, 34 guns crew 167 men Captain Pieter de Mauregnault
• Yacht Prins te Paard, 14 guns crew 75 men Captain Salomon Le Sage
• Hoeker Wester-Souburg, 6 guns crew 13 men Captain Rochus Bastaert
• Fluit Aardenburg Commandeur Abraham Trouwers
• Snauw Commandeur Hayman Adriaensen

17th Century shipwrecks in the Caribbean

I have met someone who is interested in shipwrecks in the Caribbean, especially those near Grenada. One idea that I had was to look at William Laird Clowes' The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present. The seven volume book is a treasure, but I get exasperated with the first two volumes. Only towards the end of the second volume does the coverage get to where it should have been.

English Ship: Marmaduke

The Marmaduke was a former Royalist ship, the Revenge. She deserted to the Parliamentarians circa 1650. There is a note from Captain John Taylor, the Master Shipwright at Chatham saying that the Marmaduke would be ready in 10 days. This was reported, based on a letter from the officer preparing the ship dated August 27th, 1652.

The Marmaduke fought in the First and Second Anglo-Dutch Wars. In 1666, she carried 12-culverins (18pdr), 22-demi-culverins (9pdr), and 8-sakers (5-1/4pdr). Her dimensions were 87ft x 31ft-5in x 15ft-2in. 87ft was the length on the keel. I would estimate that her length on the gundeck would be about 108ft. The purpose-built frigates had less rake, but the Marmaduke was a former merchantship and I would expect a rake of at least 0.25 x LK.