Tuesday, July 07, 2009
In 1624, Rombout van der Parre commanded an Amsterdam ship
An interesting piece of trivia: Friesland captain Rombout van der Parre commanded the Amsterdam ship Oranjeboom (Orangienboom) in 1624. This was a vessel of 120 lasts that carried 16 guns and had a crew of 90 men.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The list of Zeeland ships from 1655
I just consulted this list of Zeeland ships from 1655. You will be hard-pressed to find mention of many of the more significant Zeeland ships. I already knew the answer, but I was looking for a sign of the ship Meermin listed by Vreugdenhil as number 41. The only mention that I have seen of a ship named Meermin (or Meerminne with the old spelling) was as an alternate name for the Zeeridder.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
The Dutch ship Patientia
Jan Glete's list of the ships hired by Louis Geer to help the Swedes includes a ship named Patientia. The dimensions and guns suggest that this was the same ship hired in 1652 and then paid off. I would suggest that the Patientia was also the same ship hired in 1645 by the Nieuwe Directie van Amsterdam to be part of Witte de With's fleet. Jan Glete gives the dimensions as a length of 126ft and a beam of 26-1/2ft, very similar to the dimensions of the Patientia in 1652, although the Patientia is mentioned as 130ft in 1652.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Some datapoints: 1636, 1641, and 1645
We have three good lists from 1630's and 1640's. One is from 1636, from Dr. Graefe's book De Kapiteinsjaren van Maerten Harpertszoon Tromp (1938). Another is from a list dated 1641 of Amsterdam ships and captains. The third is the list of Witte de With's fleet in 1645. There is also some useful information in Dr. De Boer's book Tromp en de Armada van 1639. The question is always, "are these the same ship?"
Thursday, May 28, 2009
I wish that I knew more about the Spanish Dunkirkers
Since a great many of the Dutch naval operations in the 1620 to 1640's involved the Spanish Dunkirkers, I would like to know more about the men and ships that operated from Dunkirk and Ostende. This Wikipedia article has some nice background information but no specifics.
Monday, May 25, 2009
In 1629, there were many 5pdr and 10pdr guns in the Dutch service
We are used to seeing the gun calibers that were used by the Dutch after 1648. These were mostly 3pdr, 4pdr, 6pdr, 8pdr, 12pdr, 18pdr, 24pdr, and a few 36pdr guns. In 1629, there were many 5pdr and 10pdr guns in service. For example, the Goude Raven carried 4-10pdr and 10-5pdr as part of its armament. There were also a few 15pdr and 20pdr guns used in the Dutch service.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Estimating dimensions for old Dutch ships
The ship lists of old Dutch ships only give the size in lasts. I have been running wild, estimating dimensions for the ships, mostly prior to 1648, for which I have not seen dimensions. I have gun lists for many of the ships, so I have the basis for wargame pieces with the estimated dimensions and gun lists. One issue is that many of the published last figures are incorrect for the ships like the Brederode.
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