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Monday, January 24, 2005

The Battle of the Kentish Knock, per The Anglo-Dutch Wars 1652-1674

There are several noteworthy items from The Anglo-Dutch Wars 1652-1674 with respect to the Battle of the Kentish Knock. One is that one Dutch ship carried 62 guns. This must be the Brederode, although I have not found a reference that says that she ever carried more than 59 guns. Given that the Dutch packed 46 guns onto the little Prinses Louise for a while, 62 on the Brederode is not out of the question. The drawing I have seen doesn't indicate to me that this is true, but I need to recount gun ports. She was probably carrying at least 58 guns by the end of 1652, as she carried four smaller guns on the forecastle, on either side of the foremast shrouds. Another tidbit was that the East Indiamen were used as a rearguard for the retreating fleet (presumably the Prins Willem and the Vogelstruis). The Prins Willem was a 170ft ship while the Vogelstruis was a 160ft ship, and they were the largest Dutch vessels present at the Kentish Knock. The next largest ship was the Brederode, and she was about 144ft long (in Amsterdam feet, not the 132 Maas feet usually quoted). I currently believe that the Brederode was commanded at the Kentish Knock by Abel Roelants, with Egbert Meeuwssen Cortenaer still as the "Stuurman". Of course, a year later, Egbert Meeuwssen Cortenaer was a squadron commander of 16 ships, with his flag on the Brederode.

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