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Saturday, September 30, 2006

Ron van Maanen has the dimensions of the Vrede (1653) in Maas feet

I like to see examples where we have the dimensions for a ship in both Maas feet (12 inches per foot) and Amsterdam feet (11 inches per foot). I noticed that Ron van Maanen lists the dimensions for the Rotterdam frigate Vrede (1653) in both measures:
The frigate Vrede

In Maas feet:
Length:  101-3/4ft       Beam:  25ft     Hold:  11ft

In Amsterdam feet:
Length:  111ft           Beam:  27ft-3in Hold:  12ft

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 Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

Friday, September 29, 2006

The small frigate Gelderland only had 22 guns

The small frigate Gelderland, seemingly built in 1639, really seems to be a 22-gun ship, as is indicated by the 26 February 1652 document. Ron van Maanen has the following references:
4 March 1652:  100ft x 23ft x 8ft
16 Nov 1652:   4-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 6-6pdr, 4-4pdr
25 March 1653: 4-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 6-6pdr, 4-4pdr
1654:          2-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 6-6pdr, 4-4pdr
13 April 1655: 4-12pdr, 8-8pdr, 6-6pdr, 4-4pdr
17 July 1655:  100ft long (Maas feet)

Lists of ships

Ron van Maanen's list has dates for gun lists and even dimensions. From that, there are obviously some significant lists. Sadly, I do not have the references for them. Just having dates is insufficient to find the lists, but at least we know that they exist. Some examples:
  1. Admiralty of Zeeland 29 March 1653 this seems be a very significant list
  2. Admiralty of Amsterdam 16 November 1653
  3. Admiralty of Amsterdam 5 April 1653
  4. Admiralty of the Maze 25 March 1653

I need to more seriously analyzed Ron's lists to find the lists, so that I can differentiate between the lists and dates for information about individual ships

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Ron van Maanen says that Hendrick Jansz Camp commanded the Wapen van Nassau in early 1653

Hendrick Jansz Camp is one of the few captains mentioned by name in Ron van Maanen's list. Ron says that Hendrick Jansz Camp commanded the ship called Wapen van Nassau (130ft x 32ft x 12ft, 7ft height between decks). The ship was also known as the Wapen van Friesland. That differs from what the researcher who contributed to De Sneuper wrote. He calls that ship the Groningen (36 guns). Sources:
  1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
  2. E. Smits, "OVERZICHT SCHEPEN IN VLOOTLIJSTEN EN ANDERE STUKKEN BEHORENDE BIJ DE FRIESE ADMIRALITEIT VAN 1597 TOT 1795", De Sneuper, 1995

Ron van Maanen says that Hendrick Jansz Camp commanded the Wapen van Nassau in early 1653

Hendrick Jansz Camp is one of the few captains mentioned by name in Ron van Maanen's list. Ron says that Hendrick Jansz Camp commanded the ship called Wapen van Nassau (130ft x 32ft x 12ft, 7ft height between decks). The ship was also known as the Wapen van Friesland. That differs from what the researcher who contributed to De Sneuper wrote. He calls that ship the Groningen (36 guns). Sources:
  1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
  2. E. Smits, "OVERZICHT SCHEPEN IN VLOOTLIJSTEN EN ANDERE STUKKEN BEHORENDE BIJ DE FRIESE ADMIRALITEIT VAN 1597 TOT 1795", De Sneuper, 1995

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Ron van Maanen has a bit more information about the old Rotterdam 40-gun ship Gelderland

I was looking at Ron van Maanen's list and saw that he had some additional information about the old (in 1652) Rotterdam ship Gelderland (40 guns). This is the ship that was commanded by Michiel Fransz van den Bergh during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The usual dimensions that have been published are in Maas feet of 12 inches: 118ft x 28ft x 12-1/2ft. My estimated dimensions in Amsterdam feet of 11 inches are: 128-1/2ft x 30-1/2ft x 13-1/2ft. Ron says that the ship was 250 lasts, which seems to be the standard, if nominal size for the 40-gun ships of about 128ft. The ship was built in 1634. Ron has the list of guns for three dates: 11 November 1652, 25 March 1653, and the 1654 list from the Staet van Oorlog te Water. The lists are probably all the same armament. The first and third gun lists are: 18-18pdr, 12-12pdr, 8-6pdr, and 2-4pdr. The middle list has the following: 2-18pdr, 16-16pdr, 12-12pdr, 8-6pdr, and 2-4pdr. This seems like it could be more correct, and the others included the 16-pdr guns as 18 pdrs. Sources:
  1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
  2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The VOC frigate Sphaera Mundi in 1665

Ron van Maanen has the dimensions for the frigate Sphaera Mundi that fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in June 1665. The Sphaera Mundi was a ship belonging to the Middelburg Chamber of the VOC, and was commanded by Simon Loncke (1635-1676). These are the details about the Sphaera Mundi:
The frigate Sphaera Mundi, Capt. Simon Loncke

Length from stem to sternpost:  126ft
Beam:                            28ft
Hold:                            13-1/2ft
Height between decks:             6ft

40 guns

Crew:
140 sailors
 60 soldiers

Sources:

  1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
  2. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

Monday, September 25, 2006

To some extent, we can match the pages of the outline list from July 1653 with Witte de With's journal

Now that we have Witte de With's journal, with most captain's names in the lists, we can start to fill out the details contained in the outline document of ships at Vlissingen in early July 1653. The latter document essentially lists all ships at the Battle of the Gabbard, in June 1653, although it omits almost all captains' names and all but a few ship names. Since our analysis centers on matching captain's names to ships, we can deal relatively easily with the list. For example, the list from July 1653 has the four Rotterdam Directors' ships listed:
number 56  unready. small and unready
number 57  unready, as 56
number 57  unready. Fluit of war
number 58  ready. (the Dutch is something like "mit dat de Bark vermaekt werda")

From Witte de With's list, we see the captains, and we can add information that we know:
Adm   Ship          Guns  Crew   Captain
R-Dir Hollandia     26     95    Ruth Jacobsz Buys
R     Roskam        24     95    Corstiaen Elderszoon
R-Dir Sint Pieter                Sijmon Cornelisz van der Meer
R-Dir Prins         38    168    Jacob Cleijdijck

We believe that the Roskam was actually hired by the Admiralty of the Maze (Rotterdam). Sources:
  1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2005
  2. Staten Generaal 1.01.04 Inv. Nr. 5556, "List of ships at Vlissingen on 2 July 1653", 1653
  3. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The Geldersche Ruiter in 1665

Ron van Maanen says that the ship Gelderesche Ruiter, captured by the English in 1665, was an East Indiaman. The was the ship also known as the Ruyter van Gelder. He has the details:
The ship Gelderesche Ruiter

Length from stem to sternpost:  140ft
Beam:                            29ft
Hold:                            14ft
Height over hold:                 7ft

46 guns:
4-18pdr, 18-12pdr, 12-8pdr, 14-6pdr, 8-3pdr
(This doesn't add up.  There are an extra 10 guns somewhere here)

Crew: 200 men
Sources:
  1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Felip Joosten's ship in September 1652

Witte de With's journal for September 1652 lists the guns and crew for Felip Joosten's ship: 38 guns and a crew of 138 men. Then I looked at my unpublished list of Dutch captains and ships, "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", and realized that he commanded a ship named Hollandia. I immediately wondered if this ship was that used by Jan Evertsen as his flagship. Perhaps Felip Joosten was Jan Evertsen's flag captain. In any case, Felip Joosten's ship seems to be the same ship, as there was no other 38-gun ship named Hollandia. That ship was 120ft x 29ft. By late 1652, Adriaan Bankert commanded the ship and was Evertsen's flag captain. The Hollandia was eventually lost at the Battle of Scheveningen. By then, Jan Evertsen flew his flag in a new ship, the Vlissingen. Sources:
  1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.V, 1912
  2. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships 1600-1700", 2006
  3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992
  4. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Friday, September 22, 2006

There is no evidence of the Achilles of 1644 in the First Anglo-Dutch War

As of now, there is no evidence that the ship listed as number 2 in Vreugdenhil's list, a ship named Achilles, built in 1644, participated in the First Anglo-Dutch War. I had assumed that Dirk Schey's ship was the Achilles of 1644, but the list of Amsterdam ships from the Wrangell Collection dispelled that mistaken idea. What was clear is that Dirk Schey's ship was the ship listed as number 1 in Vreugdenhil's list and which has a minor appearance in the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654. Dirk Schey's ship is hardly recognizable, as the Staet was probably Vreugdenhil's source for ship number 1, and that listing says the armament was 32 to 40 guns. The actual listings for the First Anglo-Dutch War all attribute an armament of 28 guns to Dirk Schey's ship. I can only positively identify Dirk Schey's ship in the list in The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, circa page 310. While there are lists that mention the Achilles, built in 1644, as late as 1655 (in an appendix to De Vlootbouw in Nederland), no other document can be shown to mention the ship. The other Achilles seems to be disappear after March 1653. Sources:
  1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, 1910
  2. Johan E. Elias, De Vlootbouw in Nederland 1596-1655, 1933
  3. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938
  4. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm
  5. list of Amsterdam hired ships from the Wrangell Collection, Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Thursday, September 21, 2006

The 12 gun yacht Graaf Willem was listed anywhere

One striking thing is that now that we have access to Witte de With's journals, that the Friesland jacht Graaf Willem (12 guns) listed in Vreugdenhil as number 27 is not visible in any published or unpublished source for 1652 and 1653 that I have seen. The only Friesland jacht that is seen in the First Anglo-Dutch War is the hired 16-gun jacht Waterhond. The implication had been that Jan Coenders' ship in 1653 was the jacht, but he actually commanded a hired ship named Graaf Willem (24 guns and a crew of 85 men), as we can see in Witte de With's lists. That explains why only the 16-gun jacht is listed in the March 1653 list in Vol.I of Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche Zeewezen.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Noorderkwartier hired ships in 1652 and 1653

Another black hole of information surrounds the ships hired by the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier in 1652 and 1653. The ships and captains are easily listed, although there actually be more from later in 1653:
Adm    Ship              Guns  Crew  Captain
N      Prins Maurits     28    105   Cornelis Taenman
N      Burcht (?)        24    100   Pieter Aldertszoon
N      Alkmaar           28     95   Jan Warnaertsz Capelman
N      Burgh van Alkmaar 24     95   Gerrit Nobel
N      a ship            ?     ?     commandeur Bourgoigne
N      Nieuw Kasteel     ?     ?     Claes Allertszoon
N      Peereboom         24     80   Tijs Tijmensz Peereboom
N      Profeet Samuel    30    ?     Reynst Cornelisz Sevenhuysen
N      Rode Leeuw        24     85   Reynst Cornelisz Sevenhuysen
N      Scheletje         24     70   Teunis Vechterszoon
N      Stad Medemblik    26    100   Pieter Schellinger
N      Tobias            26     90   Willem Ham/Jan Ham
N      Wapen van Holland 30          Herman Munnekes (Munnick)

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Why are there are there no details of ships hired by the Admiralty of Rotterdam or the Rotterdam Directors?

One mystery, given that the warships built by the Admiralty of Rotterdam, or Admiralty of the Maze, were generally listed with a good deal of information about the ships. In the 1628 to 1633 timeframe, you just did not see dimensions listed, but Rotterdam had the gun lists in most cases. The Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 had the dimensions (although usually in Maas feet) and lists of guns carried as well. The Admiralty of Amsterdam, during the same period generally had the same sort of data listed, as well. Perhaps the least well documented admiralty was Zeeland. I was surpiised to see that for ships hired in Amsterdam, we had dimensions for ships hired by the Admiralty of Friesland in 1652.

Now, that we have found information about the Amsterdam hired ships for 1652 and 1653, I have seen Ron van Maanen's list of Dutch warships for 1600 to 1800, and was amazed to see that he has a good bit of information about ships hired by the Noorderkwartier Directors, the Zeeland Directors, and to a lesser extent, the Admiralty of Zeeland and Friesland. The only thing he has for the Admiralty of Rotterdam was the gun list for the hired ship Gulden Beer on 25 March 1653. From Dr. Elias, we had the gun list for the English prize Rozenkrans (the former English Garland). There is seemingly nothing else for Rotterdam hired ships. That seems odd, given that the notary archives for Rotterdam have survived. We might expect, given what was found in Amsterdam, that we might find something similar in Rotterdam. I understand that the Zeeland notary archives did not survive World War II. We can only hope that there is notary information about hired ships in the archives in the cities of north Holland (Hoorn, Monnikendam, Edam, Medemblik, and Enkhuizen).

Monday, September 18, 2006

Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker's ship, the Liefde

Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker commanded a Hoorn Directors' ship that was apparently named the Liefde. I reached that conclusion after studying Ron van Maanen's list. On 30 June 1652, Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker was in Jan Evertsen's squadron with the fleet. He took part in the voyage to the Shetlands in July to August 1652. In September 1652, his ship was lying in the Duijntjes with Witte de With's fleet. He presumably fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock, and was also in the Battle of of Dungeness, where he was assigned to Pieter Florissen's squadron. The Liefde was a very long and narrow ship:
The ship, the Liefde, Capt. Pieter Adriaansz van Blocker

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

28 guns
Crew: 110 men in August 1652

Sources:
  1. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.I, 1898
  2. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900
  3. Dr. S. R. Gardiner, and C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.III, 1906
  4. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
  5. Hendrik de Raedt, Lyste van de schepen van Oorloge onder het beleyt Admirael Marten Harpersz. Tromp, 1652

Sunday, September 17, 2006

In September 1652, the crews of some Amsterdam ships had become quite small

In Witte de With's journal for September 1652, we can see that the crews of some of the Amsterdam and Amsterdam Directors' ships had become quite small. This is a list of examples:
Adm    Ship              Guns  Crew   Captain
A      Leiden            30     92    Cornelis Jol (also called Hoola)
A      Zutphen           26     91    Ewout Jeroensz
A      Hollandsche Tuin  24     70    Hillebrandt Jeroensz
A      Gouden Leeuw      24     59    Gillis Tijssen Campen
A      Hollandia         32    107    Albert Claesz de Graeff
A      Zeelandia         34    105    Lt-Commandeur Nicolaes Marrevelt
A-Dir  Faam              28     96    Jacob Swart
A-Dir  Witte Lam         30     80    Cornelis van Houten
A-Dir  Arke Troijane     28     88    Abraham van Campen
A-Dir  Sint Francisco    28     91    Stoffel Juriaensz
Sources:
  1. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Some captains of Amsterdam Directors' ships

From the journals of Witte de With, I now know the names of two new captains. The guns and crew are as of 11 September 1653:
Adm    Ship                 Guns Crew Captain         Length Beam Hold  Height
A-Dir  Hercules             27   104  Capt. Veeneman  120    28.5 13    7
A-Dir  Keurvorst van Keulen 32   124  Sijmon Dootjes  131    30   13.25 7
Sources:
  1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Directors Ship Information", 2004
  2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

The Prins Willem and Henrietta Louise in September 1652

Perhaps the guns and crews for the two large East Indiamen that fought in the Battle of the Kentish Knock on 8 October 1652 might be of interest to someone. The journals of Witte de With have figures that I did not expect to see:
Adm    Ship              Guns  Crew  Captain
Mi-VOC Prins Willem      56    283   Jacob Gaeuw
Mi-VOC Henrietta Louise  48    228   Pieter Marcuszoon
Dr. Ballhausen actually has a reaasonable figure for the Prins Willem in his book, on page 365, where he gave 56 guns and a crew of about 280 men. For the "Louisa Hendrika", a variation of the Henrietta Louise name, he gave the figure of 45 guns and a crew of about 220 men, which were oddly enough, not far from the truth. Sources:
  1. Dr. Carl Ballhausen, Der Erste Englisch-Höllandische Seekrieg 1652-1654, 1923
  2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Friday, September 15, 2006

Dutch warships on 17 April 1653 and somewhat later (corrected)

There is a list of ships in The First Dutch War, Vol.IV, which we can better complete than at any time in the past (this was corrected for the Zwarte Bul):

Ships that sailed for the rendezvous at the Wielingen,
 after Witte de With had sailed:
Adm    Ship             Guns Crew  Captain
A      Bommel           34   110   Pieter van Braeckel
A      Zutphen          26   120   Hillebrandt Jeroenszoon
A      Westfriesland    28   110   Hendrick Huyskens
A-Dir  Catherina        28   110   Jacob Jansz Coppe
R-VOC  Wapen van Nassau 32   124   Jan Arensz van der Werff
N      Stad Medemblik   30   108   Pieter Schellinger

Ships that sailed on 23 April 1653

F      Postpaert        30   106   Isaac Codde
A-VOC  Gerechtigheid    34   105   Evert Swart
A-VOC  Mercurius        36   110   Pieter de Bitter
En-Dir Vergulde Zon     28   115   Jacob Claesz Duijm
Ha-Dir Sint Vincent     28   110   Ariaan Heeres Kleijntje

The following ships were lying in the Texel roads in late April 1653:

A      Vrede            44   192   Commandeur Gideon de Wildt
A      Overijssel       30   114   Jan van Kampen
A      Gouda            30   114   Jan Egbertsz Ooms
A      Gelderland       30   114   Cornelis van Velsen
A      Zeelandia        34   130   Nicolaes Marrevelt
A      Hollandsche Tuin 24    97   Lt-Commandeur Joris Block
Mi-VOC Zwarte Bul       36   139   Willem Folkertszoon
Ed-Dir Halve Maan       30   107   Hendrick Pieterszoon
A-Dir  Sint Matheeus    34*  125*  the ship formerly
                                    commanded by Cornelis Naeuoogh
A-Dir  Faam             28   130   Jacob Cornelisz Swart (apparently)

Ship recently arrived in the Texel in late April 1653:

A      Vrijheid               50   207   Abraham van der Hulst
A      Campen                 40   158   Willem van der Zaan
N      Casteel van Medemblick 28   106   Adriaan Houttuijn

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

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Jan Coenders' ship Graaf Willem

Jan Coenders did not command the 12-gun jacht Graaf Willem, but did command a fluit hired in Groningen in April 1653. That can be seen in Witte de With's journals. Ron van Maanen has the details of the Graaf Willem:
The fluit Graaf Willem, Capt. Jan Coenders

Length from stem to sternpost:  129ft
Beam:                            28ft
Hold:                            12ft
Height over hold:                 6-1/2ft

26 guns:
14-8pdr, 9-6pdr, 3-4pdr

Crew: 90 men

Sources:
  1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
  2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Friesland ships in the First Anglo-Dutch War

A list from Witte de With's journals for 17 September 1652 gives the list of Friesland ships with the fleet on 17 September 1652:
Admiralty of Friesland
                                      Weeks of
Captain                    Crew  Guns  Victuals  Ship (not in journal)
Capt. Belevelt            
Capt. Wigglema             108   29    13        Frisia
Capt. Degelcamp             77   28    11        Gelderland
Capt. Adriaan Bruijnsvelt  103   28    13        Breda
The list had changed by May 1653:
Admiralty of Friesland

Captain                    Crew  Guns  Ship (not in journal)
Capt. Jacob Codde          106   30    Postpaert
Capt. Coenders              85   24    Graaf Willem
Capt. Tijmen Claesz        110   28    Westergo
Capt. Bulter                    (42)   Kameel

Directors' ships of Friesland

Captain                    Crew  Guns  Ship (not in journal)
Capt. Kleijntje            110   28    Sint Vincent

The list for July 1653 is more difficult to read:
Admiralty of Friesland

Captain                        Crew  Guns  Ship
Lt-Commandeur Buijbe Juckes     109   30
(Capt. Jan Coenders)             90   26    Graaf Willem
the Lt of Capt. Bruynsvelt      116   32    Breda (not in journal)
Capt. Cornelies Alles Oosteroon  60   16    Waterhond (not in journal)
Capt. Wagenaer                  134   34    Graaf Hendrick (not in journal)
There is also information about the fleet in September to November 1653:
Admiralty of Friesland

Captain                    Crew  Guns  Ship
Capt. Bruynsvelt           124   32    Breda
Capt. Wagenaer             120   34    Graaf Hendrick

Directors' ships of Friesland

Captain                    Crew  Guns  Ship
Capt. Kleijntje            101   28    Sint Vincent

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Zeeland Directors' ships with Witte de With's fleet in October 1653

Witte de With's journal does not specify the cities as was the custom in 1652, but he lists the names and captains of the Zeeland Directors' ships in his fleet. We should be able to supply the guns and crew for those ships from earlier lists in the journal:
Ship             guns  crew  Captain
Leeuw            34    126   Pensen
Leeuwinne        34    110   Vermeulen
Luipaart         37    130   Tieby
Milde Marten     26    100   Jan Matthijsz (or hired by the Adm.)
Haes             30    110   Bastiaan Sempsem
Gecroonde Liefde 34    128   Marcus Hartman
nieuw Vlissingen 39    145   Jacob Wolfertsz
Dubbele Arent    28    108   Teunis Poort

Monday, September 11, 2006

Hendrick Adriaansz Glas

From the journals of Witte de With, I have found that Hendrick Adriaansz Glas served the Amsterdam Directors, and commanded the Amsterdam Directors' ship Burgh. There is a document that shows that the Burgh fought in the Three Days Battle (Portland), as the ship needed repairs following the battle. Captain Glas and the Burgh seem to have served through the rest of 1653. There is a document from the Nationaal Archief that gives the details of that ship, but Ron van Maanen's document also has them:
The ship, the Burgh, Capt. Hendrick Adriaansz Glas

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            30ft
Hold:                            12ft

34 guns (April 1653): 4-24pdr, 14-12pdr, 10-8pdr, 4-6pdr, 2-2pdr

Crew: 112 men

Sources:
  1. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992
  2. Witte de With, journals from 1652 to 1658, Archive E8812 from the Riksarkivet, Stockholm

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The lists from the Witte de With archives from Sweden have overturned a lot that I had thought to be true

There are numerous examples of where I was mistaken or the published sources were mistaken about ships. Especially, Witte de With's journals from 1652 to 1658, archive E8812, have shown that often, published sources were mistaken and that estimates I had made were wrong. Some examples of the real information:
Captain                 Adm    Ship       Guns Crew Notes
Joost Bulter            F      Kameel      42       (not the Groningen Directors)
Pieter de Bitter        A-VOC  Mercurius   36  110  (not 40 guns and a crew of 200)
Frederick Stellingwerf  F      Zevenwolden 34  133  (not 38 guns and a crew of 135)
Pieter Gorcum           Z      ?           24   90  (not 17 guns and a crew of 60)

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Another reason to think that the Engel Gabriel and Engel were the same ship

I suspect that the Engel Gabriel (28 guns) is the same as the Engel (28 guns). There is basically no record of the service of the 28-gun Engel Gabriel, but there is for the 28-gun Engel, which was commanded by Maarten Schaeff. The Engel Gabriel was hired on 19 June 1652, and had the following dimensions: 120ft x 27-1/2ft x 12-3/4ft. The armament was 6-12pdr, 12-6pdr, 8-4pdr, and 2-3pdr. The crew was 100 men. This is from the papers of Dr. Simon Hart, from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam. Ron van Maanen has the following about the Engel on 5 April 1653: 4-12pdr, 12-8pdr, 10-4pdr, and 2-3pdr. The crew was between 100 and 110 men. I believe that the armament could have evolved to this, after the big upgunning of ships after the Battle of the Kentish Knock. Sources:
  1. James C. Bender, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Ships and Captain 1652-1654", 2006
  2. Dr. Simon Hart, papers from the Amsterdam notarial archives, Gemeentearchief Amsterdam: Arch. nr. 883, Inv. nr. 471
  3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated, but circa 1992

Friday, September 08, 2006

A second Friesland ship Sint Nicolaas

Ron van Maanen was confused by the fact that there were apparently two ships named Sint Nicolaas that served in the First Anglo-Dutch War. I think that very likely, the small ship, the Groninger Sint Nicolaes was the ship sunk in the collision, and larger Sint Nicolaas that was still in service in 1653 was another (quite obviously). I have thought that this Sint Nicolaas might have been the ship commanded by Capt. Belevelt that is mentioned in the fall of 1652 by Witte de With. These are the details provided by Ron:
The ship Sint Nicolaas

Length from stem to sternpost:  116ft
Beam:                            26ft
Hold:                            12 or 12-1/4ft

Height over hold:                 5-1/2 or 5-3/4ft

24-32 guns

Crew: 76-90 men

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

Thursday, September 07, 2006

The Groninger St. Nicolaes

We have a copy of a page from Dr. S. Hart's papers (numbered 1379) that has the notary record for hiring what the page calls the "Groninger St. Nicolaes". The ship was hired in Amsterdam on 10 June 1652. The captain was Andries van den Bouckhorst. Ron van Maanen has an entry in "Dutch Warships 1600-1800" about this ship, which he calls the "Groeningen Nicolaes". This seems to be the ship that was sunk by collision in the summer of 1652. Capt. Bouckhorst was apparently drowned when the ship sank. The dimensions from Ron van Maanen are: 106ft x 25-1/2ft x 11ft. All the numbers in the notary record are spelled out, which is a challenge for me. He lists the armament, which was 24 guns: 4-8pdr, 8-6pdr, 10-4pdr, and 2-2pdr. The list of ships in De Ruyter's convoying fleet gave the armament as 23 guns. Sources:
  1. Dr. S.R. Gardiner, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol.II, 1900
  2. S. Hart, papers from the Amsterdam notarial archives, Gemeentearchief Amsterdam: Arch. nr. 883, Inv. nr. 471
  3. Ron van Maanen, unpublished manuscript "Dutch Warships 1600-1800", undated but circa 1992

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

The Amsterdam ship Dolfijn built in 1633

The Amsterdam ship Dolfijn (1633) fought in the First Anglo-Dutch War and was lost at the Battle of Scheveningen on 10 August 1653. The ship was commanded by Gerbrand Schatter. Ron van Maanen has some more details beyond what we had known:
The ship Dolfijn, Capt. Gerbrand Schatter

                             "traditional"    5 April 1653
Length from stem to sternpost:  116ft      or 120ft
Beam:                            25ft      or  28ft
Hold:                            12ft      or  10-1/2ft
Height over hold:                 ?        or   6-1/4ft

32 guns:
16 November 1653:  8-12pdr, 12-8pdr, 12-6pdr, 4-4pdr
 5 April 1653:     8-12pdr, 16-8pdr, 8-6pdr

Crew: (1 April 1653)
100 sailors and 20 soldiers
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

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The Beurs van Amsterdam

Ron van Maanen has the details about the ship Beurs van Amsterdam, which fought in the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665. I have supplemented that with information from Brandt and Frank Fox's book, A Distant Storm. The Beurs was apparently a VOC ship that had been built in 1654. This was another ship where the number of guns was increased by carrying many of the smallest guns, which seems to have not been worthwhile. These are the details:
The ship Beurs van Amsterdam, Capt. Cornelis Muts (in June and August 1665)

Length from stem to sternpost:  130ft
Beam:                            31-1/2ft
Hold:                            12-3/4ft
Height over the hold:             7ft

52 guns:
 4-18pdr
20-12pdr
10-3pdr

Crew: 190 sailors and 45 soldiers in August 1665
Sources:
  1. Gerard Brandt, Het Leven en Bedrijif van den Heere Michiel de Ruiter, 1687
  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

Monday, September 04, 2006

What is apparently the Vlissingen Directors' ship Dubbele Arend

Ron van Maanen has some details about a ship hired by the Vlissingen Directors called the Arend. All of the indications are that this ship is the Dubbele Arend, originally commanded by Allert Janszoon, but which was commanded by his luitenant Teunis Poort after late 1652. He certainly commanded the Dubbele Arend at the Battle of Dungeness, and apparently after that. This is what Ron has on this ship:
The ship Dubbele Arend, Capt. Allert Janszoon

Length from stem to sternpost:  112ft
Beam:                            26ft
Hold:                            12ft
Height over the hold:             6ft

26 guns (as of 19 December 1652):
 2-12pdr
10-8pdr
10-6pdr
 4-4pdr

Crew:  100 men (Ron says 98-118 men)

Sunday, September 03, 2006

An alternative set of data for the Engel Gabriel, Isaac Sweers' ship

One set of information from the papers collected by Dr. S. Hart from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdadm is about the Engel Gabriel. The inventory is signed by Isaac Sweers, so that is pretty definitive that it is about his ship. These are the details from that document. They differ from the dimensions in the document from the Wrangell Collection. I have filled in some of the missing information from the Wrangell Collection and from The First Dutch War, Vol.IV:
The ship Engel Gabriel, Capt. Isaac Sweers

Length from stem to sternpost:  136ft
Beam:                            29ft-6in
Hold:                           (13-6in?)
Height over the hold:             7ft

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

Crew: (130 men)

My source for the name of Cornelis Rocusz Fincen's ship is Dr.Ballhausen's book

I was just looking at my unpublished paper, "Dutch Captains", and saw that my source for the name of Cornelis Rocusz Fincen's ship's name is Dr. Ballhausen's book. Dr. Ballhausen wrote that the Zierikzee Directors' ship was named Liefde. This was a ship that carried 34 guns and had a crew of 110 men. Ron van Maanen doesn't list a Zierikzee Directors' ship, so he is of no help in verifying the name.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

The hired ship Engel Gabriel (28 guns)

I noticed that the Amsterdam hired ship Engel Gabriel (28 guns) had Evert Pietersz Swart as its skipper (schipper) in mid-1652. In 1653, he commanded the VOC ship Gerechtigheid. The papers of Dr. S. Hart from the Gemeentearchief Amsterdam have some pages devoted to the ship Engel Gabriel:
The ship Engel Gabriel, schipper Evert Pietersz Swart

Length from stem to sternpost: 120ft
Beam:                           27-1/2ft
Hold:                           12-3/4ft
Height above hold:               6ft

28 guns:
 6-12pdr
12-6pdr
 8-4pdr
 2-3pdr

Crew: 110 men
This ship is not mentioned by Ron van Maanen and I am unclear on what role the ship played in the First Anglo-Dutch War. We do have many details about the ship, however.

Friday, September 01, 2006

The ship Frisia, blown up in the Three Days Battle

Ron van Maanen as the details about the ship Frisia, commanded by Schelte Wiglema (or is it Wichelma?) in 1652 and early 1653. The ship was destroyed by explosion at the Three Days Battle (the Battle of Portland), probably on the first day, 28 February 1653. There are some troubling aspects of Ron's information, in that there are notes dated 4/1653 and 20/5/1653, which are both after the ship was lost. I have experience with at least two other lists which had a ship that had already been lost (the West Capelle, lost at the Battle of Scheveningen). The lists were the Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654 and the 1655 list summarized in an appendix to De Vlootbouw in Nederland. This is the information that Ron has about the Frisia, augmented by what I already knew. I never expected to know any of this:
The ship Frisia, Capt. Wigelma

Length from stem to sternpost:  120ft
Beam:                            28ft
Hold:                            11ft
Height over hold:                 7ft

28 guns:
2-12pdr
4-10pdr
10-6pdr
4-5pdr

Crew: 100 to 110 men

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