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Ships and Work Boats of New aland, 609-l Charlotte Wilcoxen T hat the Dutch of the sixteenth and seventeenth The smallnesso f many of the craft in which the Dutch centuries were a nautical people has long been crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic in pursuing their undisputed. From earliest times the physical nature of business in New Netherland is a commentary on their their homeland and its restricted territory had required indomitable trading proclivities and seamanshipT. oday, the employment of boatsa nd ships for local mobility and visiting the model that represents the &fuy@ver at for trading throughout European waters, without which Plymouth, we marvel that families and young children trade they could not have survived nor prospered. could have survived the winter passageo f the Atlantic Although they appear to have had a predilection for aboard her. Yet she had nearly twice the tonnage of the maritime pursuits, their superiority in seamanshipw as a H&e 44~~~(1H alf Moon) and three or four times that of skill acquired through early training and necessity.J ust many of the Dutch vessels that made repeatedv oyages as children in America’s western plains settlementsa re to bring settlers to New Netherland. said to have learned to ride horsesb efore they learned to walk, so in the provinces of Zeeland and North Holland Even the names of these ships are revealing of the the young have always been equally precocious in the Dutch who came there-Abrahams Offerhande skills of handling marine craft. (Abraham’s Sacrifice), of their Old TestamentC alvinis- tic piety; de Lief?e (the Love), of personal feeling for the When the Dutch began the settlemento f New Nether- ships that they sailed so casually through perilous seas. land, they must have experienced a senseo f d&2 VU,s o The type-names of these craft of the New Netherland similar was the new land to areaso f the Fatherland. Here, Dutch may be found in hundreds of references in the too, there were great rivers-the North River (Hudson), public documents of New Netherland, yet the exact the South River (Delaware) and the Fresh River nature and design of the various kinds of ships and boats (Connecticut), all navigable for long distances and all employed there still remain obscure to the researcher, penetrating to areaso f lucrative trade. There were also and the same vessel is often called by several type- two great bays, one in the south (Delaware) the other at names.C hatterton says, New Amsterdam, with low islands suitable for farming, It is an unfortunate historical fact that, throughout the history of just as at home. It was a land that demandeds hips and most ships from very early times sailor-men have been remarkably careless in nautical nomenclature. Such words as barks, gallies, boats, and this need resulted in the introduction here of wherries, galleasses, and brigantine have been regularly applied a variety of theses uitable to the needso f the tradersa nd 3 to totally different types of vessels. settlers. Certainly this is true in the New Netherland recordsa s well.Those types that appear in the documents relating Something of the Dutch West India Company’s nauti- to the Dutch in America are ship&yt (flyboat), frigate, cal resourcesm ay be learned from the “Remonstranceo f yacht (jack), galiot, bark, schooner,k etch, sloop (sleep); the West India Company against a Peacew ith Spain,” or, for smaller craft, yawl (i&l, punt scow presentedt o the StatesG eneral in June 1633 in which it (mnt), (schow), rowboat and canoe.S omeo f thesec raft, how- is stated that at this time the Company had “about one ever, do not appear to be similar to eighteenth- and hundred and twenty well-built ships, some of 400 and lusts; lusts nineteenth-century examples having their type names. someo f 300 several of 250,200 and 150 and Of this dilemma a British writer on early ships says: the remainder of smaller dimensions; all as well supplied with metal and iron pieces [cannon], and suitable The later nomenclature of sailing ship types is useless in class- ifying vessels of this period [seventeenth century]; where special ammunition as any of the enemy’s best and largest terms such as ‘ketch’ or ‘bark’ were used, the did not fit the vessels.“* 4; careful definitions of nitIeteaXh-CetINry writers. 53 54 SELECTED RENSSELAERSWIJCKSEMINARPAPERS Another authority on ships declarest hat was used carelessly in the records to refer to other specific types. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, rig had little if any connection with designation of ship or boat types. Size, form, Among the earliest ships mentioned in the Holland constructiin or other considerations usually determined the type name.. . Documents that related to the Dutch settlement in America are de Vos (Little Fox) and d’e Cruen (Little It is indeed true that yachts described in the New Crane) which, on February 1,1611, were declared ready Netherland records are quite unlike the modem racing to embark crews for a voyage to discover a northern yachts or the over-decorated, top-heavy yachts of passageto China.6N o details of the voyage are available, English royalty of the seventeenthc entury, and they are but the inclusion of this document in a study of the Dutch also unlike eacho ther. Henry Hudson’s Halve Muen was in America implies that they subsequently explored the vastly different from the small, fore-and-aft rigged work northeasternc oasto f America, and we know that de Vos yachts that were so active on the rivers and bays of New was on that coast a few years later.7 Netherland. There was at this time an escalating interest among Though size may point to a given type of vessel,i t does Dutch merchants in underwriting “those who Discover not determine it. The flyboat was conceived and general- any New PassagesH, avens,C ountries, Places,“* and this ly thought of as a large vessel, and the yacht a small one. concern for new marketse ventually led to the formation Yet the captured Swedish ship the Gullene Huj (Golden of the Dutch WestI ndia Company.P rior to this, however, Shark) is called in the records a flyboat even though she the StatesG eneral of the Netherlands granted to a group was of only 80 to 90 tons burden, while the yacht Halve of prominent merchantso f the cities of Amsterdam and Maen carried about the same number of tons. The Hoom the exclusive right to trade in New Netherland for modem researcher,i n trying to resolve thesec ontradic- four voyages to be completed within three years. This tions in seventeenth-centurys hip nomenclaturec an only was on October 11, 1614, and the names of the ships resort to common sensea ided by a basic knowledge of owned by thesem erchants,w ith their skippers, were: de conditions existing in New Netherland at that period and Vos (Jan de With), de Tijger (Tiger-Adriaen Block), ‘t the functions that the craft was built to perform. Even Fortuyn (Fortune-Hendrick Corstiaensen), de Nuch- then there is often uncertainty. tegael (Nightengale-Thys Volckertsen) and ’ t Fortuyn (Comelis JacobsenM ey).’ Four years later two other Amsterdamm erchantsw ere granted permission to make The Ship, the Fhyt and the Frigate a voyage to New Netherland with the ship Het &hilt Judging by the New Netherland records, the three (Shield). It is likely that all of these were small ships of largest vessels used by the Dutch in their Atlantic shallow draft, easily maneuverable for exploring the colonies to trade, to transport colonists and supplies, and bays, inlets and rivers of the new territory. to engagei n privateering were the ship, thefluyt and the frigate. Each fulfilled the special needs of one of these Comelis Jacobsen Mey is again encountered in activities of the Dutch in the seventeenthc entury. August 1620,t his time as the skipper of the ship de Blyde Bootschap (Glad Tidings). He reports having discovered in the New Netherland area “some new Countries The Ship populousandfertile.“10 The following year there appears In what way the type of vessel referred to as a ship in the records the first clear-cut notice of a Dutch trade differed from the other two types named above cannot with Virginia that would becomei ncreasingly heavy and be determined readily, yet that the term is used fairly lucrative when a ship named the de Witte Duif (White consistently for certain named vesselsa nd not for others Dove-Willem Jansen Houton, skipper) was given per- indicates that it refers to a craft with specific qualities mission by the StatesG eneral to proceed to Virginia and setting it aside as a special type. Warships, undoubtedly, return with a cargo of tobacco and peltties.*’ This was had certain unique specifications, yet theseh ad little part quickly followed by other petitions to trade with Vir- in the daily businesso f New Netherland. All one can say ginia. now is that in the seventeenth century a ‘ship’ was probably distinguished from afluyt or other vesselb y the A record of the West India company dated March 28, shapeo f its hull, yet undoubtedly the term ‘ship’ often 1624, notes that “the colonists going to New Netherland SHIPS AND WORK BOATS OF NEW NETHERLAND 55 for the Chamber of Amsterdamw ill be musteredt omor- 1 horseline 1 skimmer row. “12 A sequel to this entry shows that on March 30, Some old loose ropes 1 frying pan 1 bundle of match 1 scraper 1624, a special manifesto was formally read to colonists 1 dipping pan 2 cartridge tubes preparing to sail on the ship Nieuw Nederlandt.13 1 gridiron 1 tub with blacking Wassenaer, in his Historisch Verhael, says that the 1 dozen wooden bowls ltinlamp Nieuw Nederlandt was a vessel of 130 lasts (about 260 6 plates 1 lamp in the watch house tons); her skipper, Comelis Jacobsen Mey. He also 3Olbs.of[ ] 3 marling spikes declarest hat it was this ship that brought over the thirty 2 pewter dishes 1 piece of pump leather 1 pewter basin 1 boat line with a lead families of Walloons who have generally been accepted 1 pewter dipping bowl 1 maul as the first bona fide colonists (that is, completef amilies) 1 pewter wine cup 1 axe to New Netherland. Since both of these contemporary 4 compasses 1 kedge anchor sources support the claim that this group came on the 3 night hour glasses Nieuw Nederlrandt in 1624, the matter would seemt o be 1 captain’s glass running two hours 6 [ ] spars of all ~orts’~ settled, but many years later, in 1688, one of these Walloon refugees, Catelina Trico, at the age of 83 The first large ship known to have been built in New deposedthatshecameond ’Eendracht(Unity) in 1623.‘” Netherland was the Nieuw Nederlandt, of 800 tons bur- This has muddied the issue of what ship brought these den and carrying 30 guns. She was built at Manhattan in first settlers, and the claims for both have been carefully 1631 for the West India Company, and in her period was examined and reported on by two well-known historians one of the largest merchant ships afloat.20 Later the of the Dutch in America, CA. Weslagera nd Arnold J.F. Company was criticized for her excessive costs21 This van Laer.” ship should not be confused with the earlier ship Nieuw Nederlandt that has been discussed above as bringing The term ‘little ship’ is used repeatedly in the public over the Walloon families. In 1634 the large ship built in records of New Netherland, and appears to refer to a 1631 was taken by the Dunkirkers.22 vessel of between 80 and 200 tons, roughly speaking,I n April, 1645, the ‘little ship’ St, Pieter of 44 or 45 l&rts David de &Tries’sjo urnals of his voyages, as well as (about 90 tons) was sold at Amsterdamw ith standing and the minutes of the Council of New Netherland, indicate running rigging and all appurtenancesf or 4,050 Carolus that there were fine ships’ carpentersa nd excellent ship- guilders.16( The St. Pieter is also referred to as a yacht.) repair facilities at Manhattan throughout its Dutch oc- Ten years later another so-called little ship, Abraham’s cupation. Certainly the extent of Dutch privateering in Offerhande (again referred to as a yacht) owned by the the Caribbean and elsewhere in American waters, with West IndiaCompany, was sold toThomas Willett for400 the attendantp hysical damaget o ships, madei t necessary beavers or f3,550, payable in “good beef and pork.“17 to maintain close-at-hand facilities for making repairs. She was 63 feet in length with a 29-foot beam.‘” The Just how many ships were actually built there each year following inventory taken at the time of sale shows the cannot be determined from existing records. paucity of the equipment with which the Company operatedi ts trading vessels: Other agenciesi n New Netherland, besidest he West India Company, that had need for ships were the agricul- Inventory of the property which I, skipper Claes Comelisz, found on the ship De Offehnde Abrahms the2 1st of tural colonies then being established as patroonships October anno 1655 there. It appearsf rom Kiliaen van Rensselaer’sl etters that in the early days of his Colonie he dependedo n the 1 main sail 1 keg with some powder West India Company ships to transport both his colonists 2 foresails with a bonnet 2 iron 3 pounders and supplies.23T he Amsterdam Chamber of the Com- 1 main topsail 1 ladle and 1 sponge pany in 1631 grantedV an Rensselaerp ermission to send 1 fore topsail 2 small pedereros with 3 chambers over eleven colonists and ten calves in the Eendracht,24 1 spritsail, good and bad 1 worm as it is and in the following year the ship de Soutbergh (Salt 6 cannon balls Mine) that was taking Wouter van Twille?5 to New 1 mizzen 3 muskets Netherland as its director general, also carried cattle and 1 prince’s flag 1 powder horn supplies to the patroonship Rensselaerswijck. In the 1 jack 2 copper kettles courseo f this voyage the Soutbergh capturedt he Spanish 3 anchors 1 brass pot 3 cables 1 dishing out spoon yacht Hope laden with a valuable cargo of sugar. Both 56 SELECTED RENSSELAERSWIJCKSEMINAR PAPERS the prize and the Dutch ship arrived at Manhattan in need By the summer of 1643 Kiliaen van R.ensselaear nd of extensive repairs because of damage each had his businessa ssociatesw ere again preparing to buy a ship received from the guns of the other.26 to use for trade and for shipping supplies to their Colonie in New Netherland. On July 9 of that year Van Rens- A few years after this Van Rensselaerc hargedt hat the selaerw rote to a merchantf riend at Leyden.s aying, “This West India Company had “never attempted to make afternoon we bought, with the advice of ship’s carpenters room in their ships” for the transportation of farm and other experts, a ship suitable for our intended animals, as the Act of Freedoms and Exemptions re- voyage, of 80 lusts burden [around 160 tons], . . . with an quired of them.27Y et he continued to use d’Eendracht upper deck five feet high extending the entire length, a and other West India Company ships to transport his comfortable forecastle . . . mounted with six pieces. . .” colonists and goods, doubtless becauseh e had no alter- He further revealed that this ship, her’ Wupen van native at the time. Rensselaerswijck, had been purchased for f7,000, and though somewhat old, was in good condition. She had The first hint in these records that the patroon had been built at Liibeck, of heavy timbers and had a square invested in a vesselo f his own comesi n April 1637w hen stem?7 Jan Simonsz was her skipper, Pieter Wijncoop, he expressesh ope to a friend in New Netherland “that by supercargo. this time our people, ship and goodsh ave arrived,‘“* and in Septembero f the samey ear in another letter he speaks Many years after this we find the Colonie of of “my small ship.“ 2g This was the Rensselaerswijck that Rensselaerswijcks till involved in the purchaseo f ships. ‘we know to have been a small ship, not only from her In 1670, under the directorship of Jeiemias van owner’s letters, but from two other circumstances:s he Rensselaer,i t purchased one-eighth interest in a small could navigate the shoals and sandbarso f the Hudson of ship called the Murgriet of Albany for 625 pounds ster- that day as far north as Fort Orange; and she was later ling?’ Two other of her owners had ties with Albany- sold for only f2,600.30 Yet in spite of this she carried 38 Pieter Schuyler and Andries Teller. Her skipper was passengersto America, in addition to her cargo, skipper, David Edwards. On September2 6, 1670, Ryckert van supercargoa nd crew.31T here still exists the log of this Rensselaer, who had been resident in the Cofonie for voyage of six months. It shows that she left the Texe132 several years, returned permanently to Holland on this on October 8, 1636, and after spending time in several “little ship,“3g as both he and his brother Jeremias English ports and at La Rochelle, the Stilly Islands, referred to her in correspondence.A pparently she sailed Madeira and the Azores, madeh er way acrosst he Atlan- out of Manhattan rather than Albany. tic to drop anchor before Fort Orange on the Hudson on April 7, 1637.33D uring the passaget hree children were At about the same time in Holland, Jan Baptist van born, each birth occurring in the midst of a storm. One Rensselaer was purchasing one-fifth part in de Witte of the children, a boy, was christened Storm and later Kloodt (White Sphere), a pinnate. To&y ‘we think of a took asa family namev an der Zee, meaning from the sea. pinnate as a small boat and this was a sizeable vessel, yet Chatterton notes that in seventeenthc entury nautical The protracted voyage of the Rensselaerswijck was references“ pinnaces . . . may meane ither sailing craft of not profitable for the Van Rensselaer&a nd there were good size or merely ships’ boats.“40I n the total bill for unpleasantp roblems with a partner and with the skipper building and equipping de Witte Kloodt it is noted that and supercargo.A s a result Van Rensselaers old the ship “the hull of the pinnate” was 85 feet long, 21 feet wide, on April 20, 1638, for f2,600. She was wrecked in the 20 feet deep and the deck about 5 feet [?&-cost for the Caribbean six years later.34 hull, f5,OOO.S he carried 10 pieces of cannon, which, with their carriages, came to a cost of f789. We learn Kiliaen van Rensselaern ext turned to a foreign nation further that there was a new ship’s boat, a wainscotted for his shipping, sending over a cargo by the Swedish cabin for which pewter costing f29 was purchased,a nd ship den Calmer Sleutel (Keys of Calmer).35 He then three figures were carved on the stem. When de Witte joined with the West India Company, of which he had Kloodt sailed on her first voyage, she was carrying a been so critical, in fitting out a ship het Wupen van ballast of 40,000 bricks, and her merchandisew as valued Noorwegen (Arms of Norway) by which he transported at f23,609; ship and equipment at f12,480; and stores goods and settlers to RensselaerswijckP6 for the voyage at f3,428.4’ SHIPS AND WORK BOATS OF NEW NETHERLAND 59 The FZuyt part of their equipment. It is likely that the amount of their armamentf rom time to time dependedo n whether An authority on seventeenth-centurys hips says, the Dutch were at peaceo r at war with the Portuguese, The most notable development in merchant ship building in the the Spanish or the English, though they always had the later sixteenth century was the evolution of the frlsyt or flyboat. Dunkirk pirates to fear. Turned out in thousands by the Dutch shipyards, the uyt largely accounts for Dutch supremacy in the carrying trade. 4f: Perhaps the most significant aspect of the jluyt’s Developed originally by the Dutch for their flourish- impact on the science of shipbuilding and Dutch ing sixteenth-century trade with the Baltic countries and supremacyi n world trade is that it was mass-produced the British Isles, thefluyt was before everything else a with interchangeablep arts, which facilitated repairs at cargo carrier. Cumbersomein appearancei,t was a large, seaa nd in foreign ports. This, in addition to the relatively square-riggedv essel with three mastsa nd rounded ends small crews neededt o sail thesev essels,r educedo perat- fort and aft, and with a pear-shapeds tem rising steeply ing costs and thus increased profits. In this connection to a very high, narrow poop. The hull was long in Ralph Davis writes: proportion to its width and had a broad, flatbottom wider The Dutch jllail or flyboat of 300 tons carried not fifty men but at the waterline than above. fifteen. English ships could hardly compete in peaceful condi- tiOllS.43 One authority writes thatfluyten (flyboats) were not It was not until the British began to copy the construc- usually armed, which may have been true in the begin- tion of Dutch ships captured during the Anglo-Dutch ning when their activities were confined to the northern wars of the seventeenthc entury that they were able to oceana nd the Baltic sea,s ince guns are heavy and would challenge the Dutch in naval warfare or rival them in occupy space and tonnage needed for the commercial peacetimec ommerce. cargoes. In the seventeenth century, however, when theses hips were engagedi n carrying Dutch goods to all The fhyt apparently had a wide range in size, since parts of the Atlantic theater, guns necessarily becamea there are referencest o “small flyboats” of 80 to 90 tons, Fig. 11 Etching by Wenceslauso f Dutch flyboats, 1647. Courtesy of Nederlands ScheepvaartM useum, Amsterdam. 58 SELECTED RENSSELAERSWIJCK SEMINAR PAPERS and to those as large as the Wapen van Hoorn (Arms of command, was fitted out for a new 60-foot keel in 1630 Hoom) of 600 tons capacity. A detailed record exists of at Manhattan. She was of 200 tons burden and carried 14 the Swedish flyboat Gullene Haj that was seizedb y the guns.‘t6T he Gideon, afruyt in the slave trade, had 14-16 Dutch in the Hudson River in September1 654i n retalia- guns.47 tion for a Swedish attack on Fort Casimir in the South River. The inventory of her equipment and other infor- Aj7uyt familiar to New Netherlanders, s.inces he made mation about her runs to nearly sevenp rinted pages,a nd frequent trips to New Amsterdamw ith goodsa nd settlers reveals that she was 62 feet from stem to stem and 13 during the 1650sw as the Valckenier (Falconer) of 160 feet wide at the deck; that among her equipment were lasts or 320 tons.48D e Liefde (Love), used in the New one large spritsail, one foresail, one fore topsail, two Netherland trade around 1655, is referred to as a flyboat mainsails, one foresail bonnet, other extra sails, and one by Stuyvesant,4gth ough at other times she is called a ship mizzenmast; and that she carried two small iron can- or a yacht. Reporting on the surrendero f New Netherland nons?4 to the English, Stuyvesant mentions the flyboat d’Eendracht, “with 10 or 12 small cannon”” In 1673 The nameso f otherfluyten operating in New Nether- the small Dutch flyboat Expectatie was taken off Nantucket by the English.‘l land waters dot the records. Among these is the Walvis (Whale) of 400 tons and one of the largest of theses hips. Becauseo f its basic design for carrying bulky cargoes, Little appearsi n English histories to show the crucial thefluyt lent itself to conversion into a whaler, and David part theseD utch flyboats had in the defeato f the Spanish de Vries fitted out the Walvis in 1630 as a whaling ship plan to invade and conquer England in 1588. At this time for his first voyage to Delaware Bay. As a licensed the Spanish strategy did not depend solely on the ships privateer she also carried 18 guns.45A notherfluyt, the of the Armada, but called for the Duke of Parma and his de Coninck David (King David), again under de Vries’ large army basedi n the SpanishN etherlands to cross the Fig. 12. Two frigates, by Monogrammist ABk, ca. 1675-99. Courtesy of Nederlands ScheepvaartM useum, Amsterdam. SHIPS AND WORK BOATS OF NEW NETHERLAND 59 P ec?zz7 ,,tLt mtem LLzw.+ f/ Fig. 13.Yacht with gaff sail. Etching by Gerrit Groenewegen. Courtesy of NederlandsS cheepvaartM useum, Amsterdam. English Channel and invade England, while the Armada sugar, tobacco and ebony, the other wine destined for was destroying its defenders on the sea. The Dutch Guatemala.T hese had been taken in the Caribbeana fter admiralty, however, under Prince Maurice of Nassaua nd a hard f”rght.53It is significant that seamano n La Garce Orange, assembleda fleet of 150 galleons, flyboats and often made their wills before sailing to those waters. In other craft to blockade all ports from which the Duke 1643J acob Stoffelsen paid f350 for a tenth share in the might embark his troops, and thus preventeda n invasion equipment of this frigate, and four years later Christian from the Continent. The Dutch vessels,s maller and more Rams sold his title and interest in her for f 1, 400.s4 maneuverable than those of the Spanish, also took part in harassing the great, cumbersomeg alleons5* Another frigate appearing in the Dutch records is the Palomme, purchaseda t Manhattan on June 13,1651, by The Frigate the well-to-do New Englander Thomas Willett for the The Dutch frigate of the seventeenthc entury was a sum of 800 pieces of eight (f2,000).55 In 1636 a small trim, fast-sailing, three-masted, square-rigged vessel Spanish frigate of about 60 tons was brought into the usedextensively for tradeand privateering in the Atlantic harbor at New Amsterdam by an English ship that had and Caribbean against the Portuguese,t he Spanish and taken her prize and there was auctioned off?6 later the English. As would be supposed,s hew ash eavily The Yacht in New Nethedan %med for her size. An early print of two seventeenth- century Dutch frigates shows medium-size vesselsw ith Of all vesselse mployed in New Netherland, the yacht wide, flat stems in which there are four guns, while two appears to have been the one most important to the formidable tiers of gun ports run the length of the hulls. survival and prosperity of the province. Yet the yachts It is obvious from the records, however, that the frigates mentioned so frequently in the New Netherland docu- operating out of New Netherland during the first half of ments are difficult to reduce to a consistent set of the century were much lessp retentious in size and arma- specifications. It is generally agreedt hat in referring to ment than those in this drawing. yachts the Dutch meant small, swift-sailing vessels of shallow draft. One authority writes, “. . . the type name Perhaps the most publicized of the New Netherland yacht wasb asedo n form rather than rig [and] yachts were frigates was LB Garce, among whose owners were men of various sizes and [were] employed for many from Fort Orange and New Amsterdam. La Garce purposes.‘“7 figures frequently in the records asa privateer, one of her most spectaculart riumphs occurring in May 1644 when Since the word ‘yacht’ derives from the Dutch word she brought in two captured Spanishb arks, one carrying ‘jaagen’ meaning to hunt or chase,i t might be supposed 60 SELECTED RENSSELAERSWIJCK SEMINAR PAPERS that this craft was primarily designed to serve a recon- August 18, 1616, the Dutch skipper Comelis Hendrick- naissancef unction during naval engagements.W hether senr eporting to the StatesG eneral about coastale xplora- or not this is true (and it must be admitted that the yacht tions he had made in America declared Ithat these had was usedb y the Dutch far more consistently in trade than been accomplished“ in a small Yacht of about eight lusts in war), there is no doubt that speed,m aneuverability and (16 tons burden)” named the Onrusr and built in New being able to function equally well in shallow waters or Netberland.64 Johan de Laet, writing his New World in high seasw ere among the qualities that made the yacht the 163Os,m entioned the suitable timber :for ship build- so useful in early America. ing in the new province and said that the Dutch “have built there several sloops and tolerable yachts.” He gave It was the Dutch small yacht, so named in old Dutch the dimensions of the Onrust as stem to stem 44th feet, nautical prints, that became what may be called the keel 38 feet, width 11M feete5 Construction of this principal work boat of the province of New Netherland. yacht was not undertaken as a part of a planned ship- This was a single-masted, shallow-draft, fore-and-aft building program, but was a matter of sheern ecessity.I n rigged vessel with a gaff. It had a high, flat stem (the 1614A driaen Block’s ship Tijgerbumed at her moorings so-called transom stem), a flat bottom and leeboards near Manhattan Island shortly after her sister ship (zwaards) to serve as stabilizers and to prevent its drift- Forfuyn returned to the Fatherland.& Since nothing ing to leeward. Chatterton statest hat the Dutch adopted could be accomplished in exploration or trade without a leeboards from the Chinese, who had used them for vessel of some kind, it was necessary to build one. centuries. Speculating about why the Dutch did not adopt Considering the lack of facilities and tools, this was a the centerboard (which he says the English understood prodigious accomplishment. in theory by the sixteenth century), he suggests two probable reasons:i t took up cargo space,o r it might jam Although not originally intended for the rough if hung up on the many sandy shoals in Dutch rivers5* Atlantic passage,D utch yachts proved fine sailors when thus employed. On De Vries’s secondv oyage to America In the old records the name ‘yacht’ is also applied to in 1632, his small accompanying yacht Eikhoorn square-rigged vesselso f an intermediate size and in the (Squirrel) of only 20 tons burden came sa.felyt hrough a fast-sailing class.S uch wasH enry Hudson’s HulveMuen massive storm off Cape Hatteras, though she was badly of 80 tons burden, employing a crew of around eighteen tosseda bout and at times given up for lost.67 The small persons. From a carefully researchedr econstruction of yachts of New Netherland were used in a multitude of the Halve Muen madei n Holland in 1909f or New York’s ways, initially for exploration and trading with the Hudson-Fulton celebration, we have excellent plans Indians, later by the Dutch farmers and merchants for showing that she was a three-masted, square rigged transporting goods and produce. They were official vessel with a high poop and high forecastle. Her length dispatch carriers between the various parts of New from stem to stem was 63 feet, old Amsterdamm easure, Netherland, and useful for transporting persons to these or 58 feet, English measure:h er beam, 17 feet 5 inches and to the New England and southern colonies of the by the former; 16 feet 2.5 inches by the English reckon- English. Freighting goods by these yachts from New ing.59 Yet her flat stem and rounded bows reflect the Amsterdam to the Fort Orange/Beverwijck/ general form of all yachts of that time. The Muckerul of Rensselaerswijcka rea,o r to the South River settlements 60 tons burden, designateda s a yacht in the documents, and Virginia and Maryland, became so profitable a crossed the Atlantic in 1623 to trade all winter at Fort business that many individuals who undertook it rose Orange,60a nd Wassenaerin his Historisch Verhael says quickly from comparative poverty to riches. that on April 25, 1625, the Mackeral was again dis- patchedw ith supplies for New Netherland but was taken One of these,G overt Loockermans, who had come to by the Dunkirk piran@ while still in Europeanw atersp2 New Netherland in 1633 as cook’s mate on the yacht St. Often several yachts would accompanya larger ship on Murtyn, thus became a prosperous citizen of New the oceanc rossingsP3a measuret aken for mutual protec- Amsterdam.68 From the frequency with which his name tion against the elements,p irates and the Spanish. appears in the court records and the nature of these entries, it seemst hat Loockermans had a lively career Four yearsb efore the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth the with his yacht. At one time he was accused of selling Dutch were building yachts in New Netherland. The first contraband powder to the Indians of Rhode Island, and of these appearst o have been the Onrust (Restless). On so becamep ersona non grata to the authorities there. On SHIPS AND WORK BOATS OF NEW NETHERLAND 61 another occasion he was involved in a comic-opera the finger-post near the City Tavem.“72 Since this incident while sailing down the Hudson past Beeren action came at the end of a long session of the council Island in the summero f 1644i n his yacht de Goede Hoop devoted to the problems of smuggling, the new regula- (Good Hope). BeerenI sland, the southernmostb oundary tion was undoubtedly an attempt to control that activity of the Colonie of Rensselaerswijck, is a small, rocky among the owners of the private boats. island at that time fortified by the Van Rensselaersw ith a few small cannona nd calledRensseluer.s~eyTrrh. at day, There appearst o have been a wide variation in the size as & Goede Moop came abreasto f the island, Nicholaes of the Dutch yachts operating in the Atlantic prior to Coom, the patroon’s agent, called to Loockermans to 1650, though the actual figures are rarely given in the “‘strike . , . for the staple right of Rensselaerswijck.” To records.T he averages ize of the small yachts usedb y the this Loockermansr eplied that he would strike to no man Dutch in New Netherland for river and coastal trade and save the Prince of Orange or those to whom he was freighting appearst o have been much the samea s that of subject, upon which Coom fired on the yacht. The first the Onrust- lusts or 16 tons burden; 44% feet from cannon shot went through the mainsail and halyards, the stem to stem; and a width of 11t i feet. De Vries’s yacht secondm issed,a nd a third blast from an ordinary firearm ENworn, chosen for working along the South River in pierced the Dutch flag, narrowly missing Loockermans, 1635,w as of the samet onnage,73a nd 8 or 9 lusts was thhe who was holding it in his hand. Then the yacht passed size specified by Vice Director Alrichs for the small out of range downriver “without firing back.“” Arrived yacht he requestedi n 1657 for his South River colony.74 at Manhattan, Loockermans promptly suedC oom, who, in his answer to the suit, claimed that in fling on the There are frequent referencest o sales of these small yacht he had been but carrying out the orders of the yachts,a nd usually the prices are stated;b ut since neither patroon. He further stated that Loockermans had the condition of the boat nor the dimensions is indicated shouted, “Fire, you dogs; may the Devil take you.*‘70 in these,t he usefulnesso f salesr ecordsa sc riteria for size Considering the provocation and knowing those is limited. These furnish, however, an interesting study involved, these words seem mild indeed and it may be of the variety of media of exchange in use in New surmised that they have been laundered considerably in Netherland at this time. In May 1641a t New Amsterdam translation. At any rate, the case was decided for the Arent Steffeniers purchasedt he yacht Wesel and appur- plaintiff, and Coom was ordered to pay for the damage tenances from Maryn Andriaensen, a former to the yacht and to produce within ten months written freebooter,75fo r 500 Carolus guilders in Holland curren- approval of his actions from the patroon in Holland or cy. Teunis Dircksen van Vechten, a tenant farmer on the face corporal punishment.71 patroonship of Rensselaerswijck,b ought half a share in Rutger Jacobsen,w ho cameo ver as a farmhand for the the yacht Zeepuert (Sea Horse) with half her appur- Colonie of Rensselaerswijck,w as another who eventu- tenancesa nd yawl, ““for the sum of three hundred guilders ally acquired a freighting and trading yacht that proved in current merchandisea t the choice of the vendor, and one of the first stepsi n his becoming a man of wealth in one mudde of good wheat,” in June, 1651.76T he yacht Beverwijck. He left, when he died, a stained glass Vreede (Peace)w as sold in 1648f or forty beavers,w hich window in the new church that bore his name and an at that time amounted to around f210.77 impressive coat of arms. A small yachtdeLief& (not to beconfused with a ship Often charges of smuggling were levelled against orjluyt of the samen ame of around fifty lusts belonging some of these entrepreneurs,a nd not without reason. It to the West India Company) wasp urchasedi n April 1661 is apparent that as the number of individually-owned by Jan JochemsenV al and Adriaen Symonsen for five yachts increased,m any of theset ransactedb usinessf rom hogsheadso f French wine and an unker of brandy “and obscure moorings in the waters surrounding New nothing more.“78A t this time a hogsheado f French wine Amsterdam and Fort Orange, making it difficult for the sold for around fll0 and an u&r of brandy (about ten government of the province-the West India gallons) cost f44,79 making the price paid for the yacht Company-to patrol their activities. As a result, in July about f595. The “sloop or yacht*’ Swurte Arent (Ma& 1647 the council passeda n order “that all private yachts, Eagle) in November of the samey ear changed hands at barks, ketches,s loopsa nd boatsu nder ftity lusts. . . shall Beverwijck for f1,300 “in good strung sewan [wam- not seekn or have any other roadsteadt han in front of the pum]” with fl.200 additional to be paid six months city of New Amsterdam, between Capsken’sH oeck and later.8’ 62 SELECTED RENSSELAERSWIJCK SEMINAR PAPERS The inventory of the yacht de Wukende Boey (Vigilant 13 lbs. of sail yarn; four pieces of rope; 121 yards of Buoy), sold at Manhattan in June 1651 for the sumo f 100 French canvasf or the mizzensail; 149 yards ditto for the “good, merchantable beavers,” or approximately f800, foretopsail; 48 yards of French canvas for repairs to the gives some idea of the sparsity of equipment on these foresail; 8 lbs. of 3-ply marline yarn; 31% yards of small yachts: French canvas for patching cloth; 20 yards of duck.83 Two pedereros [small swivel cannons] The passageb etween New Amsterdam and Holland Two chambers [small cannons without carriages] took an average of two months. An inventory of Two anchors Two cables such as they are provisions issued in November 1643 to the West India One cutlas Company yacht Reuul for that voyage is as follows: 2 or 3 empty shells 2 or 3 mess bowls 29 schepelso f peas f89:- l/2 dozen spoons 154 loaves of rye bread 3O:lO One iron pot 460M lb of pork @ 5 stivers 115:2:8 One copper kettle 32 loaves of wheaten bread 11: 4 One small basting pan 300 lb dried fish 36:- One earthen casserole 883& lb of beef @ 4M stivers 198:1 5% Two or three water casks 341 lb of hardtack 126~3 One mizzen sail with a foresail as they are on the roadstead 9 cans of Spanish wine 75:- Also the running and standing rigging 26 lb of tallow @ 2th stivers 7:15 Tbe yawl with its appuglaances Two oars for the yacht 25 lb of cheese@ 6 stivers 7:lO 8 cans of train oil @ 10 stivers This appearst o have been a typical small work yacht, f7OZ484 judging from its sale price andequipment. The inventory Theses upplies were “to messt he crew,” but as the size is unusual in showing a modicum of eating utensils. The of the crew is not known, it is impossible to estimateh ow dearth of these on most ships’ inventories suggestst hat adequatet hey were. It is somewhat ironic. that the verb seameno f that time usually carried with them their own to ‘mess’ derives from the Dutch word megen meaning spoonsa nd dishes, or went without. ‘to feed or fatten,’ though Dutch skippers were notorious for cutting rations to the bone on these voyages. In one Just as the small yacht proved of such value in the daily casep assengerso n the yacht deDolphyn to New Nether- work and exploration of the new settlementsi n America, land were kept on such short and inedible rations that the larger yachts of the Dutch were equally indispensible they complained bitterly to the authorities on arrival at for carrying on all kinds of maritime businessf or which Manhattang5 speed, capacity, economy of operation and maneu- verability were essential. The yachts in the larger class Privateering and Illegal Practices varied greatly in size, from those similar to Hudson’s Throughout the history of the Dutch West India Com- gallant little Halve Muen of only 40 lusts, to yachts like pany in America a sizeable number of yachts, large and the Westindische Ruuf (Westindian Raven) and Nep- small, wasc onstantly employed in its service. In addition tuynis (Neptune), or the Kuth (Cat)-the two latter in to the pedestrian day-to-day tasks these yachts periods of war carrying crews of 60 men.82 At times performed, there were livelier ones, since:m uch of the thesel arger yachts are referred to in the records as ‘little Dutch period in America coincided with a continuing ships,’ and again as ‘barks,’ which shows the looseness war with Spain, and later intermittent wars with England, of nomenclature current at the time; though someo f this so that privateering and smuggling operations against ambiguity may derive from later translators. those countries accounted for a great deal of activity among the yachts of the company.Privatee.ring,w hich in A list of supplies and equipment taken on the effect was piracy with governmental benediction, was at Westindische Ruuf (belonging to the West India that time practiced widely among all nations having the Company) for a voyage from New Amsterdam to the meanst o do so, andNew Netherland was in a particularly Fatherland in June 1639 covers several pages, and the happy geographical position to indulge, since it had value in money amountst o f2,467. Among the items for direct access to the sea lanes along which Spain and the voyage delivered by the sailmaker alone were one Portugal ferried home the treasuret aken from South and mainsail with a bonnet of 350 yards of French canvas; Central America and Mexico.

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the West India Company against a Peace with Spain,” presented to ammunition as any of the enemy's best and largest vessels.“* .. Amsterdam.68 From the frequency with which his name appears in .dictionary, was “an old.
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