Page 75 - Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
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Specialised vessels were sent from the Netherlands based on the VOC’s experiences of sailing in specific regions of Asia. In the assessment of the experts of the Chamber of Amsterdam was that the yacht Groene Leeuw (ID:), with a length of feet, a beam of feet and a draught when loaded of 1⁄2 feet, would be useful on the Coromandel Coast (NA .., VOC , fol. ). This yacht of about or last did indeed sail directly from the Nether- lands to that coast, but was also used in a number of other areas during its career in Asia of more than years. The Groene Leeuw was apparently suitable for gathering sandalwood from Timor and made three voyages in three successive monsoons for this task. The slightly larger Sterre (ID:) purchased in particularly for use in the Spice Islands, was apparently a less fortunate choice. In , it was already reported to be in a bad condition and it perished after only one voyage to this destination. In the Heren XVII made the decision to build yachts that would, in addition to their commercial tasks, be fit for military action in the shallow waters off the coast of Coromandel. It is clear that there was some debate about the best design for these yachts. The VOC employees at the coast reported that, to sail close to the vlacke cust (shallow coast) of Coromandel and to be able to take these vessels into the river inlets of this coast for repairs, the draught (when empty) should not exceed or feet (Colenbrander , p. ). On the other hand, the Chamber of Amsterdam wanted these yachts to have a superstructure to provide shelter for the crew on the long voyage to Asia and during the skirmishes in which these vessels would engage. The yachts also had to be armed with heavy cannon. The decision makers clearly tried to combine too many features in one design. The shallow draught combined with the heavy superstruc- tures resulted in some unsuitable yachts like de Haan (ID:), which was known to have poor stability and sailing capabilities. As early as its maiden voyage the de Haan was reported to be too unstable and in need of additional ballast (NA ..., Aanwinsten () , fol. ). Although there were many complaints about its design (Sloos , pp. , ), this yacht was able to sail to Asia and served the VOC there for some years, including the offensive ac- tions on the Chinese coast in , before it capsized near Java in (Colenbrander , p. ). By trial and error the VOC arrived at the most suitable yacht design. Another, only slightly larger yacht built in the same period – the Weesp (ID:) – had a successful military career for many years, predominantly in the Arabian Sea, and was still in service in . It functioned at the end of its career as an armed pepper carrier from the trading areas upstream in southern Borneo \[Kalimantan\] where the rulers were in regular conflict with the VOC. The multi-functional nature of these yachts is demonstrated by the yacht Sluys (ID:). Built in by the Chamber Zeeland with prescribed dimensions of feet long, a beam of feet and a draught of feet, the Sluys’s cargo carrying capacity was about last. She was, in her first years, used mostly in the Arabian Sea where good armaments were certainly required for the transport of cargoes such as gold, myrrh and coffee, worth up to . guilders. Later, the Sluys also sailed to the Spice Islands and Sumatra's west coast for cloves and pepper and to the Coromandel Coast for cloth. After armaments were hardly necessary for a yacht trans- porting these bulk cargoes in these regions. The Sluys was still in service in . Similar yachts in operation in that period had the same diverse cargoes and destinations. Multi-functionality meant the ability to change from one task to another as well as the capa- city to combine military and commercial objectives. The Concordia (ID:) was regularly desig- nated as an oorlogsyacht (war-yacht) and was involved in the capture of the Blessing (ID:) and the Supply (ID:). The Concordia was also to transport cheap bulk cargoes such as ebony, used as ballast for the homeward-bound fleet from Mauritius to Batavia and coarse pewter from Malacca to Galle. While bringing a very rich cargo from Suratte to the Persian Gulf in the beginning of , news of the start of the first Dutch-Anglo war arrived overland. The yacht was hastily unloaded and sent out to patrol that region in a purely military action, which even- tually led to conflict with, and the subsequent capture of, the English East-India vessel Blessing. After escorting the captured English vessels into Gamron, the Concordia loaded its share of the bales of silk bought by the VOC in Persia and transported them to Batavia. The VOC had to make decisions about which vessels would best serve their purposes in varied circumstances in Asia. Military tension was often the catalyst for some swift changes. During the outbreak of the first Dutch-Anglo war the VOC decided to put the emphasis on Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters
