Admiralty of Amsterdam
Encyclopedia
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. The administration of the various Admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam was responsible was limited to the city itself, the Gooi
Gooi
Het Gooi is the area around Hilversum in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants, and its villas. Het Gooi is known in the Netherlands as the home of the rich and famous.- Name :The name...
region, the islands of Texel
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
, Vlieland
Vlieland
Vlieland is a municipality in the northern Netherlands. The municipality of Vlieland has only one major town: Oost-Vlieland . It is the second-least densely populated municipality in the Netherlands ....
and Terschelling
Terschelling
Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts...
, the province of Utrecht
Utrecht (province)
Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest...
and the Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
quarters of Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
and of the Graafschap
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
(county) of Zutphen. Amsterdam had developed into the most important of all the Admiralties and often compensated for the other admiralties' deficiencies. When the "Committee for Naval Affairs" (Comité tot de Zaken der Marine) replaced the Admiralty Colleges on 27 February 1795 during the reforms by the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
, the lower civil servants were kept on, but the officers were dismissed.
Foundation
Initially Amsterdam ranked under the Admiralty of RotterdamAdmiralty of Rotterdam
The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Admiralties in the Dutch Republic.-History:It was set up in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when William I of Orange's supporters decided to pool their naval resources at Rotterdam...
, as it was located in the Southern Quarter of Holland. When the Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
reorganised maritime affairs on 26 July 1586, however, Amsterdam and the Northern Quarter of Holland, and the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland were all placed under one Admiralty, based in Hoorn
Hoorn
-Cities :* Purmerend * Enkhuizen * Alkmaar * Amsterdam * Lelystad * Den Helder * Leeuwarden -Towns :* Edam...
. The region's West Frisian towns, however, played a wayward role, and this was aggravated when they engaged with Amsterdam in a dispute over the Republic's admiralty administration. The States of Holland
States of Holland
The States of Holland and West Frisia were the representation of the two Estates to the court of the Count of Holland...
(the government of the province of Holland) decided to back Amsterdam. That there was a need for reorganisation was not contested, Leicester having placed naval and maritime affairs under a single college designed to curb Holland's influence. But Hoorn, Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.Enkhuizen was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, just like Hoorn and Amsterdam, from where overseas trade with the East Indies was conducted. It received city rights in 1355...
and Medemblik
Medemblik
Medemblik is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.- History :...
rejected the idea that commissioned officers should be appointed by the States of Holland instead of by the cities themselves. As a result, the commissioned officers decided to stay in Amsterdam. On 28 August 1586, that decision formed the beginning of the Amsterdam Admiralty.
The conflict was ended by compromise. In the end, the West Frisian cities gave up their resistance to external appointments, and in 1589 Hoorn instituted its own admiralty college. On 14 June 1597, the States-General of the Netherlands
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
sanctioned the situation as it then was, so that Amsterdam too kept its own admiralty. These measures were intended to have a temporary character, but in fact they remained in force until the end of the Republic in 1795.
Organisation and development
Under the decisions of 1597, the Admiralty of Amsterdam provided seven commissioned officers, along with four appointed by the States of Holland and three by other provinceProvince
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s. Numbers and proportions later changed, and in 1739 the college provided twelve members, six from Holland and one from each of the six other provinces.
Seats in the Admiralties in Amsterdam and Rotterdam were held to be especially lucrative. The Committee of the Admiralty of Amsterdam was nearly always filled by former mayors. Pay amounted to 1,000 guilders per annum, often much more than that. In practice, remunerations could be greatly increased by a variety of perks and compensations. According to a member from Groningen, commissioning was no "witch-finder's work" and he gladly kept it on.
The administrators resided in the Prinsenhof (named the Zeekantoor after 1795) at Amsterdam's Oudezijds Voorburgwal. This former monastery had been used as a fencing school, and after the fire of 1652 as a temporary city hall, before becoming the administrators' office. Whenever the Prince of Orange visited Amsterdam, in his capacity of Admiral-General he resided in the Admiralty building. By law, the grounds were under his jurisdiction, obviating the need for him to be a guest of the city. It was for this reason that the building acquired, and retained, the name of Prinsenhof. In 1656, the Admiralty took over the entire building and renovated it.
On its façade is the Hollandic Lion, holding the coat of arms of the High College and guarding the Hollandic Yard, the symbol of territorial integrity and security. On the site of the new 1924 development stood a number of fine houses built by Philips Vingboons
Philips Vingboons
Philips Vingboons was a Dutch architect. He was part of the school of Jacob van Campen, that is, Dutch Classicism. Vingboons was especially highly regarded in his native city of Amsterdam....
, previously used by high officials of the Admiralty. The vroedschap
Vroedschap
The vroedschap was the name for the city council in the early modern Netherlands; the member of such a council was called a vroedman, literally a "wise man"...
commissioned the great poet Vondel to write verses to be recited at the inauguration of the building. To adorn the interior, Ferdinand Bol
Ferdinand Bol
Ferdinand Bol was a Dutch artist, etcher, and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-portraits, and single figures in exotic finery.The street Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amsterdam was...
was commissioned to paint four huge allegorical paintings, for which he was paid 2,000 guilders.
In 1632 and in 1636-37, stadholder Frederik Hendrik tried to create more unity in the fight against the Spanish Netherlands. Supervision of the fleet blockading the Dunkirkers
Dunkirkers
During the Dutch Revolt the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers, were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish Monarchy. They were also part of the Dunkirk fleet, which consequently was a part of the Spanish Monarchy's Flemish fleet ...
was no longer placed in the hands of the five admiralty colleges but given to a central organization, which was to operate from a single base at Hellevoetsluis
Hellevoetsluis
Hellevoetsluis is a small city and municipality on Voorne-Putten Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland...
by directors specially appointed for the purpose. The object was to increase efficiency, but the system did not work well and Holland, notably Amsterdam, put up effective resistance, causing it to be abandoned.
"Convooi" and "Licent"
The admiralty colleges had first and foremost been entrusted with equipping the Republic's naval fleets. In addition, they had to manage import and export taxes — collecting "Convooien" and "Licenten". Most important were the "Licenten", which were licenses on the trade with the enemy, which at that time meant Spain. The proceeds were meant to be spent on building and equipping men-of-war. In 1638 it was decided to lease out the proceeds of these Convooien and Licenten. The region of Holland, however, opposed the decision as it meant that authority for the leases came in the hands of private persons and bring them personal gain.
Each province exerted itself to trade internally as much as possible, and thus to evade the rules. Earnings could only be maintained through smuggling and the confiscation of smuggled goods, a lesson especially learnt by the Admiralty in Amsterdam. On the River Oude Rijn
Oude Rijn
Oude Rijn may refer to:* Oude Rijn - A cut-off section of the river Rhine in the province of Gelderland* Oude Rijn - A Rhine branch in the province of Utrecht and South Holland, from Harmelen to the North Sea....
there was an outpost of the Arnhem office of the Amsterdam Admiralty. The Rhine customs officer, however, whose jurisdiction extended as far as Lobith
Lobith
Lobith is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Rijnwaarden. Traditionally, it is said that the Rhine enters the Netherlands at Lobith, although in reality, this happens about 4 km further upstream, near Spijk....
on the border with the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
(since 1648), was under the authority of the Admiralty of Rotterdam.
Pay and bonuses
Unlike the English naval administration, the Dutch admiralty colleges were not permitted to use impressedImpressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
sailors to man their fleets, this being deemed incompatible with the freedom that was the proclaimed basis of the Republic. A sailor in the fleet received ten or eleven guilders per calendar month. None of the non-commissioned officers or men was in bound service to the admiralty. Sailors who enlisted were housed and fed by it, and had to pay deductions for uniform clothing and equipment. Earnings through plundering or loot dried up in the eighteenth century. Like non-commissioned officers and sailors in general, commissioned naval officers were also dependent on their posting, since they received no payment from the admiralty whilst in port. Indeed, even though for officers "meals at the captain's table were . . . always free", pay was only thirty guilders for a lieutenant and sixty guilders for a commandeur
Commandeur
Commandeur is a title in French and Dutch , usually rendered in English as Commander, with different uses. The literal meaning is he who commands, parallel to Commandant. In most senses the German equivalent is Kommandeur....
(i.c. acting captain) commissioned on a ship. It has been rightly observed that their main income was from captured ships
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
.
In 1652, at the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War
First Anglo-Dutch War
The First Anglo–Dutch War was the first of the four Anglo–Dutch Wars. It was fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Caused by disputes over trade, the war began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but...
, the Admiralty of Rotterdam
Admiralty of Rotterdam
The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Admiralties in the Dutch Republic.-History:It was set up in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when William I of Orange's supporters decided to pool their naval resources at Rotterdam...
hired ships in Amsterdam.
The Arsenal or 's Lands Zeemagazijn
Johann Jakob Wilhelm Heinse
Wilhelm Heinse , German author, was born at Langewiesen in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ....
saw, when he was travelling in Holland: "wood, coils of rope of 150 fathoms in length and as thick as a woman's leg, all sorts of sails, bullets, anchors, cannon, muskets and guns, lamps, compasses and hourglasses". The First Anglo-Dutch War ended infelicitously for the Dutch, and this added to the city administration's readiness to have the arsenal built. On 12 August 1655, the Admiralty was given the entire western strip of Kattenburg island for the construction of a warehouse and timber-wharf, in exchange for so far enclosed grounds it had occupied in the area.
In the night of 5/6 July 1791, the Zeemagazijn went up in flames. It was a spectacular fire, and only the main supporting walls remained standing, for after a sack in 1740 extra load-bearing supports had been put in from the outside.
The building now houses the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum. At the Oosterdok wharf is moored a replica of a ship of the Amsterdam admiralty, the Amsterdam
VOC ship Amsterdam
The Amsterdam was an 18th-century cargo ship of the Dutch East India Company. The ship started its maiden voyage from Texel to Batavia on 8 January 1749, but was wrecked in a storm on the English Channel on 26 January 1749. The shipwreck was discovered in 1969 in the bay of Bulverhythe, United...
. The admiralty yacht lay in the yacht harbour in the River Amstel
Amstel
The Amstel is a river in the Netherlands which runs through the city of Amsterdam. The river's name is derived from Aeme stelle, old Dutch for "area abounding with water"....
.
Shipyards
The admiralty's yards were initially at Uilenburg, but around 1620 moved to Rapenburg and then around 1655 to the Eastern Islands (Oostelijke Eilanden), Kattenburg and Oostenburg. In time of war, over 1000 shipworkers and sailors worked at the admiralty yard.The admiralty rope-works was established at Oostenburg and was approximately 300 meters in length. Because of the ropes laid alongside each other, sometimes at lengths of up to 220 meters, it was called a kuil or net. Old rope was also hung up, to provide oakum
Oakum
Oakum is a preparation of tarred fiber used in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships, as well as cast iron plumbing applications...
for closing up the seams between ships' boards.
Administrators and other functionaries
- Albert BurghAlbert BurghAlbert Coenraadsz. Burgh was a Dutch physician who was mayor of Amsterdam and a councillor in the Admiralty of Amsterdam.-Biography:...
- councillor - Andries BickerAndries BickerAndries Bicker was a wealthy merchant on Moscovia, a member of the vroedschap, the leader of the Arminians, an administrator of the VOC, representative of the States-General of the Netherlands and colonel in the Civic guard...
- - Ferdinand BolFerdinand BolFerdinand Bol was a Dutch artist, etcher, and draftsman. Although his surviving work is rare, it displays Rembrandt's influence; like his master, Bol favored historical subjects, portraits, numerous self-portraits, and single figures in exotic finery.The street Ferdinand Bolstraat in Amsterdam was...
- painter - Cornelis Cruys - equipagemeester ("master of crew")
- Dirk van Hogendorp - captain lieutenant
- Joan Cornelis van der HoopJoan Cornelis van der HoopMr. Joan Cornelis van der Hoop was a Dutch lawyer, public prosecutor and minister and, at the time of the Dutch Republic, fulfilled important positions under king William I and - with the exception of the Batavian-French era - left his mark on the Dutch navy...
- advocaat-fiscaal (1781 — 1787) - Joan Huydecoper van MaarsseveenJoan Huydecoper IIJoan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen II was the eldest son of burgomaster Joan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen I and the brother-in-law of the collector Jan J. Hinlopen and the sheriff Jacob Boreel. He was mayor of Amsterdam for 13 terms between 1673 and 1693...
- councillor - Cornelis de GraeffCornelis de GraeffCornelis de Graeff, also Cornelis de Graeff van Polsbroek was the most illustrious member of the De Graeff family. He was a mayor of Amsterdam from the Dutch Golden Age and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the sudden death of stadholder William II of Orange...
- chief-councillor - Andries de GraeffAndries de GraeffFree Imperial Knight Andries de Graeff was a very powerful member of the Amsterdam branch of the De Graeff - family during the Dutch Golden Age. He became a mayor of Amsterdam and a powerful Amsterdam regent after the death of his older brother Cornelis de Graeff...
- chief-councillor - John MayJohn May (shipwright)John May was an English shipwright. In 1727 the Amsterdam Admiralty, the largest of the six Dutch Chambers that made up the Dutch East India Company, brought in May, Charles Bentham and Thomas Davis to work for them in improving ship design and avoiding the succession of wrecks they had recently...
, Thomas DavisThomas Davis (shipwright)-Amsterdam Admiralty:In 1727 the Amsterdam Admiralty, the largest of the six Dutch Chambers that made up the Dutch East India Company, brought in Davis, Charles Bentham and John May to work for them in improving ship design and avoiding the wreck after wreck they had recently been...
and Charles BenthamCharles BenthamCharles Bentham was an English shipwright. In 1727 the Amsterdam Admiralty, brought in Bentham and two other English shipwrights to work for them in improving ship design and avoiding the wreck after wreck they had recently been suffering...
(appointed by the Admiralty in 1727 to introduce new shipbuilding techniques) - Joachim Rendorp - councillor
- Willem Sautijn - equipagemeester
- Caspar StollCaspar StollCaspar Stoll was born in Hessen-Kassel , probably between 1725 and 1730. Being either a clerk or a porter at the Admiralty of Amsterdam, he published several works on entomology. Stoll's publications of stick insects, mantids and their relatives are particularly well known.-Life:In 1791 Stoll wrote...
- clerk - Lubbert Adolph Torck - councillor
- Jacob de Wilde - ontvanger-generaal (receiver-general)
- Cornelis Jan WitsenCornelis Jan WitsenCornelis Jansz. Witsen was a counsellor and mayor of the city of Amsterdam. He was the father of Nicolaes Witsen and the son of Jan Witsz and Grietje Claes....
- councillor - Pieter van Woensel (doctor)Pieter van Woensel (doctor)Pieter van Woensel was a physician, adventurer, travel writer, ships doctor, political cartoonist and a colorful author under the pseudonym Amurath-Effendi, Hekim-Bachi in the satirical almanac de Lantaarn . Typical for Van Woensel is his love for the peculiar, dislike for the easy route and...
ship's doctor
Vlootvoogden (fleet guardians)
- Amstel, Jan van: commander (1654)
- Brakel, Jan vanJan van BrakelJan van Brakel was a Dutch Rear Admiral who distinguished himself on many occasions during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars and the Nine Years War. Almost nothing is known about Van Brakels early career; we know neither his year of birth nor his backgrounds...
: schout-bij-nachtSchout-bij-nachtSchout-bij-nacht is a Dutch Naval rank, equivalent to Rear Admiral in the US Navy and Royal Navy. It is the second most junior Admiral position of the Dutch Navy, ranking above Commandeur and below a Vice-admiraal ....
("rear admiral") (1684) - Braam, Jacob Pieter van: vice-admiral (1792)
- Callenburgh, GerardGerard CallenburghGerard Callenburgh was a Dutch admiral.Gerard was born in Willemstad, the son of a wood-trader, but chose to enter the Dutch navy in 1661 as a cadet, serving the Admiralty of the Maze. He was made second lieutenant in May 1666 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. On 10 February 1671 he was promoted...
: lieutenant-admiral (1709) - Gravé, HendrikHendrik Gravé-Life:On his eighteenth birthday, Gravé entered the service of the Admiralty of Amsterdam, in 1691 becoming luitenant-ter-zee. In 1698, he became buitengewoon kapitein . He married Lucia van Mollem in 1704 in the Waldensian church in Utrecht, and they had one son, Hendrik , and one daughter,...
: commander (1717) - Haen, Cornelis Jansz:
- Heemskerck, Jacob van: vice-admiral (1598)
- Hulst, Abraham van derAbraham van der HulstAbraham van der Hulst was a Dutch admiral in the 17th century.Van der Hulst was appointed extraordinary captain in 1650...
: vice-admiral (1665) - Kingsbergen, Jan Hendrik vanJan Hendrik van KinsbergenJan Hendrik van Kinsbergen , or Count of Doggersbank, was a Dutch naval officer. Having had a good scientific education, Van Kinbergen was a proponent of fleet modernization and wrote many books about naval organization, discipline and tactics.In 1773, he twice defeated an Ottoman fleet while in...
: lieutenant-admiral (1814) - Ruyter, Engel deEngel de RuyterEngel Michielszoon de Ruyter was a Dutch vice-admiral.-Life:He was the son of lieutenant admiral Michiel de Ruyter and his second wife Cornelia Engels. He began his naval service on board his father's ship on his expeditions in 1664 and 1665...
: schout-bij-nacht (1673); vice-admiral (1678) - Michiel de RuyterMichiel de RuyterMichiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
- Schepers, Willem Bastiaensz: vice-admiral (1678)
- Schey, Gilles:
- Star, Enno DoedesEnno Doedes StarEnno Doedes Star was a Dutch naval commander....
: - Sweers, IsaacIsaac SweersIsaac Sweers was a 17th century Dutch admiral.HNLMS Isaac Sweers was Gerard Callenburgh class destroyer of the Royal Netherlands Navy, named after the admiral....
: vice-admiral - Tromp, CornelisCornelis TrompSir Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, 1st Baronet was a Dutch naval officer. He was the son of Lieutenant Admiral Maarten Tromp. He became Lieutenant Admiral General in the Dutch Navy and briefly Admiral General in the Danish Navy...
: lieutenant-admiral (1666) - Vollenhove, Hendrik:
- Zaen, Willem van der:
- Johan ZoutmanJohan ZoutmanJohan Arnold Zoutman was a Dutch naval figure and Rear Admiral who fought at the Battle of Dogger Bank in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.Zoutman also fought in the American Revolutionary War.-Legacy:...
: