Dutch ship Brederode
Encyclopedia
Brederode was a ship of the line
of the navy of the United Provinces
of the Netherlands, and the flagship
of the Dutch fleet in the First Anglo-Dutch War
. Throughout her career, she carried from 53-59 guns. She was named after Johan Wolfert van Brederode, the brother-in-law of stadtholder
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
.
in 1644, and a design of shipwright Jan Salomonszoon van den Tempel, she was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With
from May 1645 until 1647 when she was assigned to Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp
. The same year however, she again became De With's flagship for his expedition to Dutch Brazil
, only returning in 1650. Only in 1651 would Tromp sail for the first time with his flag on the Brederode, during an attack against royalist privateers operating from the Scilly Islands.
In the First Anglo-Dutch War
Brederode was present under Tromp's command at the Battle of Goodwin Sands
on 29 May 1652. After Tromp's failure to bring the English to battle off the Shetland Islands
in July, Tromp was relieved and Michiel de Ruyter
took over command. When De Ruyter was subordinated to De With in September, Brederode's crew refused to let the latter come on board to take command, so he had to content himself with the Prins Willem. Under De Ruyter, Brederode fought at the Battle of the Kentish Knock
on 8 October 1652.
With Tromp back in command, Brederode fought at the Battle of Dungeness
on 10 December 1652 where she came close to being captured, but was instrumental in that victory over the English. She fought again on 18 February 1653 at the Battle of Portland
and on 12 June 1653 at the Battle of the Gabbard
, where she fought an exhausting but inconclusive duel with William Penn's flagship James. On that day, the first day of the battle, Tromp's men boarded the English ship but were beaten back; boarded in turn by the English, Tromp was only able to dislodge the boarders by blowing up Brederode's deck. On 13 June the English were joined by a squadron under Admiral Robert Blake
and the Dutch were scattered in defeat.
Brederode fought in the last major engagement of the war, the Battle of Scheveningen
on 26 July 1653, when Tromp was killed. The acting flag captain
(later Admiral) Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer
kept Tromp's standard raised after his death to keep up morale.
In the Northern Wars
the United Provinces sent an expeditionary force to support Denmark
in the war against Charles X of Sweden. In the Battle of the Sound
on 8 November 1658 the Dutch fleet, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam
, defeated a Swedish fleet and relieved the siege of Copenhagen. Van Wassenaer's flagship was Eendracht; De With commanded the van in Brederode; attacking the enemy without proper knowledge of the shoals he grounded his ship (after damaging Leoparden so much that this enemy vessel subsequently was lost by fire) and was surrounded; after many hours of fighting, Brederode was boarded by Wismar and De With mortally wounded. The partially burnt wreck was deemed unsalvagable.
The Brederode was, in Maas feet, about 132 ft (40.2 m). long by about 32 ft (9.8 m). wide by approximately 13.5 ft (4.1 m). deep. The English dimensions were very close to those figures. The published dimensions are in Maas feet of 308 mm, divided into 12 inches (304.8 mm). Everyone had assumed that the published dimensions were in Amsterdam feet of 283 mm, divided into 11 inches (279.4 mm). The Brederode was armed with 54 guns, which in 1652 included: 4 36-pdrs., 12 24-pdrs., and 8 18-pdrs. on the lower deck, 20 12-pdrs. on the upper deck, and 10-12 6-pdrs. on the forecastle, quarterdeck, and poop deck.
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
of the navy of the United Provinces
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...
of the Netherlands, and the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the Dutch fleet in 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...
. Throughout her career, she carried from 53-59 guns. She was named after Johan Wolfert van Brederode, the brother-in-law of stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange
Frederick Henry, or Frederik Hendrik in Dutch , was the sovereign Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel from 1625 to 1647.-Early life:...
.
Ship history
Launched at RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in 1644, and a design of shipwright Jan Salomonszoon van den Tempel, she was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Witte Corneliszoon de With
Witte Corneliszoon de With
Witte Corneliszoon de With was a famous Dutch naval officer of the 17th century.- Early life and childhood :...
from May 1645 until 1647 when she was assigned to Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp
Maarten Tromp
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch navy. His first name is also spelled as Maerten.-Early life:...
. The same year however, she again became De With's flagship for his expedition to Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil, also known as New Holland, was the northern portion of Brazil, ruled by the Dutch during the Dutch colonization of the Americas between 1630 and 1654...
, only returning in 1650. Only in 1651 would Tromp sail for the first time with his flag on the Brederode, during an attack against royalist privateers operating from the Scilly Islands.
In 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...
Brederode was present under Tromp's command at the Battle of Goodwin Sands
Battle of Goodwin Sands
The naval Battle of Goodwin Sands , fought on 29 May 1652 , was the first engagement of the First Anglo-Dutch War between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands.- Background :The English Parliament had passed the first of the Navigation...
on 29 May 1652. After Tromp's failure to bring the English to battle off the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
in July, Tromp was relieved and Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel 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...
took over command. When De Ruyter was subordinated to De With in September, Brederode's crew refused to let the latter come on board to take command, so he had to content himself with the Prins Willem. Under De Ruyter, Brederode fought at the Battle of the Kentish Knock
Battle of the Kentish Knock
The Battle of the Kentish Knock was a naval battle between the fleets of the Dutch Republic and England, fought on 8 October 1652 New Style, during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the shoal called the Kentish Knock in the North Sea about thirty kilometres east of the mouth of the river Thames...
on 8 October 1652.
Battle of Dungeness
The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 10 December 1652 during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent.- Background :...
on 10 December 1652 where she came close to being captured, but was instrumental in that victory over the English. She fought again on 18 February 1653 at the Battle of Portland
Battle of Portland
The naval Battle of Portland, or Three Days' Battle took place during 28 February-2 March 1653 , during the First Anglo-Dutch War, when the fleet of the Commonwealth of England under General at Sea Robert Blake was attacked by a fleet of the Dutch Republic under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp...
and on 12 June 1653 at the Battle of the Gabbard
Battle of the Gabbard
The naval Battle of the Gabbard, also known as the Battle of Gabbard Bank, the Battle of the North Foreland or the second Battle of Nieuwpoort took place on 2–3 June 1653 according to the Old Style of Julian calendar then used in England during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the Gabbard...
, where she fought an exhausting but inconclusive duel with William Penn's flagship James. On that day, the first day of the battle, Tromp's men boarded the English ship but were beaten back; boarded in turn by the English, Tromp was only able to dislodge the boarders by blowing up Brederode's deck. On 13 June the English were joined by a squadron under Admiral Robert Blake
Robert Blake (admiral)
Robert Blake was one of the most important military commanders of the Commonwealth of England and one of the most famous English admirals of the 17th century. Blake is recognised as the chief founder of England's naval supremacy, a dominance subsequently inherited by the British Royal Navy into...
and the Dutch were scattered in defeat.
Brederode fought in the last major engagement of the war, the Battle of Scheveningen
Battle of Scheveningen
The Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War...
on 26 July 1653, when Tromp was killed. The acting flag captain
Flag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
(later Admiral) Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer
Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer
Egbert Bartholomeuszoon Kortenaer or Egbert Meussen Cortenaer was an admiral of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. His second name is also given as Bartolomeuszoon or Meeuwiszoon. All of these are variations on the patronym "Son of Bartholomew".Kortenaer was born in 1604 in Groningen of...
kept Tromp's standard raised after his death to keep up morale.
In the Northern Wars
Northern Wars
Northern Wars is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe in the 16th and 17th century. An internationally agreed nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised...
the United Provinces sent an expeditionary force to support Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in the war against Charles X of Sweden. In the Battle of the Sound
Battle of the Sound
The naval Battle of the Sound took place on 8 November 1658 during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Oresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had defeated Denmark and an army under Charles X of Sweden had Copenhagen itself under siege...
on 8 November 1658 the Dutch fleet, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam
Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam
Jacob, Banner Lord of Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek, Opmeer, Zuidwijk and Kernhem was a Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral, and supreme commander of the confederate Dutch navy. The name Obdam was then also spelled as Opdam...
, defeated a Swedish fleet and relieved the siege of Copenhagen. Van Wassenaer's flagship was Eendracht; De With commanded the van in Brederode; attacking the enemy without proper knowledge of the shoals he grounded his ship (after damaging Leoparden so much that this enemy vessel subsequently was lost by fire) and was surrounded; after many hours of fighting, Brederode was boarded by Wismar and De With mortally wounded. The partially burnt wreck was deemed unsalvagable.
The Brederode was, in Maas feet, about 132 ft (40.2 m). long by about 32 ft (9.8 m). wide by approximately 13.5 ft (4.1 m). deep. The English dimensions were very close to those figures. The published dimensions are in Maas feet of 308 mm, divided into 12 inches (304.8 mm). Everyone had assumed that the published dimensions were in Amsterdam feet of 283 mm, divided into 11 inches (279.4 mm). The Brederode was armed with 54 guns, which in 1652 included: 4 36-pdrs., 12 24-pdrs., and 8 18-pdrs. on the lower deck, 20 12-pdrs. on the upper deck, and 10-12 6-pdrs. on the forecastle, quarterdeck, and poop deck.