History
Overview
The ship the Haan was a yacht of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). This smaller type of ship was used in inter-Asian trade. On previous voyages the ship the Haan transported goods such as sugar, diamonds and pepper. She formed part of the fleet under Reijersen that attacked Macao and occupied the Pescadores Islands in 1622.
On her last voyage she had Chinese porcelain and bars of silver on board. On the 20th of May 1628 the ship sank in the Bay of Batavia (present-day Jakarta). Batavia was the central hub of the VOC in Asia, making it one of the busiest ports in the region.
View of Batavia from the bay by Johannes Vingboons.
The daily registers of Batavia mention that the ship was lost around five to six miles from Batavia in 28 fathoms of water. The cause was said to be a sudden tempest that became fatal to the ships since the aft gun ports were left open. One boy was lost with the ship, the rest were saved, but the cargo was lost (Dagh-registers..., volume 1, p. 334).
Description
Tonnage: 75 last
Picture of a replica of a VOC yacht, the Duyfken, a ship similar in its type as the Haan.
| Tonnage | 150 ton (75 last) |
|---|
Status
The wreck of the Haan has been discovered in the beginning of the 21st century and excavated by the salvage company Maritime Explorations. This project was led by Michael Flecker, the director of Maritime Explorations. Reports regarding this excavation are not available at the moment and have yet to be released. Thus there is no archaeological information available on the site and its contents. Hopefully there will be an excavation report available in the future. All that is known comes from a short description by Michael Flecker in the Newsletter of the Nautical Archaeology Society stating the following:
"The VOC yacht Den Haan sank near Batavia. A European wreck on the outskirts of Jakarta Bay, 32 m long, with six visible iron cannon, Chinese porcelain, and silver bars, is thought to be the Den Haan."
Michael Flecker, 'Unreported shipwrecks in Indonesia', Nautical Archaeology (newsletter of the Nautical Archaeology Society UK) 2005.4, p. 6.
References
- Dutch-Asiatic Shipping.
Details of voyage 0268.1 from Texel to Jacatra. - Dagh-Register Batavia 1624-1629, 1896. Dagh-Register gehouden int Casteel Batavia vant passerende daer ter plaetse als over geheel Nederlandts-India Anno 1624-1629. - 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1896. [nl].
- NL-HNL-HaNA_1.04.02_4932_0032aNA_1.04.02_4932_0032.
- Michael Flecker, 'Unreported shipwrecks in Indonesia', Nautical Archaeology (newsletter of the Nautical Archaeology Society UK) 2005.4, p6.