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stepping stones of maritime history

History

Identity found

In 2015, an anomaly on the seabed was discovered near Eastbourne off the English coast. In 2019, David Ronann, the owner of a local diving company, confirmed it was a shipwreck, lying at a depth of 32 meters. This was subsequently researched by the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS). In 2020, all clues indicated that it concerned a Dutch warship, upon which the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) paid for further research by the NAS. By combining the archaeological evidence of the construction of the ship and the cargo with location and archival research, it was concluded that the wreck is the Klein Hollandia, a ship of the line built for the admiralty of Rotterdam (Maze) in 1653.

A diver examining the floor of the galley of the Klein Hollandia.

NAS, Martin Davies

A diver examining the galley floor of the Klein Hollandia with the brick fireproof floor clearly visible.

History

The Klein Hollandia took part in the battle in the Sound on October 29, 1658 under Admiral Wassenaar van Opdam. The flag captain of the Klein Hollandia then was Laurens Heemskerk. The Republic of the Netherlands supported Denmark against the Swedish king Charles X Gustavus who had started an offensive against Denmark. Dutch help arrived just in time. They forced the Swedish fleet to lift the blockade of Copenhagen, though the success did have a price. Vice Admiral Witte de With was killed and his flagship the Brederode was lost.

The Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667)

At the Battle of Lowestoft (June 13th, 1665), the Klein Hollandia was the flagship of vice admiral Johan de Liefde. She was then armed with 57 guns and there were 264 men on board. She also participated in the Four Day's Battle (June 11-14, 1666), under captain Evert van Gelder. During this battle, the ship was armed with 54 guns and there were 250 men on board (220 sailors and 30 soldiers). She also participated in the famous Raid on Chatham in 1667 under Michiel de Ruiter.

De vierdaagse zeeslag door Pieter Cornelisz van Soest, 1666.

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (public domain)

The Four Day's Battle by Pieter Cornelisz van Soest, 1666.

English surprise attack on the Smyrna fleet

The Klein Hollandia was an older ship when it was sent out in 1671 in the squadron of of five ships under Admiral de Haese to escort the so-called Smyrna fleet of 65 richly laden merchant ships (named after the departure port, present-day Izmir in Turkey) to the Netherlands. In times of war with England or France, Dutch merchant ships coming from the Mediterranean were often organised in fleets that were accompanied by a few warships. In her final years, and also during this escort, the Klein Hollandia was under the command of captain Jan Jacob van Nes (who had the nickname Oude Boer Jaap, 'Old Farmer Jack' - he was already 66 during the Raid on Chatham!

At the Isle of Wight the fleet was attacked by an English squadron under admiral Holmes (with twelve to fifteen ships). A fierce battle broke out and on the second day, March 23rd, the Klein Hollandia was damaged severely and captain van Nes was killed in action. The ship was boarded and conquered. But shortly after this, when the English tried to sail her to a port, the Klein Hollandia sank with the Dutch and British sailors on board. Newspapers widely reported on this tragic event.

This provocative and well-executed action by a small squadron under Sir Robert Holmes and Sir Frescheville Holles against the Dutch Smyna convoy returning from the Mediterranean heralded the start of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

Royal Museums Greenwich

Holmes' attack on the Dutch Smyrna fleet.

Description

The Klein Hollandia was built in a program started by the Dutch government after the start of the First Anglo-Dutch war that involved the building of 30 new warships.

The dimensions when the ship was build were (in Rotterdam feet): 134 feet long, 33 feet wide and 20 feet high. This was slightly different then it had been stipulated in the charter (the building instructions) because the shipwright thought this would give the ship better sailing abilities.

Yard: admiralty yard, Rotterdam

Shipwright: Jacob Jansz Wittert

MasterNes, J. Jzn
People on board264
Length134 Amsterdam feet (37.9 m)
Width33 Amsterdam feet (9.3 m)
Draft14.1 Amsterdam feet (4 m)

Status

From 2020 onward, research has been done on the wrecksite by maritime archaeologists from the Netherlands and Britain (from the RCE, NAS and Historic England). The project is headed by Martijn Manders (RCE) and Mark Beattie-Edwards (NAS). An important part of this focused on identifying the ship.

A diver holding a jug from the cargo of the Klein Hollandia.

NAS, James Clark

A diver holding one of the jugs from the cargo of the Klein Hollandia.

Major factors that contributed to this were the dendrochronological analysis and the nature of the cargo. A part of the cargo of the wreck consisted of high quality marble. Microscopic research indicated that this marble was from the Apuan Alps in Italy. Archive records show that the Klein Hollandia had this type of marble on board, probably intended for wealthy houses in the Netherlands. It was quite common in this period for warships to take along some cargo on routes like this, often intended for the private trade and profit of the officers. Even though this was forbidden, many captains did this since it was so lucrative - and archive sources show that captain van Nes was suspected of this.

An English news channel (5News) reporting on the Klein Hollandia.

Dutch maritime heritage in British waters

The wreck and its contents are in a very good condition considering the age and it will be able to provide a wealth of information on the warships of this period. The international collaboration between the institutions from the UK and the Netherlands was groundbreaking and very fruitful. This forms a part of a larger campaign of projects around maritime heritage and fieldwork in which these two countries closely co-operate to preserve their shared maritime heritage. Both countries acknowledge the importance of this co-operation and aim to prolong this through joint research and creating conditions to preserve maritime heritage in the future.

Historic England and the RCE have collaborated before on the research on the Rooswijk, a Dutch East Indiaman (VOC) ship that was lost on the Goodwin Sands in 1740.

References

MaSS