Leusden (ship)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leusden p1
Ship data
flag Republic of the Seven United ProvincesRepublic of the Seven United Provinces United Netherlands
Ship type Frigate ship
home port Amsterdam
Owner Dutch West India Company
Shipyard De Eendracht
Whereabouts 1738 wreck off Suriname
Ship dimensions and crew
length
over stern 33.98 m ( Lüa )
width 9.06 m
Draft Max. RT 3.68 m
 
crew 60
Rigging and rigging
Rigging Full ship
Number of masts 3

The Leusden was a slave ship of the Dutch West India Company (WIC) that sank off the coast of Suriname in 1738 . About 664 slaves died here,  more than in any other such disaster in the Netherlands' maritime history . The brutality of the crew towards the imprisoned victims played a particularly important role.

With the high number of nine completed trips of the Leusden in the Atlantic triangular trade , it also falls out of the frame. These trips were all carried out as slave transports, which is not documented for any other ship. Only on the tenth voyage, 18 years after construction, was the ship lost due to a stranding due to a navigation error. Another special feature of the Leusden was that it was designed, built and used as a slave transporter from the start and as the only ship of the WIC. Other ships of the WIC were only subsequently converted or later dismantled in order to be suitable for other uses.

Data about the ship

Technical drawing and perspective representation of the Wageningen, built by Gerbrand Slegt in 1723 , 131 voet (37.1 m) long and 36 cannons
Technical drawing by Paulus van Zwijndregt from Rotterdam of a 120 voet (33.9 m) long frigate ship

On October 25, 1718, the management of the WIC, the Heren Tien (the ten directors of the WIC consisting of five chambers) decided that a new ship was necessary for the voyages of 1719. The Amsterdam Chamber was commissioned with this. The shipbuilder Jan Gerbrandse Slegt (approx. 1677–1739) submitted the lowest bid and was awarded the contract. At the De Eendracht shipyard in Kattenburg , construction of the ship began on March 14, 1719 with the laying of the keel. From 1723 to 1725, Slegt built a total of eight warships for the Amsterdam Admiralty, ranging in size from 36 to 72 cannons. Several representations have been preserved on one sheet of the Wageningen , which is slightly larger at 131 voet (37.1 m) . They give an impression of what the ships built by this shipbuilder looked like. The Wageningen fulfilled the expectations placed on them and proved this on a campaign by a Dutch squadron against the North African barbarian states in 1724 in the Mediterranean. The first modern shipbuilding drawings were introduced by Paulus van Zwijndrecht (1681–1749) in the Netherlands at that time. One of these drawings has been preserved for a frigate ship of 120 voet (33.9 m) in length. This ship was supposed to be one and a half voet (almost 0.5 m) wider at almost 33.5 voet (9.5 m). In contrast, the dimensions for the depth of the room and the height between the decks are identical (i.e. 15 7/11 voet, 6 1/11 or 6 5/11 voet). This drawing gives an impression of what the Leusden might have looked like, as no representation of the ship is known. Further technical details are also not known, so that the final invoice for the construction of the ship can only provide general information about the ship. This also includes the dinghies. The Leusden then received a boat 28 voet (7.9 m) long, 9 voet (2.5 m) wide and a sloop 26 voet (7.3 m) long and 6½ voet (1.8 m) wide for 300  fl. For self-defense, the Leusden had twelve guns on board: two eight-pounders, four six-pounders, two four-pounders and four three-pounders. After this settlement, she had also received 8 anchors and two dragons for 1,524 fl.

The construction with equipment cost 53,094 guilders (fl) and, as usual, was paid in three terms: the first when the keel was laid, the second when the ship was launched and the last when the ship was handed over. In addition, additional work for staying in tropical waters and larger storage chambers was paid for at 4,565 fl. This work is called dowelling and includes the application of a second outer skin in the area of ​​the underwater hull . This second layer of planks is also connected with a coating of tar and is intended to prevent growth and infestation by shipworms .

The ship is probably named after the town of Leusden , a glory in the Eemland at the time. Owner was Cornelis Bors van Waveren (1662-1722), the alderman of Amsterdam, Director of the Society of Suriname and since 1693 Bewindhebber the WIC. In this function he was one of the clients for the construction of the ship. After the first voyage, which lasted almost a year and a half, the ship was renewed and expanded for 12,977 fl. The renewal of the outer skin was again carried out by Gerbrand Slegt for 1,229 fl. The larger amount of 6,683 fl went to renewing the rigging . After the eighth voyage, the ship was renewed at the expense of the Stad en Lande Chamber (old name for the city of Groningen and the Ommelanden ) for 19,980 fl.

The construction of the Leusden must have been so convincing that nine more ships were ordered after the same Zerter .

Rides

A special feature of the ship were the many slave trips . While other WIC ships, in addition to slave journeys, also used other routes with merchandise or went on smugglers' hunt as so-called cruisers , the Leusden with ten tours and exclusively slaves remained an exception in terms of the number of journeys and the lifetime of the ship. Calculated over all tours, only 73% of the slaves survived these crossings.

Travel data Departure Stations target Travel time captain slaves dead Survivors Selling price
December 26, 1719 - June 8, 1721 Texel Elmina , Loango , St. Eustatius Texel 530 days Jacob Thijl 465 59 +3 crew 406 unknown
January 15, 1722 - March 6, 1723 Texel Elmina, St. Eustatius Texel 429 days Pieter Ras 562 91 471 -10 shortly after arrival 90,440 fl
August 5, 1725 - June 7, 1726 Texel Elmina, Fida , Berbice , St. Eustatius Texel 409 days Pieter Ras 605 74 531 126,260 fl
August 5, 1725 - June 7, 1726 Texel Elmina, St. Eustatius Texel 306 days Jan Schamp 747 71 676 -5 shortly after arrival 165,633 fl
January 30, 1727 - May 22, 1728 Texel Elmina, Accra , Elmina, Suriname Texel 478 days Jan Schamp 748 +25 died before departure 41 682 -10 shortly after arrival 147,890 fl
March 21, 1729 - April 17, 1730 Texel Elmina, Jaquin , Suriname Texel 392 days Simon Ovens 708 72 636 -7 shortly after arrival 170,067.5 fl for 627 sold slaves
October 1, 1730 - February 23, 1732 Texel Elmina, Accra, Jaquin, Suriname Texel 510 days Bruijn Harmensz 629 76 553-2 shortly after arrival 141,520 fl
July 6, 1732 - November 14, 1733 Texel Elmina, Hollandia , Elmina, Appa , Suriname Texel 496 days Adries Graan 713 41 672-11 shortly after arrival 180,810 fl
August 5, 1734 - June 16, 1736 Texel Elmina, Appa, Chama , Elmina, Appa, Suriname Texel 680 days (with 122 days the longest Africa-America trip) Daniel te Velde 687-42 died before departure 367 280 -51 shortly after arrival 226 slaves sold for 48,645 fl
March 10, 1737 - January 1, 1738 Texel Elmina, Accra, Elmina Sinking off Suriname 296 (with 44 days the shortest Africa-America trip) Lodewijk Lodewijksz or Joachim Outjes (also: Aukens) 700? 716? 20? during the crossing, 664 slaves stranded Crew and 16 slaves 16 slaves sold for 4,140 florins
Dutch and English slave ships off the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Eustatius, 1763. This island was the destination of the Leusden on their first four voyages.

Until the fourth voyage, the destination was St. Eustatius . But since the WIC decided in 1727 not to sell any more slaves there, the colony of Suriname was designated as the destination from the fifth trip. There the WIC was able to sell its slaves at even higher prices. But the reasons for the change are assessed differently in research.

In addition to the usual problems on these trips, only three incidents were reported. Normal problems included trouble getting the ship properly manned and buying enough slaves. No other possible obstacles such as storms or slacks, epidemics or supply problems are known. On the fifth voyage, two Portuguese ships attacked the anchored Leusden on the coast of what is now Liberia on March 17, 1727 and the s '' Graveland that has accompanied them since Texel . While the Leusden set all sails and escaped, the smaller s' Graveland surrendered . The Portuguese were much more heavily armed with 40 to 50 guns each, so that a battle seemed hopeless. Nevertheless, an internal investigation procedure was initiated by the WIC. In particular, the captain of the Leusden had to answer as commander of both ships and was dismissed from service together with the other captain, Adriaan van der Parre.

Only two major slave revolts have come down to us, one during the sixth trip, which was only known from letters from the WIC administration, and a second during the seventh trip. Five crew members were killed in the process. The number of victims among the insurgents is unknown. One was sentenced to death on the ship, another questioned under torture in Suriname without result and later sold.

The downfall

On the map section from 1853, the arrowhead points roughly to one of the sandbanks, the Tijgerbank , where Leusden could have sunk in 1738.

The last trip started in Texel, for the Stad en Lande Chamber , and led back to Elmina via Elmina and Accra. Captain Lodewijksz died there on September 11, 1737 after two months of illness and was replaced by Joachim Outjes. Klaas Non replaced the unloved 1st helmsman Dirk Winja. On November 19, the ship sailed from Elmina with destination Suriname. There are different information about the number of slaves on board and the exact departure date. In a letter dated October 4, 1737 with the report of the death of the captain, there were 600 slaves on board. The Leusden is said to have sailed from Elmina to Suriname with 700 slaves. The last 100 or 116 were bought after October 4th. Both the number 700 and 716 slaves are mentioned in documents.

The weather was ideal until December 30th, when the ship was level with the Devil's Islands off the coast of French Guiana . Then there was heavy rain and squalls with poor visibility. On January 1st, the crew believed they were at the mouth of the Suriname River . In fact, they were in front of the Marowijne estuary . In the crew report on the sinking, four vadem (6.8 m) water depth and mud bottom are reported. The river mouth, which was only visible when there were gaps in the rain wall, was sounded south-south- west and the ship's command set a north-north-west course in order to gain distance from the land and get into deeper water. However, the depth remained at 4 ½  vadem (7.6 m). It was therefore decided to drop anchor and send a reconnaissance party ashore on the sloop with the third helmsman. They lay over a shoal, were driven into shallow areas at high tide and touched down with the oar first at low tide. Although the rudder seemed to be secured with so-called horse and care lines , it was unhinge and drifted away. At the same time, torrential lakes broke over the stern and devastated the cabin and the constables' chamber located there. During the attempt to lift the anchor, the impacts loosened the bandages, so that more water penetrated the hull than the pumps could carry out. When the Leusden ran aground, the slaves were on deck to distribute the food ration. Since Captain Outjes feared a revolt by the slaves, he ordered them to be brought back below deck quickly and had the hatches and companionways boarded up. The ship slowly filled up and began to lean and slowly capsize. The masts were cut to relieve the strain. The crew and 16 slaves on deck stayed overnight on the upper deck of the wreck. The following morning, January 2, 1738, the reconnaissance party returned and it was decided to abandon the ship. Those trapped below deck had suffocated or drowned during the night. Since the exact number of slaves was not known at the time of the sinking, the number of those killed is difficult to determine. The governor of Suriname van der Schepper writes to the Heren Tien that about 680 slaves were on board. In the “Amsterdamsche Dingsdaegse Courant” of April 8, 1738, 670 slaves are reported. Assuming the number 680 is most likely and subtracting the 16 documented surviving slaves, 664 slaves are likely to have died. The exact location of the sinking in the Marowijne estuary is unknown.

The survivors set off with the dinghies in search of the Suriname River. In addition to some clothing for the crew, a small box with around 23 kg of gold , originally intended for the Danish West India Company , was also taken away. The group arrived in Paramaribo on January 4th, and most of them then drove back to the Netherlands, divided into different ships. It is assumed that the 16 slaves were deposited in the slave magazine. Their sale brought in 4,140 fl. At a meeting of the Heren Tien on April 30, 1738, not only was information about the fall of the Leusden , but the WIC's monopoly on the transport of slaves to Suriname was also given up. Otherwise, the company management only rated the ship disaster as serious material damage for the WIC.

The downfall of the Leusden with the assumed 664 dead was not an ordinary misfortune. There was, for example, the Danish Cron Prinsen with 826 deaths and the French Badine with 686 victims, catastrophes with slave ships with higher numbers of victims, but these two and many others were accidents caused by powder explosions or capsizing. In those cases the disaster happened suddenly and the victims met their fate by chance, even among the crews from Europe. Not so with Leusden ; there the entrances were deliberately sealed and the death of the slaves was accepted by the crew.

"As canteens bestonden zij al niet meer toen zij are ingescheept."

"They were no longer considered human when they were embarked."

- Leo Balai : Het slavenschip Leusden. P. 206

Further development

After the financial losses caused by the downfall, the WIC's Heren Tien lifted their monopoly on the transport of slaves to America. Dutch slave traders were gradually driven out of the market and English traders increased their share, which was increasing overall. With the abandonment of this monopoly position, the WIC was the only trading company that voluntarily gave up its exclusive trade patent. The Dutch slave transport was then mainly organized by shipping companies from Zeeland . It was not until 1814, under pressure from the British, that the slave trade was officially prohibited by the Netherlands, and slavery was abolished another 50 years later.

Only after Leo Balai's research and the publication of his book Het slavenschip Leusden in 2011 did this tragedy become public. Sandbanks off the French as well as the Surinamese side of the Marowijne estuary come into question as possible locations for the sinking of the Leusden . A maritime project of the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, scheduled for 2012, is to search for the Leusden wreck site. The area of ​​possible remnants of the Leusden is estimated at around 30 km².

Web links

  • Exhibition at the Amsterdam Maritime Museum : “De zwarte Bladzijde” from June 27, 2013 to August 31, 2014. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the Dutch colonies, Dutch-directed slavery and the fall of the Leusden are discussed. Visited Link on January 16, 2015.
  • Data sheet on Leusden in the MACHU (Managing Cultural Heritage Underwater) project. Visited on February 14, 2014.
  • Project description ( memento of February 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) for the search for the Leusden wreck . Visited on February 14, 2014. No longer available (February 12, 2016), the link provided leads to the version from the Internet Archive.

literature

  • Leo Balai [Leonard Willem Balai]: Het slavenschip Leusden. Slavenschepen en de West-Indische Compagnie, 1720-1738 . Walburg Pers, Zutphen 2011, ISBN 978-90-5730-729-4 .
  • Cynthia McLeod : Tutuba, het meisje van het slavenschip Leusden. Historical novella . Uitgeverij Conserve, Schoorl 2013, ISBN 978-90-5429-357-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 127.
  2. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 127; 120 voet
  3. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 127; 32 voet
  4. ↑ Balai, Leusden , pp. 127, 128 with a reconstruction drawing by AJ Hoving and AA Lemmers; Room depth 15 7/11 voet, intermediate deck height 6 1/11 voet (1.86 m)
  5. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 130; Balai calculated an average crew of 56 men for all trips (p. 197).
  6. ↑ The history of the ship was not known until Leo Balai published it about the ship. Therefore, all information has been taken from his scientific qualification document. Other publications on the ship are not known so far (February 16, 2014).
  7. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 15.
  8. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 125.
  9. ↑ For 1719 at least five tours were decided. Of these, the Amsterdam Chamber was to carry out the third and fifth tours according to a fixed distribution key among the individual chambers. For the third tour, a new ship should either be bought or built yourself. Balai, Leusden , p. 125.
  10. ↑ The minimum provider was chosen. Slegt offered 20,000 guilders on the condition that the company provided the entire ironwork (nails, tapes, bolts) itself. Balai, Leusden , p. 125, N. 384, N 385.
  11. ^ JR Bruijn: De Admiraliteit van Amsterdam in rustige Jaren 1713-1751. Regenten en financien, schepen en zeevarenden. Amsterdam 1970, pp. 169-171.
  12. ↑ The Amsterdam foot, which is often used in Dutch shipbuilding, is used here. This is made up of 11 thumbs. The length of the Amsterdam foot is given as 0.283 m.
  13. ↑ The plans of these ships have been preserved in the Utrecht University Library. On the drawing of the Meervliet is the inscription: "door Gerbrant Slegt en slegt uytgevallen" (AJ Hoving, AA Lemmer: In tekening. Amsterdam 2001, p. 32; German: by Gerbrand Slegt and failed).
  14. ^ Bruijn, Admiralty van Amsterdam, p. 28.
  15. ↑ The fractions mean 7 duimen (thumb) of the Amsterdam foot measurement with 11 thumbs, i.e. 6 out of 11. The depth of the room is 4.42 m, the height between the decks 1.86 m. Balai, Leusden , p. 277.
  16. ^ Balai, Leusden , p. 284.
  17. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 130.
  18. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 283.
  19. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 126; The complete statement is attached as Annex 9, pp. 282–284. All recipients of the different trades are listed with their amounts. The scheepstimmerman Slegt received twice 7,000 and once 6,000 guilders on these three dates.
  20. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 126.
  21. ↑ Balai, Leusden , pp. 91, 127.
  22. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 142.
  23. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 174.
  24. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 98.
  25. ↑ a b c d Balai, Leusden , p. 140.
  26. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 149.
  27. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 155.
  28. ^ Balai, Leusden , p. 160.
  29. ↑ a b c d e f Balai, Leusden , p. 165.
  30. ^ Balai, Leusden , p. 167.
  31. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 169.
  32. ^ Balai, Leusden , p. 171.
  33. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 179.
  34. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 193.
  35. ↑ a b Balai, Leusden , p. 195.
  36. ↑ a b c Balai, Leusden , p. 197.
  37. ↑ a b c Balai, Leusden , p. 198.
  38. ↑ Balai, Leusden , pp. 184-186.
  39. ↑ Balai, Leusden , pp. 187-190.
  40. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 195; The captain mentions 700 slaves, while the general manager gives 716 to the Heren Tien . The departure date also differs by one day. Balai relies on the information provided by the captain, as he had to countersign to receive the slaves.
  41. ↑ VOCsite.nl visited vocsite.nl on February 22nd, 2014.
  42. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 341.
  43. ^ Balai, Leusden , p. 342.
  44. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 196.
  45. ↑ Eleven men, three women and two boys; Balai, Leusden , p. 197.
  46. ↑ There is no clarity about the number of survivors. The governor reported 73 sailors. But this number is too much for seafarers. Soldiers may have been included as well. He also reported the wrong number of surviving prisoners at 14. In addition, Elmina's former oppercommis , Florentinus Camper, was on board as a passenger . It is also unknown whether the ship's command and the company representatives were also added to the matrooses .
  47. ↑ Balai, Leusden , pp. 47-50, 199.
  48. ↑ Balai, Leusden , p. 201.
  49. ^ Thus the Middelburgse Commercie Compagnie became the largest and most successful slave trader in the republic; Theodorus Niemeijer: Een strijdbaar Zeekapitein. Evert Blonkebijle Corneliszoon (1696-1769). In: JR Bruijn (Red.): Marinekapiteins uit de achttiende eeuw. Een Zeeuws elftal. Middelburg 2000. p. 66.
  50. ↑ Balai, Leusden , pp. 21-22.
  51. ↑ Report on NOS.nl, April 16, 2013.

Coordinates: 5 ° 48 ′ 0 ″  N , 53 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  W.

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on February 22, 2014 .