Admiralty of Hamburg
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The Admiralty of Hamburg from 1690 was a frigate that sailed under the Hamburg flag and was officially called a convoy ship . It was commissioned by the Hamburg Admiralty and the Hamburg Trade Union and had the task of accompanying ship convoys to Hamburg's overseas trading partners and protecting them from enemy attacks or attacks by corsairs.
General historical background
After the power fall of the Hanseatic League in the 16th century, Hamburg increasingly gained in economic importance and became one of the most important urban trading centers, with trade relations stretching from Greenland to the Mediterranean and White Seas . In the Mediterranean region in particular, the merchant convoys were often attacked by Muslim corsairs , who took the ships as prizes , stole the cargoes and often enslaved the ship's crews or arrested them under the worst conditions until a ransom was paid. This led to the establishment of ransom insurance and fundraising to buy the crews out.
Further economic difficulties arose for Hamburg through the various European wars, which also had an impact on seafaring. Several countries countered the threat posed by pirate ships of belligerent powers with frigates or warships as escorts for merchant ships, which Hamburg also decided to do. In 1623 the Hamburg Admiralty was founded, which was responsible for the construction, equipment and maintenance of these ships. Only after around 40 years were financial and organizational issues cleared up to such an extent that the first convoy ships - the term "warship" was expressly avoided - could be built.
Special situation in Hamburg and history of origin
In 1618 the Imperial Court of Justice confirmed Hamburg's status as a Free Imperial City of the German Empire. However, the Danish crown did not recognize this judgment and continued to regard Hamburg as part of their Duchy of Holstein . In 1686, after internal unrest, there was an external conflict with the Principality of Lüneburg , in which Hamburg's interim rulers asked the Danish King Christian V for assistance. He saw this as an opportunity to actually place Hamburg under Danish rule and, in addition to an immediate homage and 400,000 rich thalers contribution , demanded the handover of the city keys and the tolerance of a 2000-man Danish crew. In order to emphasize his demands, Christian V appeared on August 26, 1686 with an army of 16,500 men before Hamburg and involved the city in violent fighting. As a result, the mood in the city turned overnight in favor of an alliance with the Principality of Lüneburg-Celle, which sent appropriate auxiliary troops to support. Hamburg was able to defend itself successfully with the help of these troops, so that King Christian V withdrew after a settlement.
Around 1690, during these troubled times, Hamburg's rulers decided to provide more security, especially for merchant shipping, which is important for Hamburg, by commissioning an additional new convoy ship. Another reason for the construction was the need to provide the so-called "English Court" (the branch of English merchants in Hamburg) with an economic counterpoint, as this very successfully led relatively one-sided trade relations with the city of Hamburg - in return, however, Hamburg convoys Hardly came to England due to the lack of escort protection.
construction
The Admiralty of Hamburg from 1690 was the only Hamburg convoy ship with this name. The shipbuilders based themselves on Dutch shipbuilding models, which were characterized by a rather shallow draft. For the first time it was planned to reduce the armament compared to previous convoy ships, so that the ship should be equipped with 44 cannons. Christian Precht , who had previously decorated the convoy ships Wapen von Hamburg and Leopoldus Primus , could again be engaged for the carving .
In fact, the number of guns at the Admiralty of Hamburg, built in 1690, was reduced to 44 for the first time, as planned.
Composition of the ship's crew of the Admiralty of Hamburg
| number | Function (rank / grade) | Salary (month) / note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | captain | 150 thalers |
| 1 | Lieutenant | 150 thalers |
| 1 | Helmsman | 150 thalers |
| 1 | Skipper | 150 thalers |
| 1 | Commander of the soldiers | 30 thalers |
| 60 | soldiers | 12 thalers |
| about 140 | Cabin boys | 7 ½ thalers |
| 2 | Küper | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 1 | Cook's mate | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 4th | Quartermaster | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 2 | Sailmaker | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 1 | Under barber | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 1 | Chief Boatswain's Mate | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 8th | Büssenschütte (r) | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 1 | Schimmannsmaat (also: Schiemann) | between 7 ½ and 24 thalers |
| 1 | Top trumpeter | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 4th | Under trumpeter | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 2 | Constabel | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Fireworkers | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Middle carpenter | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Head carpenter | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Clerk | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Schimmann (also: Schiemann) | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | barber | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | cook | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Main boatswain | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | Understeer | not exactly numbered, but sufficient for a secure existence |
| 1 | cutter | not exactly numbered, very little in relation to all other crew members |
| 1 | sculptor | not exactly numbered, very little in relation to all other crew members |
| 1 | Glaziers | not exactly numbered, very little in relation to all other crew members |
| 1 | painter | not exactly numbered, very little in relation to all other crew members |
| 1 | Chaplains | least of all crew members |
period of service
In November 1691 the Admiralty of Hamburg set sail for the first time under Captain Marinsen to the west. Later the ship was also commanded by the captains Georg Schröder and finally Martin Schröder .
The Admiralty of Hamburg made a total of 32 convoy trips between 1691 and 1728, making it the ship with the most convoy missions after the Leopoldus Primus . Most of them led to England (21) and towards the Iberian Peninsula (9).
The ship was dismantled in 1738 and finally sold in 1748.
See also
- Wapen of Hamburg (I)
- Wapen of Hamburg (II)
- Wapen of Hamburg (III)
- Wapen of Hamburg (IV)
- Leopoldus Primus
- Coat of arms of Bremen (Bremen)
- Friedrich Wilhelm on Horseback (Brandenburg-Prussia)
literature
- Kurt Grobecker: Hamburg's proud frigates against the corsairs - convoy ship (f) is sailing in the 17th century . Medien-Verlag Schubert, Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-937843-12-4
- Jörgen Bracker: God's friend - the world's enemy / From piracy and convoy travel / Störtebeker and the consequences . Zertani printing and publishing house, Bremen 2001, ISBN 3-9805772-5-2
- Georg Dietrich von der Groeben : Explanations on understanding shipping and naval warfare according to alphabetical order , published in 1774, Breßlau. Reprint of the original edition: Neufahrn / Percha 1984, ISBN 3-88706-235-3
- Carlo M. Cipolla: Sails and Cannons - The European Expansion at Sea . Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-8031-3602-4 .
- W. zu Mondfeld, A. Bayerlein, M. Klingenbrunn: Ship Guns 1350-1870 , Volume 1. Herford 1988.
- Herman Langenbeck: Comments on the Hamburg ship and sea law . Hamburg 1727.
- Klaus Weber: German merchants in the Atlantic trade, 1680-1830, companies and families in Hamburg, Cádiz and Bordeaux . Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-406-51860-5
- Carl W. Reinhold, Georg Nikolaus Bärmann: Hamburg chronicle of the development of the city up to our days . Hamburg 1820
- Peter Hessel: Heart-flowing considerations / From the Elbe river . Altona 1675.
Web links
- Convoy system. Hamburg Chamber of Commerce
Individual evidence
- ↑ The city council occasionally referred to the ships in its writings as "Orlog" ships, meaning warships. The Admiralty as well as the merchants asserted externally that the ships would always serve the protection and defense of merchant goods and were not commissioned for acts of war in Hamburg.
- ↑ Apparently there are contradicting statements about the origin of the figure: According to the information board at the Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte in Hamburg, the figure is not assigned to a known artist, whereas common literature attributes it to C. Precht
- ↑ When the ship was in the roadstead in Hamburg, the guns were removed from the ship and stored in the convoy arsenal. During attacks on the city, these cannons were brought to the city walls and used when necessary. The Wapen von Hamburg (II) was originally intended to be reduced to a 44-gun ship - in fact, it was later decided to equip this ship with over 50 guns like its predecessor of the same name. It was not until the Admiralty of Hamburg that the first convoy ship after 1689 was equipped with a smaller number of cannons.
- ↑ a Büssen Schütte (s) you would in modern terms as a rifle shooter call, so a sniper who fought by the soldiers deck of a sailing warship from the enemy
- ↑ Schimmann's assistant, see Schimmann
- ↑ According to Pierer's Universal-Lexikon p. 164, (Altenburg 1862), Constabel stores in a special chamber on board the ship the loading equipment, guns and the like, as well as the "mouth supply". He is a non-commissioned officer in the ship artillery.
- ↑ Schiemann . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 15 . Altenburg 1862, p. 155 ( zeno.org ). "Schiemann, on warships (is) a non-commissioned officer following the boatswain, who takes the rope and the like. Has the foremast sails under his supervision; the Schiemanns Mat, as it were his assistant, is in charge of the rigging of the bowsprit; those under the direct command of the Schiemmannsmat u. The sailors who keep watch with him are called Schiemannsgasten. The former are also called cable or bosun guests, because the bosun especially has the ropes under his supervision. The most skilful of these sailors (Martians) are employed in the mast baskets and the like. intended for the government of the upper sails, etc. Hence Schiemannen, the rigging u. mend the cordage. "
- ↑ At that time it was common in Hamburg to buy into the role of captain. In addition to numerous advocates, the applicant had to have a not insignificant amount of money to be able to take up a position. A captain of a convoy ship was paid 150 thalers a month , so it took a certain amount of time before the work was amortized. The selection of the captains was made by the convoy college. A convoy ship captain received a fixed salary and pension for life.