Inside Dutch Ship Batavia 1628 🇳🇱
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Published 2020-09-09
The Batavia although a merchant ship were also equipped to be able to mount a substantial defense of her crew and cargo. Merchant ships, although not a part of the Dutch navy in peace time, were capable of fending for themselves and in times of escalating tensions with other imperial, doubled as regular navy ships.
Exorbitantly expensive to build, these cargo ships were nonetheless immensely profitable, and was responsible for Dutch living standards living standards being the envy of her larger European neighbors.
At the height of what historians have dubbed the Dutch golden age in the, roughly most of the 17th century, the company that owned many of these ships, the VOC, or Dutch East India company was the most valuable company in the world.
So what exactly did the ships responsible for this wealth, power and glory look like? What was it like to be a sailor on such a ship? And what were conditions like during the journey? How did they navigate? Join me as I thoroughly investigate the Batavia, a replica of a Dutch VOC ship built almost 400 years ago.....
■ WEBSITE: www.batavialand.nl/
- For more information on Batavia (the ship) or Batavialand (The Museum Complex) which also houses the ship, see their website for details. The money raised through ticket sales at Batavialand goes to the much needed maintenance needed to keep this marvel of engineering in mint condition so anyone who so wishes can experience it first hand.
■ GETTING THERE: The Batavia ship is located 50 minutes by taxi from downtown Amsterdam in the city of Lelystad. You can also take a train or bus for a much cheaper journey. There is also a VOC replica ship at the Amsterdam Maritime Museum. I recommend visiting them both but if you only have time for one, the Batavia ship of Lelystad offers a better experience as well as having more historical and technical information available on site from the staff and volunteers.
■ FRED AS GUIDE: If you wish to meet Fred, the fantastic guide you saw in this video, he volunteers on Tuesdays. Contact the museum for more details.
■ GREAT MOVIE ON DUTCH NAVAL HISTORY: Michiel De Ruyter (2015)
All Comments (21)
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■ NEW INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/TheNorthmanReturns ■ Inside 2500 years old Greek warship: https://youtu.be/852X7knpjuQ 🇬
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Fred is one of the best volunteers I've ever seen. His enthusiasm is amazing. There is no doubt that he loves what he's does. Great for him!
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This guy has been waiting for this moment his whole life.
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He's like a character in a game introducing to you how the world functions.
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I immediately liked Fred, he is so enthusiastic and fun. you can see he really likes his job. You can also immediatelty tell that Fred is Dutch😂 Those pronunciations are the best😂 lekker bezig fred, hoop dat je nog veel plezier van dit werk hebt
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Lol: 'we then insert the kruit', lol he means gunpowder. Love it when dutchies just say dutch words in an english accent and then think its an english word.
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I actually love his accent, you can really hear it being a dutch person.
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Dear Harald, Amazing content, as usual. As a historian originating from the Netherlands, I have to correct you on some things, of which one I will discuss below. When you say that the economic strain to build a warship was significant compared to contemporary days, you will have to imagine that the Dutch Republic (or the Republic of the United Provinces) was then effectively ruled by firstly the state, but secondly, mighty commercial (one might even say the first multinational company) that was the VOC (Dutch East India Company) As they had almost a monopoly on spice trade from the east indies for a long time, warships in order to protect trade and the political integrity of the Republic (vital to economic interests) were also to a significant degree funded by these mighty economic powerhouses. The economic strain on building these on the state were therefore quite minimal. See it as an Amazon now funding a battleship for the USA in order to protect its own economic interests, would not be too big of a problem :)
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Defragged History has a 4 part retelling of the Batavia. From being built..the murders..the second planned mutiny, all the history. The gal does a bangup job pronouncing all those names. And no commercials!
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Best historical video ever. The guide is so enthused and passionate about his job that I hardly realize this vid was like an hour long😲😲🍷🍷
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It was lovely having you! You and Fred (aka Fritz) make a great duo. You are always welcome to visit us again!
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Guide:"pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon,... TEA!" Harald:"coke zero?"
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I saw this ship in Sydney, Australia back in the 1990's. An incredible experience and a testament to the skilled workers who put her together.
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This guide is absolutely amazing!! So much info, and straight from the heart!! No manuscript there! Cracking up a cold one, and getting ready for 1 hour of pure history gold!! You could NOT have a better guide :)
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What an guide! Super energetic and super funny, loved him. Wanna see him once again
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Tesla & Apple: I am the richest company in the world Dutch VOC: oh
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i love listening to guides who are passionate about their topic, they always know soo much more
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what an amazing dude Fred is!
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As a Dutchman with an interest in our naval tradition I still learned absolute shit tonnes from this video. Fred is an absolute treasure. Thanks Harald!
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Frits is quite expressive in telling the stories. He seems so proud of the Dutch's war glory
