flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
. She was a Dutch 46-gun (later increased in 1637 to 57-gun)
ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...
. Built by Jan Salomonszoon van den Tempel for the Admiralty of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
in 1632, the ship was the largest Dutch warship built up to that time.
Dimensions
The gundeck length of this ship was measured at 132 Maas feet, equivalent to 144 Amsterdam feet or 133 ft 8 in (in English Imperial measurements). The maximum breadth was 32 Maas feet (equal to 35 ft 3 in Amsterdam feet, or 32 ft 6 in Imperial), and the depth in hold was 13½ Maas feet (equal to 14 ft 2 inches in Amsterdam feet, or 13 ft Imperial).
Service history
In 1635, the ship served as the flagship of Vice-Admiraal Witte Corneliszoon de With. In 1636, now carrying 54 guns, the ''Aemilia'', under Kapitein Gerrit Meyndertszoon den Uyl, was the flagship of Lieutenant-Admiraal Philip van Dorp. She was refitted in 1639 and recommissioned as a 57-gun ship Kapitein Barent Barentszoon Cramer, as the flagship of Lieutenant-Admiraal Maarten Tromp. She then took part in the blockading of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Beachy Head on 17 September on the same year. At the Battle of the Downs, on 21 October 1639, the vessel fought well under the personal command of Tromp.
She transported Queen Henrietta Marie from England to the Netherlands in February 1643, suffering extensive storm damage in the process. She was sold to France soon after and employed as a privateer in the Mediterranean before being defeated in battle and captured by two unnamed Spanish warships. She was last mentioned being taken to Naples in 1651 where the remains of her hull were scrapped.''Hollandse Mercurius'', 1651, p. 57.
References
James Bender, ''Dutch Warships in the Age of Sail 1600-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates'' (Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, 2014) .