Liefde was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...

that ran aground and sank during a storm in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

off the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, while she was on her fourth homeward voyage from the East under the command of Captain Meikens Barend.

Owners

''Liefde'' was built in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

by the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) as a frigate for voyages to the East.

Sinking

On 7 November 1711 ''Liefde'' was on her fourth homeward voyage from the East under the command of Captain Meikens Barend and with a crew of 300. She was thought to be carrying 32 guns as well as merchandise from the east, some 227,000 guilders in bags and 1800 silver and gold ducats. After a storm hit the ship, she ran aground and sank off the

leaving only one survivor of the entire crew. This individual, whose name is unknown, lodged with a local family for about a year before being taken off the island.

Wreck

About 2,000 guilders were salvaged by the local inhabitants during the year following the ship's sinking. In August 1965 Dutch coins were found washed ashore on the island of

Housay Housay ( sco, Housay), also known as West Isle, is one of the three islands that form the Out Skerries island group, the most easterly part of the Shetland Isles. Geography and geology Housay has the most complex geology of the Out Skerries, ...

in the

Out Skerries The Out Skerries are an archipelago of islets, some inhabited, in Shetland, Scotland, and are the easternmost part of Shetland. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries. Geography The Out Skerries lie about northeast of ...

by sub aqua divers. In 1968 the remains of the wreck were discovered on the southernmost tip of the island. They lie in a

cleft A cleft is an opening, fissure, or V-shaped indentation. Cleft may refer to: Linguistics * A cleft sentence, a type of grammatical construction Anatomy * Cleft lip and palate, a congenital deformity * A cleft chin, a dimple on the chin * The ...

called Dregging Geos on the Mio Ness peninsula.

References

Sailing ships of the Netherlands 1690s ships Shipwrecks in the North Sea Ships built in the Netherlands Ships of the Netherlands {{ship-stub