The Rede van Texel, formerly Reede van Texel, was a

roadstead A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5- ...

off the Dutch island of Texel. It was of considerable importance to Dutch long-distance shipping between roughly 1500 and 1800.Fort De Schans op Texel (ca.1574)
historiek.net, 18 July 2017. The Rede van Texel was located off the east side of the island, near the town of Oudeschild.

Functions

At the roadstead ships from cities around the Zuiderzee safely anchored and waited for favourable sailing conditions, hired

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and picked up provisions and sometimes additional crewmembers. A lot of

transloading Transloading, also known as cross-docking, is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, such as when goods must be shipped in ...

was done at the Rede van Texel, as the

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

s of the Zuiderzee prevented most ships from sailing to and from their ports fully laden. The ships anchoring at the Rede van Texel, sometimes up to 150 together, were mainly merchantmen, most notably from the Dutch East India Company, but also whalers and war ships. For the island of Texel the roadstead meant a substantial source of income.

Safety

The safety that the roadstead provided was only relative. Frequently storms would damage or sink ships, sometimes dozens in one day.Onderwaterarcheologie op de Rede van Texel
maritiem erfgoed.nl, 27 August 2015. Some 44 fully laden merchantmen were lost on Christmas Eve 1593, littering the east coast of Texel with bodies and wreckage. The Dutch

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

and poet Roemer Visscher suffered a sizeable loss that night and named his third daughter

Maria Tesselschade Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher, also called Maria Tesselschade Roemersdochter Visscher or Tesselschade (25 March 1594 – 20 June 1649) was a Dutch poet and glass engraver. Life Tesselschade was born in Amsterdam, the youngest of three ...

(''Texel Damage'') after the disaster. In December 1660 upwards of 100 ships may have been lost in a storm at the Rede van Texel. It is estimated that a total of between 500 and 1000 ships were sunk at the roadstead. In 1574 William the Silent had a fort built near Oudeschild to protect the Rede van Texel, which must have been one of the busiest ports at the time.

Decline

In the course of the nineteenth century the Rede van Texel lost most of its purpose. Both the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War and the

French occupation French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

had already been disastrous for Dutch merchant shipping, with a decline of activity at the roadstead in its wake. This was followed by the opening of the

Noordhollandsch Kanaal The Noordhollandsch Kanaal ("Great North Holland Canal") is a canal originally meant for ocean-going ships. It is located in North Holland, Netherlands. The canal was of great significance in Dutch history. Location The canal is about 75 ki ...

in 1824, bypassing Texel to some extent, and the introduction of the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

, which didn't have to wait for favourable winds. The opening of the North Sea Canal finished what was left of the roadstead, as ships from the mainport of Amsterdam bypassed Texel altogether.

Sources

* Vos, A.D. (2012);
Onderwaterarcheologie op de Rede van Texel
', Nederlandse Archeologische Rapporten 041 (

Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) often abbreviated as Cultureel Erfgoed, is a Dutch heritage organisation working for the protection and conservation of National Heritage Sites. It is located ...

, Amersfoort), p. 37-47. {{Reflist Roadsteads of Europe History of North Holland