(

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

: "the seven provinces") was a Dutch

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 tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

, originally armed with 80 guns. The name of the ship refers to the seven autonomous provinces that made up the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

in the 17th century. The vessel was built in 1664-65 for the Admiralty of de Maze in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

by the master shipbuilder Salomon Jansz van den Tempel.

History

The ship served as Admiral

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, 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 ...

during the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...

, taking part in the Dutch victory at the Four Days Fight and the defeat at the St. James's Day Battle, and acting as a command post as well as blockading the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

during the

Raid on the Medway The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At th ...

. The vessel performed well throughout the war, though it was partially dismasted during the Four Days Fight. De Ruyter used as his flagship during the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...

of 1672-1673. The ship served in all four major battles against the combined English and French fleet, fighting in the

Battle of Solebay The Battle of Solebay took place on 6 June 1672 New Style, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, near Southwold, Suffolk, in eastern England. A Dutch States Navy, Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter attacked a combined Kingdom of England, Anglo-King ...

Battle of Schooneveld The Battles of Schooneveld were two naval battles of the Franco-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on 7 June and 14 June 1673 (New Style; 28 May and 4 June in the Julian calendar then in use in England) between an allied Anglo ...

and

Battle of the Texel The naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place off the western coast of the island of Texel on 21 August 1673 (11 August O.S.) between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets. It was the last major battle of the Thi ...

. In 1674 the ship went to the West Indies. In 1692 the ship, now armed with only 76 guns, fought at the

Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring ...

during the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. The vessel was severely damaged during the fight and, in 1694, had to be broken up.

Description

was 151 ft (46 m) long and 40 ft (over 12 m) wide, and had a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of over 15 ft (c. 4.7 m). It was 1600 tons and had a crew of 420. It was originally armed with twelve 36-pounders and sixteen 24-pounders on the lower deck (although this had changed to an all 36-pounder battery by the time of the Third Anglo-Dutch War), fourteen 18-pounders and twelve 12-pounders on the upper deck, and twenty-six 6-pounders on the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

, and

poop deck In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, , from Latin . Thus the poop deck is technic ...

Replica

In 1995 a full-size replica of the ship was started at the Batavia-werf (docks) in

Lelystad Lelystad () is a Dutch Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who en ...

; but due to severe technical problems that work was completely wrecked. In 2008, a new replica began to be constructed. On the evening of October 13, 2008, a fire ripped through the Batavia-werf. Although the sailmaking shed, several office buildings and part of a restaurant were destroyed, as were the sails of fellow replica ship '' Batavia'', the replica of "" nearby was undamaged. In 2014 work on the ship stopped due to lack of funding.

Citations

References

De 7 Provincien
(

). Bataviawerf - Nationaal Scheepshistorisch Centrum. Retrieved 2 December 2007.

External links

''De 7 Provinciën''
at the Bataviawerf {{DEFAULTSORT:De Zeven Provincien (1665) Ships of the line of the Dutch Republic Replica ships 1660s ships