Ridderschap van Holland (1682)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Dutch Republic
|
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| Name: | Ridderschap van Holland |
| Launched: | 1682 |
| Fate: | Disappeared 1694 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 520 tons |
| Length: | 164 ft (50 m) |
| Beam: | 39.5 ft (12.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
Ridderschap van Holland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɪdərsxɑp fɑn ˈɦɔlɑnt]; Knighthood of Holland) was a large retourschip ('return ship'), the largest class of merchantmen built by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to trade with the East Indies. In 1694 the ship sailed for Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) on her fifth voyage, but did not reach its destination and was never heard from again. She is now thought to have been shipwrecked off the west coast of Australia.
She was built in Amsterdam, Dutch Republic in 1682 by the VOC, and registered at Vlissingen. She was 164 feet long and 39.5 feet wide, with a gross tonnage of about 520 tons.
The Ridderschap van Holland undertook five voyages:
On 11 July 1693, the Ridderschap van Holland departed Wielingen on a voyage to Batavia under Captain Dirk de Lange. She arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 9 January 1694, remaining there until 5 February. She sailed from the Cape with a crew of around 300, and two passengers, including admiral Sir James Couper. She never reached her destination, and was never heard from again. Contemporary rumours suggested that she had sprung her mast rounding the Cape, limped north and been captured by pirates based at Fort Dauphin, near the south-eastern corner of Madagascar. However, Abraham Samuel, the pirate supposedly responsible, did not arrive in the area until 1697.
In 1697, Willem de Vlamingh was sent with three ships to search for the Ridderschap van Holland at Île Saint-Paul and Île Amsterdam, and then along the west coast of Australia. Nothing was found. Two years later, two ships made investigations while visiting Madagascar, but without success.
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