View source for Amsterdam (1748)

{{short description|18th-century cargo ship of the Dutch East India Company}}
{{other ships|Amsterdam (ship)}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2015}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|infobox caption=''Amsterdam''}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Replica VOC-schip Amsterdam.jpg
|Ship caption=The 1990 [[ship replica]] of the ''Amsterdam'' in front of the [[Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum|Netherlands Maritime Museum]] in [[Amsterdam]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Ship country=[[Dutch Republic]]
| Ship flag=[[Image:Flag of the Dutch East India Company.svg|60px]]
| Ship name=''Amsterdam''
| Ship namesake=The city of [[Amsterdam]]
| Ship owner=*[[Dutch East India Company]]
*Chamber of Amsterdam
| Ship completed=1748<ref name="vsn-ams48" />
| Ship maiden voyage=[[Texel]]–[[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]]
| Ship fate=[[Shipwreck|Wrecked]] in a storm in the [[English Channel]] on 26 January 1749
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Header caption=<ref name="scheepvaartmuseum">{{cite web
  | title = Eastindiaman Amsterdam
  | publisher = [[Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum]]
  | url = http://www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl/index.php?PageID=189
  | access-date = 2008-04-25
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080507220349/http://www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl/index.php?PageID=189
  | archive-date = 7 May 2008
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref>
| Ship type=[[East Indiaman]]
| Ship displacement=1100 tons
| Ship length={{convert|48.0|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam={{convert|11.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship height={{convert|56.0|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught={{convert|5.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship armament=42 guns
}}
|}

The '''''Amsterdam''''' ({{IPA|nl|ˌɑmstərˈdɑm|-|Nl-Amsterdam.ogg}}) was an 18th-century [[cargo ship]] of the [[Dutch East India Company]] (Dutch: ''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie''; ''VOC'').<ref name="huygens-amsterdam" /> The ship started its maiden voyage from [[Texel]] to [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] on 8 January 1749, but was wrecked in a storm on the [[English Channel]] on 26 January 1749. The [[shipwreck]] was discovered in 1969 in the bay of [[Bulverhythe]], near [[Hastings]] on the English south coast, and is sometimes visible during [[low tide]]s. The location in 1969 was found by Bill Young, the site agent/project manager for the sewage outfall being built by the William Press Group.  With time on his hands during the long stay away from home, he followed up the rumour of the going aground.  He was castigated by the Museum of London for scooping out the interior of the bow with a digger as it could have led to the structure collapsing.  However, it uncovered the initial items which led to a more extensive excavation of the cargo which reflected life at the time. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by [[Historic England]]. Some of the findings from the site are in The Shipwreck Museum in [[Hastings]]. A [[ship replica|replica]] of the ship is on display in [[Amsterdam]].

==Ship==
[[Image:Voc.jpg|thumb|The [[shipyard]] of the [[Dutch East India Company]] in [[Amsterdam]] around 1750]]

The ''Amsterdam'' was a Dutch [[:nl:spiegelretourschip|"Transom Return Ship"]] ({{lang-nl|Spiegelretourschip}}) built as an [[East Indiaman]] for transport between the [[Dutch Republic]] and the settlements and strongholds of the [[Dutch East India Company]] in the [[East Indies]]. On an outward voyage these ships carried [[gun]]s and [[brick]]s for the settlements and strongholds, and silver and golden coins to purchase Asian goods. On a return journey the ships carried the goods that were purchased, such as [[spice]]s, [[textile|fabrics]], and [[Chinese ceramics|china]]. In both directions the ships carried victuals, clothes, and tools for the sailors and soldiers on the ship. On an outward voyage of eight months, the ships were populated by around 240 men, and on a return journey by around 70.<ref name="scheepvaartmuseum"/>

The ''Amsterdam'' was built in the [[shipyard]] for the Amsterdam chamber of the [[Dutch East India Company]] in Amsterdam.<ref name="vsn-ams48" /> The ship was made of [[oak]] wood.<ref name="scheepvaartmuseum"/>

==Maiden voyage==
The maiden voyage of the ''Amsterdam'' was planned from the Dutch island [[Texel]] to the settlement [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] in the [[Indies|East Indies]]. The ship, commanded by the 33-year-old [[Captain (nautical)|captain]] Willem Klump, had 203 crew, 127 soldiers, and 5 passengers.<ref name="vsn-ams48" /> The ''Amsterdam'' was laden with textiles, wine, stone ballast, cannon, paper, pens, pipes, domestic goods and 27 chests of silver [[Dutch guilder|guilder]] coins. The whole cargo would be worth several million euros in modern money.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

On 15 November 1748 the ship made its first attempt but returned on 19 November 1748 due to an adverse wind. The ship made a second attempt on 21 November 1748, which also failed and from which the ship returned on 6 December 1748. The third attempt was made on 8 January 1749.<ref name="vsn-ams48" /> The ''Amsterdam'' had problems in the English Channel tacking into a strong westerly storm. For many days she got no further than [[Beachy Head]] near [[Eastbourne]]. An epidemic appeared amongst the crew and a [[mutiny]] broke out. Finally the [[rudder]] broke off and the ship, helpless in a storm, grounded in the mud and sand in the bay of [[Bulverhythe]] on 26 January 1749, {{cvt|5|km}} to the west of [[Hastings]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

She began to sink into the mud, where much of the keel remains today, perfectly preserved. Some of the cargo, including silver coinage, was removed for safekeeping by local authorities. There was an outbreak of fighting between scavengers and British troops had to be called in to bring the situation to order. The crew were looked after locally before being returned to [[Dutch Republic|Dutch soil]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

==Shipwreck==
[[File:VOC Amsterdam wreck at low tide (aerial) 02.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the wreck of the VOC ship ''Amsterdam'' at low tide.]]
In 1969, the ''Amsterdam'' was discovered after being exposed by a low [[spring tide]]. It is the best-preserved [[Dutch East India Company|VOC]] ship ever found. Archaeologist Peter Marsden did the first surveying of the wreck, and he advised further excavation.
[[File:VOC Amsterdam wreck at low tide.jpg|thumb|The VOC Amsterdam as visible at very low tide.]]
The wrecksite was designated under the [[Protection of Wrecks Act 1973|Protection of Wrecks Act]] on 5 February 1974.

The VOC Ship Amsterdam Foundation started researching the wreck, followed by major excavations in 1984, 1985 and 1986, during which huge numbers of artefacts were found. Although the wreck is submerged in the sand and mud of the beach (and is even visible at very low tides), much of the excavation was done by divers, for whom a small tower was constructed near the wreck. Additionally the wreck was surrounded by an iron girder frame. The archeological output was so dense that new ways of researching needed to be developed, all of which were needed to understand the technological, socio-economic and cultural features of the VOC. Some of the finds are on show at the [[Shipwreck Museum]] in [[Hastings]], East Sussex, UK, with the exception of the [[anchor]], which is now on display as [[public art]] at [[St Katharine Docks]] in [[London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMGY57_Amsterdam_Anchor_St_Katherine_Docks_London_England|title=Amsterdam Anchor St Katherine Docks London England|publisher=waymarking.com|access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref> The wreck is protected and diving on it or removing timbers or any artefacts is forbidden. The ship may be visited as the timbers are exposed at very low tides in the sand just opposite the footbridge over the railway line at Bulverhythe.

==Ship replica==
[[Image:V.O.C. Amsterdam replica ship in Amsterdam.jpg|thumb|The ship replica of the ''Amsterdam'' seen from the back]]

A  [[ship replica|replica]] of the ship was built in [[Iroko (hardwood)|Iroko]] wood by 300 volunteers using modern tools as well as tools of the period, between 1985 and 1990 at the Zouthaven (now Piet Heinkade), [[Amsterdam]]. It is moored next to the [[Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum|Netherlands Maritime Museum]], where it is open to visitors of the museum (which has now reopened after being closed for several years for renovations). 

As for the original ship, there had been hopes in the 1980s that the Dutch Government, which still owns it, might excavate the whole wreck and return it for restoration and display in Amsterdam, like the ''[[Regalskeppet Vasa]]'' in Sweden, or the ''[[Mary Rose]]'' in [[Portsmouth]], but the funds were not forthcoming. Several decks and much of the bowsprit lie submerged in the mud and are in remarkably good condition, being naturally preserved by the mud, and much of the cargo is still aboard.

==Popular culture==
[[Image:Madurodam 63.jpg|thumb|Scale model of the ''Amsterdam'' in [[Madurodam]] in [[The Hague]]]]

The [[comic book]] ''Angst op de "Amsterdam"'' of [[Spike and Suzy]] is about the ''Amsterdam''. The book was published in 1985 in [[The Red Series]] of Spike and Suzy.

In the miniature park [[Madurodam]] in [[The Hague]] is a model of the ''Amsterdam'' on a scale of 1:25. The [[Amsterdam Museum]] also has a wooden model of the ship with to the side a 'Camel' lifting mechanism.

Shanty Punk band [[Skinny Lister]], some of whom live in Hastings, released a single "Damn the Amsterdam" about the ship.

==References==
{{reflist |refs=
<ref name="huygens-amsterdam">{{cite web |url=http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/das/voyages?clear=1&field_voynameship=AMSTERDAM |title=The Dutch East India Company's shipping between the Netherlands and Asia 1595-1795 |website=huygens.knaw.nl |publisher=Huygens ING |access-date=2020-02-14 }}</ref>

<ref name="vsn-ams48">{{cite web |url=https://www.vocsite.nl/schepen/detail.html?id=10038 |title=Amsterdam (1748) |date=2020 |website=De VOCsite |publisher=Jaap van Overbeek |language=nl |access-date=2020-02-14 }}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Amsterdam (ship, 1748)}}
* {{in lang|nl}} [http://www.vocsite.nl/schepen/detail.html?id=10038 Gegevens VOC-schip Amsterdam 1748]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130326012300/http://www.vocschip-amsterdam.org/ The VOC ship Amsterdam Foundation (Dutch)]
* [http://voc.axiscam.net Webcam of the Foundation pointing at the wreck of the 'Amsterdam']
* [https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1000055 "''Amsterdam''" National Heritage List for England]

{{Maiden voyage sinkings}}{{Authority control}}
{{coord|50|50|48.83644|N|0|31|27.40984|E||display=title}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}

[[Category:1748 ships]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1749]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Museum ships in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Museums in Amsterdam]]
[[Category:Protected wrecks of England]]
[[Category:Replica ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Dutch East India Company]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the English Channel]]
[[Category:1748 in the Dutch Republic]]
[[Category:1749 in England]]