Jonge Thomas

Jonge Thomas

Jonge Thomas in distress in 1773
History
Dutch Republic
Name	Jonge Thomas
Owner	Dutch East India Company Chamber of Amsterdam
Completed	1764
Fate	Wrecked on 25 July 1773 near Dishoek
General characteristics
Type	East Indiaman
Length	150 feet
Capacity	loading capacity: 1150 tons
Crew	296-360

Jonge Thomas, also written as De Jonge Thomas was an 18th-century East Indiaman of the Dutch East India Company.

During the last part of her fifth return voyage from Batavia, Dutch East Indies, she wrecked 25 July 1779 near Dishoek. Around 49 people drowned. 87 crew members were rescued during the rescue operation initiated by Frans Naerebout. The rescuers were rewarded, Naerebout became famous and received after his death a statue at Vlissingen. Pilot Thijs Wiegman was blamed for the disaster and was severely punished.

A range of depictions were made of the sinking of the ship and the rescue operation; many of them are in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Ship details

Jonge Thomas was built in 1764 in Amsterdam for the Chamber of Amsterdam. She was made of wood and was 150 feet long. She had a loading capacity of 1150 tons and a capacity for up to 360 crew members. The ship had capacity for 239-369 crew members.

History and fate

On 25 October 1765 she made her first voyage to Batavia under command of Jacob Wiebe. She had an intermediate stop at Cape of Good Hope for two weeks in March 1766 and arrived at Batavia on 25 June 1766. She continued the same year to Canton, China.

In total the ship completed three voyages to the Dutch East Indies.

During her fourth voyage to the Dutch East Indies, storm she lost her anchors during a storm and ran aground on a sand bar at Table Bay near Cape of Good Hope. Many lives were lost as the ship started to break up but a substantial number of survivors were left clinging to the hull. The stricken ship was not too far from dry land and many sailors attempted to swim ashore. Most of those who did so perished; the water was cold and the current from the nearby Salt River too great. Except for the very strongest swimmers, those who headed for the shore were carried out to sea.

A crowd of spectators stood on the beach. Some came to watch, others to try to help and yet others were hoping to loot the cargo that was being washed ashore. A detachment of soldiers was in attendance to keep order among the spectators. Governor Joachim van Plettenberg sent 30 soldiers to the beach, to guard the ship and prevent washed-up cargo from being stolen. Wolraad Woltemade, father of one of the soldiers, went to the beach to bring him food. After seeing the sinking ship he went with his horse into the water. Seven times he returned out of the water rescuing fourteen people; two people every time. During the eight rescue attempt he drowned with his horse due to fatigue and due to desperate sailors who cling to the horse.

He became famous for his heroic deed. Among others in 1774 a VOC ship was named after him, and a statue was made of him.

Aftermath

Investigation

Quickly after the disaster, the VOC started an investigation into the cause of the disaster. After ten meetings of the board of the VOC, they concluded that the ignorance of pilot Thijs Wiegman was the cause of the disaster. Wiegman was severely punished. He was flogged, branded and prisoned for six months. After that he was banished from Zeeland.

Cargo

Next to the question of the cause of the disaster, the VOC was mainly concerned of salvaging cargo. Abraham in 't Anker of the VOC was sent to salvage the cargo. The government sent fifty men to the beaches of Vlissingen to patrol and arrest beachcombers. However, goods that washed ashore were taken by the local people despite government control. Some of these items were later given to person responsible for the found items. The VOC hired divers to salvage goods, but this was not very successful. The VOC made a list of all recovered goods; the revenue of the sale of these goods and the amount they had to pay to the various fishermen who brought back goods.

Depictions

Yale Center for British Art Engel Hoogerheyden (1740-1807) made together with Czech-Dutch engraver Mathias de Sallieth (1749-1791) and engraver Arend Wzn Fokke a series of four copper engravings of the destruction of the Woestduin.

• 
  Woestduin in distress
• 
  Cutting down the masts
• 
  Woestduin smashed to pieces
• 
  The rescue operation

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has in their collection also a number of other depictions of the disaster of the Woestduin and rescue operation.

• 
  Depiction by Dirk de Jong
• 
  anonymous depiction
• 
  anonymous depiction
• 
  Depiction by Jacobus Buys