Jonge Thomas
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 Jonge Thomas in distress in 1773
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Dutch Republic | |
| Name | Jonge Thomas |
| Owner | |
| Completed | 1764 |
| Fate | Wrecked on 25 July 1773 near Dishoek |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | East Indiaman |
| Length | 150 feet[1] |
| Capacity | loading capacity: 1150 tons [1] |
| Crew | 296-360[1] |
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.[1] The ship had capacity for 239-369 crew members.[2][3]
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.[2][1]
In total the ship completed three voyages to the Dutch East Indies.
During her fourth voyage to the Dutch East Indies, during a storm she lost her anchors and ran aground onto a sandbank in Table Bay near the Cape of Good Hope and sank. Governor Plettenberg sent 30 soldiers to the beach, to guard the ship and prevent washed-up cargo from being stolen.
During the last part of her fifth return voyage, she sailed together with ship Groenendaal, under the guidance of war frigate Boeras through the English Channel on 21 July 1779. Near Beachy Head there was a pilot boat to guide the boats along the coast of Zeeland. However the pilot boat was not able to reach the three ships, and the three ships didn’t see the pilot boat and sailed on. The next day a signal was sent for a pilot boat near the coast, but the signal was not recognized.[4]
Woestduin sailed for the Chamber of Zeeland and had Middelburg as its final destination. Groenendaal sailed for the Chamber of Amsterdam with final destination Marsdiep. A ship's council was held on board the Woestduin to discuss whether the ships would continue sailing or would wait for a pilot. The captain of the Boreas wanted to continue. He came up with the solution that the pilot on the Boreas was transferred to the Woestduin. This pilot, Thijs Wiegman, was a Texel pilot who was not familiar with the situation of the coast of Zeeland, but there was confidence that he could do the job with his 37 years experience as a pilot.[4]
After the Woestduin explored the coast of Walcheren on 23 July, the pilot and crew decided to wait until the next day due to the bad weather. On 24 July at 11:00 am the ship ran aground near Zoutelande. In the afternoon Woestduin fired emergency shots. They were seen on the coast, but no rescue effort was initialized. Seven men did not wait for help and got into the ship's sloop and with great difficulty they managed to reach the coast.[4] In the evening at 8pm the masts and rigging of the Woestduin were cut down.[1] After the rudder was smashed to pieces by the sea, entire ship was smashed to pieces by midnight near Dishoek.[4][1]
Rescue operation
On 24 July pilot and fisherman Frans Naerebout from Vlissingen heard about the Woestduin. Naerebout together with his brother Jacob, had done in the past already several successfull rescue attempts, including of warship Bruinswyk in 1776. A Dutch East India Company official in Vlissingen didn't dare to start a rescue operation due to the bad weather.[4] However, Naerebout and his brother were able to recruit 10 other people for a rescue operation.[5] Due to the bad weather, they had to wait until the tide changed to enter the water. Frans stayed awake until the middle of the night for the best moment to start the rescue operation. After a highly riskfull operation the managed to rescue 71 men by 4am. After their return they went out again were able to rescue another 16 people. After their return, the Naerebout brothers received a warm welcome.[4][6]
Not all people were rescued, about 49 people drowned.[1]
Frans Naerebout became a permanent pilot of the Dutch East India Company.[1] The rescuers were honored by the Koninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen and received a medal and money. In the speech the emphasis was placed on humanity and individual performance. The Dutch East India Company rewarded the rescuers with an amount of 300 Flemish pounds. Archival research shows that the rescue of the people was a side issue for the VOC, where their priority was the question of guilt and the salvage of the valuable cargo.[4]
The heroic rescue operation of the Woestduin was extensive described in poems by De Bellamy, Loosjes and Rhijnvis Feitn.[7] In the year after his death, Frans Naereout got a statue in Vlissingen in 1919.[8]
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.[4]
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.[4]
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.[1]
-
Woestduin in distress -
Cutting down the masts -
Woestduin smashed to pieces -
The rescue operation
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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
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,_RP-P-OB-85.040.jpg)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Jonge Thomas (1764)". vocsite.nl (in Dutch).
- ^ a b "Woestduin (+1779)". wrecksite.eu.
- ^ "Woestduin (+1779)". Cultureel Erfgoed (in Dutch).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i van Dissel, A.M.C. (31 August 2017). "Responsabiliteit van het Redden | Over schip, goed en schipbreukeling in de vroegmoderne tijd" (in Dutch). Leiden University. p. 60-63. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
- ^ "De Gebroeders Naerebout redden 87 Schepelingen". Redding van de opvarenden van de Woestduin (in Dutch). 1979 – via picryl.com.
- ^ "Dag Register | July". Hollandsche historische courant. 30 December 1779 – via Delpher.
- ^ Inscription on monument of Frans Naerebout
- ^ Inscription on video of the monument's unveiling of Frans Naereout
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