Een vloot bij Den Helder

The Amsterdam harbour was difficult to reach for large ships because of the numerous shallows in the Zuyder Zee. In 1672 the English ambassador to the Netherlands, writing of the awkwardness of the position of Amsterdam´s harbour, summed up the difficulties as follows: 'The entrance of the Tessel and passage over the Zudder-Sea is more dangerous than an Voyage from there to Spain, lying all in blind and narrow channels.' Texel is an island just off the town of Den Helder on the northern tip of the province of Holland. It was in Den Helder and on Texel that the ocean-going cargoships loaded and unloaded; the cargoes were transported to and from Amsterdam in smaller ships. Sometimes the East Indiamen had to wait several weeks for a favourable wind to enable them to leave.

Een vloot bij Den Helder

The Amsterdam harbour was difficult to reach for large ships because of the numerous shallows in the Zuyder Zee. In 1672 the English ambassador to the Netherlands, writing of the awkwardness of the position of Amsterdam´s harbour, summed up the difficulties as follows: 'The entrance of the Tessel and passage over the Zudder-Sea is more dangerous than an Voyage from there to Spain, lying all in blind and narrow channels.' Texel is an island just off the town of Den Helder on the northern tip of the province of Holland. It was in Den Helder and on Texel that the ocean-going cargoships loaded and unloaded; the cargoes were transported to and from Amsterdam in smaller ships. Sometimes the East Indiamen had to wait several weeks for a favourable wind to enable them to leave.