History is a confusing, complicated place.
Every time you think you understand something,
there is new information just around the corner to make you think again.
Piracy is of all ages. As long as there have been people. there have been bandits.
And as long as there have been boats, there have been bandits on the water.
Slavery is a bit more complex.
With my classic education, I already knew that Ancient Greece treated slaves much differently.
Unlike the African sugarcane slaves, back then they could be of any race.
They weren't necessarily treated inhumanely.
Some were well-educated; and trusted with raising the children of well-off families.
They could buy their own freedom, which not all of them even wished to take.
Different times indeed...
What I recently came to learn is some of what happened in-between.
This started with someone mentioning the Sack of Baltimore - Wikipedia back in 1631.
Barbary Slave Traders travelled all the way North to Ireland.
And under leadership of one of my "fellow" Dutch countrymen, no less!
Surely such Pirates of the Mediterranean never travelled that far away from home?
And yet they did! Further even; as shown by the Turkish Abductions - Wikipedia which happened a few years earlier in 1627.
Confusing name too, as these attacks originated more from Algeria and Morocco than modern-day Turkey.
Clearly these were people not to be trifled with.
And even the Dutch themselves suffered again in return.
Insert a story that I found literally 10 minutes walk away from my home here in the town of Wageningen, The Netherlands; located easily an hour drive by car away from any big body of water.
While mostly famous for its role in the Second World War; and its agricultural university, Museum De Casteelse Poort shows a classic Dutch sailing vessel on its promotional poster outside the door.
This was so unknown that when I asked the museum volunteers about it, they barely knew what I was referring to.
But as we ended up staring at it outside, the memories flowed back in.
Turns out the painting isn't even part of any of the default exhibits; more some decoration in a meeting/archive room of theirs.
My enthusiasm and interest led me inside and so I ended up face to face with the real deal:
The accompanying plaque of text next to it translates as:
"The Frigate WAAGENINGEN, 1723-1748
Oil paint on canvas, painter unknown
Behind this painting shelters a whole history. The frigate Wageningen actually existed and was famous in its time. In 1723 L.A. Torck (1678-1758) gave the order to build this ship as member of the Admiralty of Amsterdam. Torck was major of Wageningen and an important figure in its history; and as "drost" of Veluwe, he represented the province of Gelderland in the "Staten-Generaal".
In 1720 there appeared to be a larger task for the Admiralty than expected. The current ships were not fast nor manoeuvrable enough to protect Dutch trade vessels in the Mediterranean from barbarian raiders. The frigate Wageningen was specially built for this purpose.
In 1724 the frigate was part of a squadron. The painting shows the moment of victory over an Algerian ship on 12 June 1724. Two figures are leaning outside the back of the captain's cabin. One of them will be Cornelis Schrijver (1687-1768), complete with tricorn and telescope, gazing at the sunken vessel. Unfortunately the current frame hides the rocks with this ship in front.
It is suspected that this painting was part of a larger whole, likely a large canvas that used to hang above a mantelpiece."
I find it fascinating that this is one of the barely 20 known Dutch sailing frigates built between 1640-1860 (only 20 ships in over 200 years?!?).
An agricultural city seems like such an odd source for a dedicated anti-piracy vessel.
I guess the location of my work at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands | MARIN might actually be more appropriate than any of us could've guessed.
Certainly improving speed and manoeuvrability of ships does appear as a very fitting match.
Could this also be a fitting match then for our future endeavours with this community?
Protecting trade (read: international collaboration) by hunting slavers (read: any bigoted individuals)?
If so, I'll take the liberty to leave you something else to ponder on:
Discrimination; and racism. I dare say we all agree these suck; and yet they are still absolutely rampant in this world.
What I am curious about is where this came from.
And how much of this still needs to influence our present day.
If slavery in Ancient Greece was normal; and unrelated to race, could racism have been different at the time too?
If the Dutch can be both the perpetrators of slavery and piracy, as well as the counters to this, then who are the good guys; and who the bad ones?
Does this even relate to nationality at all?
And as a final and most controversial additional thought:
What were things really like on the African-Caribbean slave trade runs?
Here were badly treated black people on a ship crewed with white ones.
But of those white crews, were not many of them pressed into service; and dragged away from their homes and families?
Themselves worked half to death; with the full expectancy that half of the crew would not survive the voyage.
Living under constant threat of severe punishment through the cat-'o-nine-tails; and possibly even keel-hauling.
Overseen by also-white captains and officers from mostly high, noble families; who likely looked down on literally everyone else.
Who had it better? Who had it worse?
The white or the black?
Does this question even make sense?
And does it even matter anymore?
Or could we move beyond it?
On an anti-piracy frigate.
That is admired by a pirate-fan...?
Every time you think you understand something,
there is new information just around the corner to make you think again.
Piracy is of all ages. As long as there have been people. there have been bandits.
And as long as there have been boats, there have been bandits on the water.
Slavery is a bit more complex.
With my classic education, I already knew that Ancient Greece treated slaves much differently.
Unlike the African sugarcane slaves, back then they could be of any race.
They weren't necessarily treated inhumanely.
Some were well-educated; and trusted with raising the children of well-off families.
They could buy their own freedom, which not all of them even wished to take.
Different times indeed...
What I recently came to learn is some of what happened in-between.
This started with someone mentioning the Sack of Baltimore - Wikipedia back in 1631.
Barbary Slave Traders travelled all the way North to Ireland.
And under leadership of one of my "fellow" Dutch countrymen, no less!
Surely such Pirates of the Mediterranean never travelled that far away from home?
And yet they did! Further even; as shown by the Turkish Abductions - Wikipedia which happened a few years earlier in 1627.
Confusing name too, as these attacks originated more from Algeria and Morocco than modern-day Turkey.
Clearly these were people not to be trifled with.
And even the Dutch themselves suffered again in return.
Insert a story that I found literally 10 minutes walk away from my home here in the town of Wageningen, The Netherlands; located easily an hour drive by car away from any big body of water.
While mostly famous for its role in the Second World War; and its agricultural university, Museum De Casteelse Poort shows a classic Dutch sailing vessel on its promotional poster outside the door.
This was so unknown that when I asked the museum volunteers about it, they barely knew what I was referring to.
But as we ended up staring at it outside, the memories flowed back in.
Turns out the painting isn't even part of any of the default exhibits; more some decoration in a meeting/archive room of theirs.
My enthusiasm and interest led me inside and so I ended up face to face with the real deal:
The accompanying plaque of text next to it translates as:
"The Frigate WAAGENINGEN, 1723-1748
Oil paint on canvas, painter unknown
Behind this painting shelters a whole history. The frigate Wageningen actually existed and was famous in its time. In 1723 L.A. Torck (1678-1758) gave the order to build this ship as member of the Admiralty of Amsterdam. Torck was major of Wageningen and an important figure in its history; and as "drost" of Veluwe, he represented the province of Gelderland in the "Staten-Generaal".
In 1720 there appeared to be a larger task for the Admiralty than expected. The current ships were not fast nor manoeuvrable enough to protect Dutch trade vessels in the Mediterranean from barbarian raiders. The frigate Wageningen was specially built for this purpose.
In 1724 the frigate was part of a squadron. The painting shows the moment of victory over an Algerian ship on 12 June 1724. Two figures are leaning outside the back of the captain's cabin. One of them will be Cornelis Schrijver (1687-1768), complete with tricorn and telescope, gazing at the sunken vessel. Unfortunately the current frame hides the rocks with this ship in front.
It is suspected that this painting was part of a larger whole, likely a large canvas that used to hang above a mantelpiece."
I find it fascinating that this is one of the barely 20 known Dutch sailing frigates built between 1640-1860 (only 20 ships in over 200 years?!?).
An agricultural city seems like such an odd source for a dedicated anti-piracy vessel.
I guess the location of my work at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands | MARIN might actually be more appropriate than any of us could've guessed.
Certainly improving speed and manoeuvrability of ships does appear as a very fitting match.
Could this also be a fitting match then for our future endeavours with this community?
Protecting trade (read: international collaboration) by hunting slavers (read: any bigoted individuals)?
If so, I'll take the liberty to leave you something else to ponder on:
Discrimination; and racism. I dare say we all agree these suck; and yet they are still absolutely rampant in this world.
What I am curious about is where this came from.
And how much of this still needs to influence our present day.
If slavery in Ancient Greece was normal; and unrelated to race, could racism have been different at the time too?
If the Dutch can be both the perpetrators of slavery and piracy, as well as the counters to this, then who are the good guys; and who the bad ones?
Does this even relate to nationality at all?
And as a final and most controversial additional thought:
What were things really like on the African-Caribbean slave trade runs?
Here were badly treated black people on a ship crewed with white ones.
But of those white crews, were not many of them pressed into service; and dragged away from their homes and families?
Themselves worked half to death; with the full expectancy that half of the crew would not survive the voyage.
Living under constant threat of severe punishment through the cat-'o-nine-tails; and possibly even keel-hauling.
Overseen by also-white captains and officers from mostly high, noble families; who likely looked down on literally everyone else.
Who had it better? Who had it worse?
The white or the black?
Does this question even make sense?
And does it even matter anymore?
Or could we move beyond it?
On an anti-piracy frigate.
That is admired by a pirate-fan...?
