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Dutch Fluyt

Type Object Region Netherlands Time 1600–1670

A purpose-built Dutch cargo ship of the 17th century, with a rounded hull, efficient rigging, and minimal crew, dominating Baltic and transatlantic b…

Timeline

  1. 1600–1660Shipyards of Zaandam and Amsterdam · North HollandThe fluyt hull took shape in the Netherlands in the early 17th century: a rounded bottom, fewer masts and sails but with large sail areas, and no upper-deck guns to save tonnage and manpower. Shipyards in Zaandam and elsewhere built fluyts in quantity, making them the main vessel type for Baltic grain, Nordic timber, and transoceanic raw materials.
  2. 1665–1667Thames Estuary and the Medway · KentIn the Dutch fleet's raid on the Medway River in 1667 (the "Raid on the Medway"), some fluyts were converted into fireships or transports for combat. During the war large numbers of fluyts still maintained Baltic routes, accumulating capital for Dutch merchants through low freight rates and supporting the rapid postwar rebuilding of the merchant fleet.
  3. 1668–1670Danzig (Gdańsk) · Polish–Lithuanian CommonwealthBy 1670, Dutch fluyts still controlled the grain export trade of ports such as Danzig. Their lean crew (usually a dozen or so) and standardized hulls kept unit freight rates far below those of other nations' merchant ships, consolidating the Dutch monopoly in mid-17th-century European bulk sea transport.

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