Fluyt Sailing Ship

Timeline

1. c. 1595–1610Shipyards of Hoorn and Enkhuizen · North HollandThe fluyt was finalized in shipyards along the Zuiderzee: round bow, wide cargo hold, narrow upper deck, almost no gun ports, suited by low cost and small crew to Baltic grain and timber trade.
2. c. 1611–1640Ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam · North HollandFrom the 1610s, fluyts were incorporated in large numbers into the fleets of the VOC and the West India Company, carrying spices, textiles, and colonial supplies, becoming one of the core transport capacities of Dutch maritime hegemony.
3. c. 1640–1700North Sea and Baltic trade routes · Baltic SeaThe fluyt design was imitated by Denmark, Sweden, and other Northern European countries, but in the mid-to-late 17th century larger East Indiamen (retourschepen) and galleon-style merchant ships gradually replaced its dominance on ocean routes.