Seven Provinces (1665-1694) by Atelier Liesjes

About "Seven Provinces (1665-1694)"

by Atelier Liesjes

About the artwork

Willem van de Velde (I), Mirror of the ship the Seven Provinces, after Willem van de Velde (II), 1665 - 1707

Drawing of the Seven Provinces was a line ship of the Admiralty of the Maze with 80 pieces of artillery, the name of the ship was also written as the 7 Provinces. The ship had a length of 163 feet (46 m), a breadth of 43 feet (12 m) and a cavity of 16.5 feet (4.7 m). The displacement was approximately 1600 tons and the ship carried over 2000 sq. ft. of sail. The crew numbered more than 420 heads. The ship was built from 1664-1665 at the old admiralty shipyard on the Haringvliet in Rotterdam. The master builder was Salomon Jansz van den Tempel, a descendant of a well-known family of Rotterdam shipbuilders.

The ship began its career as the temporary flagship of Vice Admiral Aert Jansse van Nes, then became the flagship of Lieutenant Admiral Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter.

It participated in the Four-Day Sea Battle at North Foreland (1666), the Two-Day Sea Battle (1666), and the Voyage to Chatham (1667) in the Second English War. In addition, the ship participated in the Battle of Solebay (1672); the double Battle of Schooneveld (1673) and the Battle of Kijkduin (1673). In 1674, under De Ruyter, it went on an expedition to Martinique. After De Ruyter's death, in 1678 it became the flagship of schout-bijacht Jan van Brakel. In 1691, scout-at-arms Johan Snellen was given command of the ship; he died on board that same year. The ship also made