Nederland gouden dukaat 1729 VOC scheepswrak Vliegend Hert

''t Vliegent Hart'' ("the Flying Heart"), also sometimes listed as 't Vliegent Hert, was an 18th-century

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

or "mirror return ship" () of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. ''t Vliegend Hart'' was built in 1729 in Middelburg for the Chamber of

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

. Her maiden voyage was in December 1730, departing from Fort Rammekens (Netherlands) to Batavia (now

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

, Indonesia), commanded by captain Abraham van der Hart. On 3 February 1735 ''t Vliegend Hart'' left from Rammekens for Batavia, commanded by captain Cornelis van der Horst. She was accompanied by the smaller ship '' Anna Catherina'', under command of Jacob de Prinse and carried a cargo of wood, building materials, iron, gunpowder and wine, as well as several chests with gold and silver coins. Shortly after departure both ships ran aground in the Scheldt estuary on the sandbanks around Duerloo Channel and were lost with all cargo and crew. In the following days, barrels with

jenever Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavoured traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium, and adjoining areas in northern France ...

, beer and oil washed ashore on the beaches of Blankenberge and Nieuwpoort. In 1736, the British diver Captain William Evans salvaged some items, including 700 wine bottles and an iron cannon. Because of the difficult conditions there were no further salvage attempts and gradually the wreck was forgotten. It was not until 1981 that the wreck site would be rediscovered. Many artifacts, including wine bottles, bullets and an intact coffer with 2000 gold ducats and 5000 silver reales were retrieved. In 1991 a second chest filled with gold ducats and Spanish reales was discovered, as well as several cases of silver ducatoons. As these ducatoons (riders) were not listed on the official cargo document it is likely they were smuggled on board by members of the crew to be sold for higher prices in the East Indies.

References

External links

de VOC-site (Dutch)

The wreck site

Integrated assessment of the buried wreck site of the Dutch East Indiaman 't Vliegend Hart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vliegend Hert, 't, VOC Ships of the Dutch East India Company 18th-century ships Shipwrecks of Belgium Maritime incidents in 1735 1730s disasters 18th century in the Southern Netherlands Shipwrecks of the Netherlands Vlissingen 1730 introductions 1735 in Europe Ships lost with all hands 1730s in the Dutch Republic Ships built in the Netherlands