SS ''De Batavier'', launched in 1827 was an early steamship which served on the Rotterdam to London line of the

Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij The Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij ((Netherlands Steamboat Co)), abbreviated as NSM or NSBM, was a Dutch shipping line focused on inland navigation. In the 1820s it was important for the quick introduction of steam power on the Dutch rivers ...

(NSM). As such she was in news quite often, but the ''Batavier'' also appeared in fiction and non-fiction. The ''Batavier'' is the location of a chapter of

Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

's '' Vanity Fair''.

Ship characteristics

Ordering and construction

The first plans of the

(NSM) centered on establishing lines between Rotterdam and Antwerp, between Rotterdam and Veere, and between Rotterdam and Nijmegen. For these plans it built ''De Nederlander'', ''De Zeeuw'', ''De Stad Antwerpen'', and ''De Stad Nijmegen'', all launched by Spring 1825. NSM then issued more shares to finance more plans, which were: * A steamboat for the Rhine, the ''De Rijn'' * A steamship () for a line between Amsterdam and Hamburg (The ''Batavier'') * A tugboat for service on the rivers and close to sea ( ''Hercules'') * A steamboat for a service between Antwerp and Boom On 9 May 1825 the ''Batavier'' was laid down at

L. Smit en Zoon L. Smit en Zoon previously known as Fop Smit, was a Dutch shipbuilding company located in Kinderdijk. Its successor is now part of Royal IHC. Context L. Smit en Zoon shipyard was one of multiple shipyards belonging to the Smit family. In 17 ...

Nieuw Lekkerland Nieuw-Lekkerland () is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is situated on the southern shores of the Lek River, in the north-west of the Alblasserwaard. The town's name evolved slightly over time: in 1280 Lecke ...

, the shipyard of innovative shipbuilder

Fop Smit Fop Smit (11 October 1777 – 25 August 1866) was a Dutch naval architect, shipbuilder, and shipowner. He founded the towage and salvage company L. Smit & Co that is now part of Smit International. His shipyard had a number of "firsts" in shipbu ...

. She was launched in August 1827.

Hull and engines

In 1833 the ''Bataviers measurements were given as length 186

Feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

, beam 32 feet, depth of hold 16.5 feet. At the location of the main axis of the paddle wheel, the hull proper was only 24 feet wide. In Amsterdam feet of 0.283133 m, this translates 52.66 by 9.06 by 4.672 m. This contrasts with the measurements given in 1856. The configuration of the hull was given as having a

flush deck Flush deck is a term in naval architecture. It can refer to any deck of a ship which is continuous from stem to stern. History The flush deck design originated with rice ships built in Bengal Subah, Mughal India (modern Bangladesh), resulting in ...

and (from stern to bow): pavilion, large cabin, hold, engine room, front cabin and fore ship. The English novelist Anna Eliza Bray wrote: ''The Batavier was originally built for a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

, not for a steamer; consequently it was but a make-shift, when converted from a vessel intended to go by sails only into one that was to be boiled through the water by an engine, for which it had not regular accommodation. There was, therefore, no deck for the passengers, excepting a confined spot, so called, on the roof of the cabin, to which you were obliged to ascend by a flight of steps.'' It is known that her claim that the ''Batavier'' was a converted ship was not correct. However, the description fits the depiction of the ''Batavier'' on the later etching 'Rotterdam (Batavier & Willemsplein)', which shows a steam vessel with heavy masts, and a complete brig

sail plan A sail plan is a description of the specific ways that a sailing craft is rigged. Also, the term "sail plan" is a graphic depiction of the arrangement of the sails for a given sailing craft.> In the English language, ships were usually describe ...

with spars on the main mast. Another remarkable aspect of this etching is the raised bow and stern. An 1835 letter refers to this feature of the ''Batavier''. The engines of ''Batavier'' were two low-pressure steam engines of the biggest kind then in use in any country. These were built by the Cockerill factory of

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

Cockerill.

Early service (1829-1833)

Too late for Hamburg

Construction of the ''Batavier'' went much slower than planned. When she was laid down, she was planned to be taken into service between Amsterdam and Hamburg in 1826. However the Amsterdam merchants did not like the prospect of the Rotterdam NSM owning the steam shipping lines from Amsterdam. They therefore supported the foundation of the Amsterdamsche Stoomboot Maatschappij (ASM). ASM then bought a steamship in the United Kingdom, and called her ''De Onderneming''. Already in July 1825 she arrived in Hamburg. In August 1826 the ''Beurs van Amsterdam'' and ''Willem de Eerste'' followed. When the ''Batavier'' was launched in 1827, the prospects for using her between Amsterdam and Hamburg were not good. Already during construction, NSM started to negotiate with the Dutch, French and Russian governments about selling the ''Batavier''. When these negotiations came to nothing, NSM decided to use the ''Batavier'' between Antwerp and London. Shortly before, the ''Batavier'' towed the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). C ...

''Atlas'', reputedly twice her size, from

Fijenoord Fijenoord () was a shipbuilding company and machine factory in Rotterdam the Netherlands from 1823 to 1929. In 1929 it merged with Wilton to become Wilton-Fijenoord. Early years First ships and activities of the NSM In 1822 a number of bus ...

Hellevoetsluis Hellevoetsluis () is a small city and municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located in Voorne-Putten, South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water and it includes the population centres Nieuw-Helvoet, Nieuwenh ...

Failure of Antwerp - London line

The first trip from Antwerp to London was planned to take place on 19 September 1829. The schedule had a trip from Antwerp to London on Tuesday and the return trip from London on Saturday. The ''Batavier'' captain J.H. Gieze was indeed observed passing

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

on her first trip. On her second trip she arrived back in Antwerp on 5 October, with leaks and damage to her machines. She was expected to go to Rotterdam using her sails to get this fixed. Anyway, significant changes to the machines were required, and so the line between London and Antwerp had ended.

Start of the Rotterdam - London line

On 12 April 1830 the ''Batavier'' started the what was later known as the Batavier Line, a regular service between Rotterdam and London. According to the initial schedule, she would sail from Rotterdam on each Sunday, and back from London on Saturday, perhaps influenced by the

prevailing winds In meteorology, prevailing wind in a region of the Earth's surface is a surface wind that blows predominantly from a particular direction. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on ...

. She would take passengers, horses, carriages, and freight. Her captain was David Dunlop. On 20 April ''Batavier'' made an impression by departing Rotterdam during a fierce northwest storm, and still arriving on the Thames 25 hours later, despite the very strong contrary winds.

The Belgian Revolution

The

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. ...

(25 August 1830 - 21 July 1831) at first did not affect the service of the ''Batavier''. During the winter of 1830-1831 the number of sleeping places on board was increased to over a 100, and two more dining rooms were added. On 1 March 1831 the ''Batavier'' left Rotterdam for London, and took up her schedule. In April 1831 she brought in a cargo of 19,000 pound Sterling in gold, 497 bars of iron and other things. Gold and iron appear more often in cargo lists of the ''Batavier''. During the Ten days' campaign from 2 to 12 August 1831, the ''Batavier'' sailed to London according to schedule on 8 August. By early 1832 the conflict was kind of frozen, with the Dutch still holding the

Antwerp Citadel Antwerp Citadel ( es, Castillo de Amberes, nl, Kasteel van Antwerpen) was a pentagonal bastion fort built to defend and dominate the city of Antwerp in the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. It has been described as "doubtlesse the most matchless ...

. In February the ''Batavier'' was

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

d on the Meuse after she brought the news about the

1826–1837 cholera pandemic The second cholera pandemic (1826–1837), also known as the Asiatic cholera pandemic, was a cholera pandemic that reached from India across Western Asia to Europe, Great Britain, and the Americas, as well as east to China and Japan.Note: The ...

in London. The quarantine became regular in these months, but the service was not interrupted. In mid June 1832 one of the engineers died on board at the quarantine place before the island

Tiengemeten Tiengemeten is an island in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Hoeksche Waard and lies about south of Spijkenisse. Before 1984 the island was administratively split between Goudswaard and Zuid-Beijerland, and ...

, but this was not caused by the disease.

Government service

In late 1832 France and England wanted to force the Dutch out of the Antwerp Citadel. They therefore planned a blockade of the Dutch coast. If that did not help, France would intervene militarily to capture Antwerp. The Dutch king's negative reply to the Anglo-French ultimatum probably reached London only on 4 or 5 November. Even before that, the non-arrival of the ''Batavier'' in London caused some concern on the London Exchange. The report was that she was held back, and had let her English sailors go. The ''Batavier'' was then requisitioned and armed by the Dutch government, and sent to Hellevoetsluis. Here she was to guard the coast, and help to tow in Dutch merchant ships. On 7 December 1832 the ''Batavier'' was at Hellevoetsluis commanded by Lieutenant Galup. She succeeded in bringing in ''Piet Hein'' of Capt. J. Turnbull from Surinam, and the brig ''De Hollander'' of Captain M. Booijsen from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. Meanwhile the conflict with Belgium was decided by the French army winning the Siege of Antwerp on 23 December, but that did end the conflict, nor the blockade. The ''Batavier'' continued in government service, bringing negotiators to London, as well as the Dutch ratification 21 May preliminary treaty with England and France which lifted the blockade. After collecting General

Chassé The ''chassé'' (, French for 'to chase'; sometimes anglicized to chasse ) is a dance step used in many dances in many variations. All variations are triple-step patterns of gliding character in a "step-together-step" pattern. The word came from ...

from his prison in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. 060908_020_brielle_centrum

On 6 August 1833 the ''Batavier'' resumed her commercial service to London. She was one of the few steam packets which carried mail between London and Rotterdam. It meant that commercial and diplomatic communication relied on her sailing according to schedule.

Route

When the ''Batavier'' steamed to London, the shortest route from Rotterdam was over the

Nieuwe Maas The Nieuwe Maas (; "New Meuse") is a distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. ...

. At the time, the Nieuwe Maas still flowed to sea passing just north of

Brielle Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New ...

. In 1949 the stretch from Vlaardingen to the sea, known as

Brielse Maas The Brielse Maas is a dammed river between the North Sea and the Oude Maas in the southern part of the Dutch province of South Holland. The town of Brielle, which gave it its name, is located on the south bank. The Brielse Maas was dammed bef ...

was dammed off, and became the Brielse Meer. So, the usual route of the ''Batavier'' from Rotterdam was: Nieuwe Maas, Botlek, Brielse Meer, open sea. An alternative short route was over Het Scheur instead of the Brielse Maas and Botlek, but the ''Batavier'' seems to have used this short route only during her first year of service. In 1829, the Voorne Canal was completed. It connected Hellevoetsluis to the Nieuwe Maas east of Brielle, and was an alternative route for the ''Batavier'' if the water level in the Nieuwe Maas was too low. A now less obvious reason that often made Hellevoetsluis the start and endpoint for the ''Batavier'' was that at the time, the Dutch rivers froze up almost every winter, and also for very prolonged periods. An even less usual route for the ''Batavier'' was a detour over Dordrecht, but this was a rare event, see below. In London, the ''Batavier'' had a mooring place just east of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...

at a place called St Katherine's Wharf on the Thames. This is just south of

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock and now a mixed-used district in Central London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and within the East End. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London ...

. St Katharine Pier is on the same stretch of the Thames. At the time the

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close ...

did not exist.

Favorite ship

The ''Batavier'' was the vessel of choice for many people, and even for foreign royalty. This might be because she had a reputation for reliability. E.g. from 31 August 1833 till the first days of September, there was a heavy storm between London and Rotterdam. On 31 August she was the only steamship to successfully leave the Thames. She then arrived in Rotterdam one day before the ''Sir Edward Banks'', which had left a day earlier. On the return trip from Rotterdam she again sailed through the storm that prevented the steamships ''Arlequin'', ''Attwood'' and ''London Merchant'' from leaving Rotterdam according to schedule. ''Arlequin'' and ''Attwood'' finally arrived with substantial delays and much damage and ''London Merchant'' arrived 10 days late. NSM generated a lot of publicity from these events. An inadvertent example of why the ''Batavier'' was so popular was given by the same Anna Eliza Bray who claimed that she was a converted brig. After first noting that the ''Batavier'' was much more expensive and very far inferior to an English ship, she speaks of an 'unusually rapid' passage. Indeed, in 1836 prices for passage on the ''Batavier'' were given as 3 GBP, and that on ships of the General Steam Navigation Company as 2 GBP 2 shilling for the best place. In about 1840 William Jesse was as complimentary: ''Of the many steamers, ships, and tubs I had rolled in, this vessel struck me as being decidedly the most uncomfortable. She was dirty, and redolent of stinks; schnappes, bad tobacco, and bilge-water, being the prevailing odours..., but amongst her numerous deficiencies, she had one good qualification, the principal one, she was safe''.

Voyage to San Sebastian

Antoine, Duke of Montpensier es, Antonio María Felipe Luis de Orleans , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Neuilly, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France , death_date = , death_place = Palacio de Orléans-Borbón, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain , date of burial = , plac ...

(1824-1890) was the youngest son of the French king

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...

, who was deposed in the 22–24 February

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundati ...

. The Duke of Montpensier was married to

Luisa Fernanda Luisa (Italian and Spanish), Luísa (Portuguese) or Louise ( French) is a feminine given name; it is the feminine form of the given name Louis (Luis), the French form of the Frankish Chlodowig (German Ludwig), from the Germanic elements ''hlod ...

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

of the crown of Spain. On 28 February 1848 she arrived in England in disguise on board the steamship ''Saumarez''. The duke arrived from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

a few days later. The Spanish court reacted by sending an agent that was to bring the couple to Spain. By 17 March a rumor that the couple had arrived in San Sebastián by steamship circulated in Madrid. The duke and duchess suddenly left London for Belgium in mid-March. The plan was that they would go to Spain on board the Spanish steamship ''Tridente'', but she was caught up in a storm while going from London to Vlissingen, and was forced to enter the roadstead of Texel. Meanwhile the couple remained incognito, but on 28 March it became public, that both had arrived in Rotterdam a few days ago, and that they had chartered the ''Batavier'' to bring them to Spain. On 28 March the ''Batavier'' wat at sea, steaming to Spain. On 2 April the ''Batavier'' arrived in San Sebastián. On 9 April the ''Batavier'' captain D. Dunlop arrived back in Brielle from San Sebastian. Meanwhile, the competition of the ''Batavier'' seems to have reacted to her absence by temporarily increasing prices.

Engine trouble at sea and sailing capabilities

On 8 May 1853 at noon, the ''Batavier'' left London with a small cargo and 18 passengers. At about 7 pm she was near the Tongue Light. At about 9 pm the main shaft of her engines broke. She then used her sails for about one and a half hour. Her master also made signals, and she was seen by the steamship ''Ravensbourne'', who took her in tow. When the captain of the ''Batavier'' noted that the towage damaged the machinery, because the floats of the paddle wheels had not been taken off, he had her cast her off about 15 miles from

North Foreland North Foreland is a chalk headland on the Kent coast of southeast England, specifically in Broadstairs. With the rest of Broadstairs and part of Ramsgate it is the eastern side of Kent's largest peninsula, the Isle of Thanet. It presents a bo ...

. ''Ravensbourne'' alerted the tug ''Thomas Petley'', who came to the ''Bataviers assistance. The master of the tug agreed to the unusual request to tow the ''Batavier'' over to Holland. This could be done because the ''Batavier'' supplied the tug with enough coal for the round trip. In the morning of 10 May 1853, the ''Batavier'' captain W. Smith arrived in Hellevoetsluis towed by ''Thomas Petley'' captain T.H. Porter. The owners of the ''Batavier'' tendered 175 pounds for this service, which was rejected. In court the owners of ''Thomas Petley'' argued that they had saved the ''Batavier'' from disaster and demanded 1,500 pounds, about half of the value of the ''Batavier''. The owners of the ''Batavier'' argued that there had not been any danger, and that during the greater part of the voyage she had actually sailed faster than the tug could steam. The judgement of the

Admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...

centered on whether the ''Batavier'' was in danger when ''Thomas Petley'' assisted her. Captain Bacon of ''Ravensbourne'' stated that when he left her, the ''Batavier'' was in perfect safety. He also stated that the ''Batavier'' possessed very good sailing qualities, enabling her to sail the distance in 15-18 hours with a favorable wind. In combination with other circumstances, like the time of the year, and the weather, the judge concluded that the ''Batavier'' had not been in danger, and that the sole reason to engage the tug was in guarding the credit of the service.

The end

The ''Batavier'' becomes obsolete

By 1850, the ''Batavier'' was an old ship. She transported less passengers. In part, because these preferred to travel via Belgium, and its railroads, but also because the ''Batavier'' was by then slower than its competitors. The manager of NSM stated that there was probably no other ship which had performed so well, but that she was now outdated, and her glory years were over. She was also expensive for NSM, because she often required expensive repairs, and her draft made that she often had to go via Hellevoetsluis. In 1850 the NSM employed the screw schooner ''Fijenoord'' as second ship on the Batavier line. That year NSM's manager declared that the repairs required to keep the ''Batavier'' in service for the long term would cost 25% of the construction of a completely new ''Batavier'', which was estimated at 185,000 guilders. He therefore strongly advised to build a new ''Batavier''. On 11 February 1854 NSM finally laid down a new ''Batavier'' at Fijenoord. The new ''Batavier'' was launched on 28 March 1855. In mid-August 1855 the new ''Batavier'' made its first trip to London.

Hulked and scrapped

After she was replaced, the old ''Batavier'' first became a coal hulk in Rotterdam. In 1856, she was auctioned on 22 April. She brought in 16,600 guilders. She was subsequently scrapped, because on 19 May, Mr J. Duppe in Dordrecht offered the engines for sale.

In culture

Fiction

's '' Vanity Fair'' (1848), Chapter XXVII 'Am Rhein' starts on board the ''Batavier''. The chapter paints a satirical picture of English society going on holiday to the Rhine. They bring along their families, servants, carriages, an enormous of luggage and so on. Thackeray added drawings of a man in the cabin of the ''Batavier'', and of a young man sitting on top of one of the many coaches. It is not known whether Thackeray drew this whilst visiting the ''Batavier'', or was inspired by actually being on board sometime.

Non-fiction

In ''The life of Mrs. Sherwood, chiefly autobiographical with extracts from Mr Sherwood's journal'',

Mary Martha Sherwood Mary Martha Sherwood (née Butt; 6 May 177522 September 1851) was a nineteenth-century English children's writer. Of her more than four hundred works, the best known include '' The History of Little Henry and his Bearer'' (1814) and the two ser ...

(1775-1851) describes her trip to the continent. In June 1832 she returned to England. After the steamboat ''Prins Frederik'' had brought Mrs. Sherwood downstream to Rotterdam, the steamboat made another trip which brought the dying

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

to the ''Batavier''. He was brought on board the ''Batavier'' lying in a

barouche A barouche is a large, open, four-wheeled carriage, both heavy and luxurious, drawn by two horses. It was fashionable throughout the 19th century. Its body provides seats for four passengers, two back-seat passengers vis-à-vis two behind the ...

and was later brought to his cabin in a chair. On 12 June the ''Batavier'' left for London. During the trip, Sir Walter woke and asked for a pen and ink. Mrs. Sherwood was asked, and had the pleasure of handing him the ones she was using. At first glance, Mrs. Sherwood seems to give a very confusing account, because she has the ''Batavier'' attached to a wooden pier at a beach. She also writes about a steamboat bringing her from Rotterdam to the ''Batavier'', but as ''Batavier'' was supposed to sail from Rotterdam this would be unnecessary. The above-mentioned cholera epidemic explains the events. By June 1832 the trips of the ''Batavier'' were cut up due to quarantine measures. According to a changed schedule, on 12 June she would first steam from Rotterdam to

at 6 am, and then from Hellevoetsluis to London at 2 pm. The return trip from London would go no further than Hellevoetsluis and quarantine. However, when the ''Batavier'' arrived from London in the morning of the 11th, she first had to go in quarantine near

, about 15 km east of Hellevoetsluis. In the afternoon of 12 June the ''Batavier'' then left Hellevoetsluis according to schedule. Obviously the NSM had let the steamboat ''Prins Frederik'' continue her downstream trip from Nijmegen to pick up the 6 am passengers from Rotterdam to Hellevoetsluis, which also explains that on 12 June Sir Walter Scott ''passed'' Rotterdam in order to embark on the ''Batavier''. The wooden pier at a beach then might be sought anywhere between Tiengemeten and Hellevoetsluis. ''The Rhenish Album'' (1836) was probably a work somewhere in between fiction and non-fiction. It gave all kinds of supposedly reliable travel information about travel in the area, like distances, objects of interest, and prices, e.g that passage from London to Rotterdam on the ''Batavier'' in the chief cabin cost 3 GBP, and on the ships of the General Steam Company 2 GBP 2 Shilling. It also had an extensive list of the author's expenses on his trip. This trip started on board the ''Batavier'' in July 1835. She lay opposite the

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and step ...

stairs. The author described her as: a large, black-looking, rounded whale of a vessel. A comfortable cabin on deck and a platform on the roof of it, completed her odd appearance. A whale without its good looks, but not withstanding her black looks, a very fine vessel. An elaborate description is given of the passage, and especially of the fellow passengers. The ''Batavier'' then arrived on the Dutch coast, but had to steam to Hellevoetsluis, because there was not enough water in the

before

. Despite the detour, the ''Batavier'' was in Rotterdam at 1 pm. In 1847

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

made a tour of western Europe. In the Hague he got a grand welcome, but also a letter from his friend the younger duke of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rai ...

(1818-1901). It made that Andersen hastened his voyage to England, and boarded the ''Batavier'' on 22 June at 10 am. Andersen described the ''Batavier'' as 'One of the oldest Dutch steamboats, a true steam snail'. She was heavily laden. high up the railing there were big baskets with cherries. On the deck there was a great number of emigrants to America. After eight hours, the ''Batavier'' reached open sea. At the mouth of the Thames, Andersen was struck by the huge number of boats. He landed at the custom-house. At the time Andersen was so famous, that he was immediately received by the London society. In 1854 the Dutchman Samuel van den Bergh made a trip to England on board the ''Batavier'', and wrote enthusiastically about her. Van den Bergh stayed on deck until the ''Batavier'' reached

, where she would wait for the tide. After a rich dinner with champagne, Van den Bergh and his companions seated themselves on the chests of the paddle-wheels until nightfall. There were about 200 emigrants on board, many of them camped on deck. After one of these went overboard, Van den Bergh spent a restless night. In the morning he awoke to the scene of many ships sailing at the entrance of the Thames. At

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is th ...

the ''Batavier'' halted to take the pilot and customs officers on board. In passing Van den Bergh marveled about the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Br ...

of Woolwich and the wet docks, before arriving at the quay of St Katherine's Wharf, close to the Tower of London. On the return trip Van den Bergh was rowed to the ship the night before she left. The crossing was uneventful, and Van den Bergh expected to awake near Brielle in the morning. To his surprise this became the

Dordtsche Kil The Dordtse Kil ( pre-1947 spelling: Dordtsche Kil) is a short river in South Holland in the Netherlands. The river is tidal and forms the connection between the Oude Maas river and the Hollands Diep. The river is for most part artificial in ori ...

, where lack of water had forced the ''Batavier'' to steam. On a huge detour he next saw

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

, the

Oude Maas The Oude Maas (; en, Old Meuse) is a distributary of the river Rhine, and a former distributary of the river Maas, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It begins at the city of Dordrecht where the Beneden Merwede river splits into the Noo ...

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in . Geogr ...

Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village ...

, and finally Rotterdam.

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External links

Page of the ''Batavier''
at Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank, this has a design drawing with three masts and a certificate from the shipyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Batavier, SS de 1827 ships Steamships of the Netherlands