Dutch navigation specialists and Swedish shipping around 1650

Dr. Des. Hielke van Nieuwenhuize, Griefswald, on the importance of Dutch navigation specialists for the expansion of Swedish shipping around 1650.

"...effter han uppå det forvatnet kunnug är": The importance of Dutch navigation specialists for the expansion of Swedish shipping around 1650.

During the reign of queen Christina, approximately 40% of the captains and 30% of the lieutenants of the Swedish navy had been recruited in the Dutch Republic.

When Swedish shipping started to expand into unfamiliar maritime regions beyond the Baltic Sea in the 1640s, the navigational skills and experiences of these Dutchmen were put to good use. Not only did these officers command most of the Swedish navy's vessels sailing to destinations in the North Sea and Atlantic, they were also hired out to private shipowners, the New Sweden and the Västerviks skeppskompani.  After their naval careers had ended, some Dutch officers even stayed in Gothenburg or Stockholm and became masters of Swedish merchantmen.

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