2025Shipping in the 17th and 18th Centuries - Merchant Shipping - Miniature Sheet

In the 17th and 18th centuries and long afterwards, water transport was the most common method of transporting people and goods. Inland roads were mostly unpaved and impassable for large parts of the year. Ships are needed for water transport. In the 17th and 18th centuries, wooden ships were built in shipyards for domestic freight, coastal shipping, war fleet, fishing and international trade. Dutch shipyards were leading in the construction of various types of ships during that period, for both domestic use and for customers elsewhere in Europe. A large part of Western European merchandise in the early modern period was transported on Dutch ships.

At its peak, between 1660 and 1670, the merchant fleet of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands consisted of 2600 seagoing ships of more than 100 tons. The lucrative Baltic Sea trade (grain, timber) laid the foundation for economic prosperity in the Netherlands, later followed by shipping to Asia. The Republic was also a major power in the area of ​​fishing. This was certainly true for the herring fishery (De Groote Visscherij) and the whaling (De Kleine Visscherij), each with its own requirements for the construction and size of the ships. For coastal shipping and inland transport between cities, other types of ships were used again. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the barge shipping grew into a large-scale ship transport network to bring people and goods to inland destinations, with a fixed timetable. In addition to this first form of regulated public transport, there was a large tramp service in the Republic to transport bulk goods and agricultural products by ship.