Yesterday, I did a bit of research on the NL Archives VOC site, to get real names of people who sailed with Lumke. It's this cast of characters that I'd like to write about this month:
- Pieter Maillij, Antwerp, assistant to the constable on board the Berbices
- Arij Jansz Lint, Christiaansand, experienced sailor/cannon firer on board the Berbices - also listed as a woodsman
- Cornelis Michielsz, Abenrade, experienced sailor/cannon operator on board the Berbices - also listed as a woodsman
- Jan Peter Werner - soldier on board the Berbices
- Booij Said, second mate on board the Berbices
- Henrick van Alderwaerelt, Amsterdam - sergeant, in charge of the soldiers on board the Berbices -taken on board in November 1723
- Johan Balthazart Alt - soldier - on board the Berbices
- Arent van Wijk - “hoop loper” - helper to the mate, on board the Berbices
- Leendert Havelier, Amsterdam, First officer, resp. For medical care on board the Berbices, taken on board November 1723
- Claes Bartelsz - soldier on board the Berbices
- Frederik Voogt, Slesingen - soldier on board the Berbices
- Jan Jurgen Propst, Frankfurt - soldier on board the Berbices
- Joannes Spillenaar, Bommel, - bottlier “bottler” - on board the Berbices, responsible for all food and drink
- Jan de Groot, helper of the Constable, on board the Berbices, disembarks in the Cape Colony.
- Bonaventura Verkruissen, Den oudenburgh, experienced mate, fires the cannon - also listed as a woodsman
- Frans de Graeff, Nimwegen, Quartermaster on board the Berbices “direct control of groups of men, distribution of hot food and law enforcement during the planning”
- Captain Wouter van Dijk - Berbices (1723-25) Sailed the return voyage too
I learned that there are an awful lot of soldiers on board such ships. I don't know why I didn't realize that. I also managed to find the name of the Captain who Lumke sailed with - Wouter van Dijk. I had stumbled across the name of another captain on another site, but he was captain on an earlier voyage, not on Lumke's voyage. I'm excited to see what these guys get up to, as they come out my fingers. I just did a selection of the real crew members, trying to choose names that sounded interesting or people who were from certain places - like a guy from Frankfurt, to maybe establish some kind of imagined connection to Abraham. I am looking forward to letting this cast of characters speak through me. Curiously, all of those experienced mates who have a secondary job of firing the cannons, are listed as "woodsmen" or in Dutch: Bosschieter which Google translate tells me is a woodsman. Why would they be good at firing cannons, I wonder?
I have a picture of Wouter van Dijk in my head. It's currently unspoiled by research into what such captains wore or looked like, but probably spoiled by too many Pirates of the Caribbean films. I see him in a fancy uniform, plenty of gold buttons on his chest and a wide, trekroner (hmm, that's Danish, I never thought about that) hat with a feather. His hair is longish and he has a beard. He's neither young nor old, has a commanding presence, shouting orders, commanding respect. I see him in tall leather boots, a kind of jodpur pant tucked into them. I don't know if he wore the full uniform at sea, but I imagine that he wore it in port and when things got a bit hairy or they encountered another ship at sea. But maybe his fancy jacket mostly was slung over a chair in his cabin.
His cabin was, of course, the largest on board, but that didn't mean it was all that large. It contained his bunk, with proper mattress, sheets and pillows, plus a table and a couple of chairs and a cupboard for his clothes and things. It is dark, but one of the few that had a small round porthole window, so during the day, it was lighter. There are brass lamp fittings on the wall, and another affixed to the table, but that one is more of a candle stick, where as the ones on the wall are oil lamps with a wick and chimney. He can spread maps and charts out on his table and he has the instruments of a sailor - sextant and a spyglass to look through, both in brass. He is experienced, this isn't his first voyage. He can look at the stars in the night sky and know where they are.
