Technology and Empire: A Comparative Analysis of British and Dutch Maritime Technologies
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2015-07-30

Technology and Empire: A Comparative Analysis of British and Dutch Maritime Technologies during the Napoleonic Era

Ivor R. Mollema

A study of the Dutch vessel Bato (1806) and British vessel Brunswick (1805) wrecked in Simons Bay, South Africa presents a unique opportunity to compare and analyse the maritime shipbuilding technologies available to these two powerful seafaring nations during the Napoleonic Era (1792-1815). Preliminary research of the material culture record yields data about British and Dutch access and utilization of specific shipbuilding timbers, iron knees, metal sheathings, and variety of fastenings. Primary source documents like the log books, journals, ledgers, naval treatises and eye witness accounts contain pertinent information about the history of Bato and its role as a Dutch warship at the end of the Golden Age, an under-represented historical and archaeological theme.