Admiralty of Friesland The Admiralty of Friesland or Frisian Admiralty ( Dutch - " Admiraliteit van Friesland " or " Friese Admiraliteit " ; West Frisian - " Fryske Admiraliteit " ) was one of the five of the Dutch Republic . Set up on 6 March 1596 , it was dissolved in 1795 during the reforms by the Batavian Republic . Destruction of the Admiralty archives . Few sources on the Frisian Admiralty survived . The entire archive on the Admiralty was destroyed in the large fire of 12 and 13 February 1771 in Harlingen , and many maps and documents relating to the history of Friesland were also lost . What little archive material remained was held in the Department of Navy at The Hague , until that too was destroyed by fire on 8 January 1844 . Little is known on the great men of the Admiralty , due to a lack of surviving archival material . One example of such loss is described by historian Beucker Andreae , who studied the life of Admiral Auke Stellingwerf . About his search on the latter ' s baptismal records in what might have been the man ' s birthplace , Workum , he wrote : " A box had been kept , however , by the church guardians , holding old books and manuscripts , among which , according to an elderly inhabitant of the town , the baptismal records should have been present . But that box had some years ago been given to the deacons for safe - keeping , and there — since there was no lock on the lid — the female supervisor of the old people ' s home had cut up the books she discovered in the box for domestic use , as sewing patterns ! And so it came about that , although the box is still there , the papers can no longer be found in them . History . Foundation . The Dutch Revolt ( 1568 – 1648 ) brought about the need for an improved organisation for the protection of trade , i . e . , the sea routes of the new Dutch Republic . Difficulties quickly arose between the different provinces with different views on the design of such organisation . Originally there were three different Admiralties : that of Zealand , that of the Southern Quarter of the province of Holland , and that of the Northern Quarter of Holland , with Friesland to be controlled by the latter . In 1587 , the Northern Quarter Admiralty established its headquarters at Amsterdam . Quickly a dispute arose between Friesland and this Amsterdam Admiralty over earnings from convoys , over import and export rights , over the financial administration , and because Amsterdam was simply too far away . Consequently , on 6 March 1596 , the States of Friesland decided on the " Foundation of a Chamber or Council of Admiralty for this Territory . " On 5 May 1597 , Hoitze Aisma , Feijcke Tetmans , Sicke van Dijckstra , and Frans Jansz were entrusted with creating the Frisian Admiralty board . Organisational Structure . On 14 June 1597 the States - General of the Netherlands , the highest confederal executive power of the Republic , approved a proposal in which the foundation of a " Generaliteitscollege " was decided upon ; this replaced an earlier navy board , the " Collegie Superintendent , " of which Maurice of Nassau , Prince of Orange ( Admiral - General since 1588 ) had been the head , but which had been dissolved in 1593 as a result of disputes between the provinces . The " Generaliteitscollege " was to be a loose cooperation , itself a mere formality without actual power , between five autonomous Admiralties ( the Zealand , the Frisian , the West Frisian , the Amsterdam and the Rotterdam ) to be represented in it . Each admiralty also had its own hierarchy . The Frisian Admiralty was led by a college responsible for the appointment of civil servants as bailiffs and clerks . Furthermore , the States - General appointed for each admiralty a receiver - general , a secretary , and a public prosecutor . Friesland ' s Admiralty was partly funded by the capital of another province , the city of Groningen ( capital of the province of the same name ) , and so people from Groningen could also be admitted to the Admiralty ' s positions ( e . g . Admiral Rudolf Coenders ) , in return for its providing ships . The Frisian Admiralty was thus founded within a confederal context on 15 August 1597 . The Dokkum Era . The Frisian Admiralty was initially housed in the old " raadhuis " ( town hall ) on the corner of Hoogstraat on the Lange Oosterstraat in the city of Dokkum . This building had been bought in 1589 by captain Tjaerd Tjebbes for the sum of 900 gold guilder s . The Admiralty also took up residence in the " Blauhuis " , an impressive building with a striking slender tower . The city administration initially paid the rent , but from 1610 this was taken over by the Admiralty . In 1618 the institution moved to another building , which thereby acquired the name " Het Admiraliteitshuis " ( " The Admiralty House " ) ; it is the location of the present city museum of the same name at Dokkum . Contrary to what might be expected from its name , this museum is not devoted to the maritime past of the city . The period between the foundation and the Battle of the Downs is little known due to the destruction of the Admiralty archives . It appears from a fleet list that at the Battle of Gibraltar Captain Teunis Woltersz was present in command of " De Friesche Pinas " , though her number of crew and of guns are both unknown . That employment with the Admiralty at Dokkum brought rich earnings is demonstrated by this excerpt from the minutes of an assembly of the States General , in which a captain asks around for payment of reward money promised to him because of courage he has shown : Battle of the Downs . In 1626 the Frisian Admiralty was exempted from its duty to deliver six warships , suggesting that not all was well in Dokkum financially and administratively . The Admiralty , however , came into action under the command of Dutch supreme commander Lieutenant - Admiral Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp during the Thirty Years War to blockade the German Ems and Jade Rivers to prevent privateers working for the Habsburgs to leave port . During this blockade the Frisians even captured the freebooter " Du Mortier " . In 1639 the Admiralty equipped three ships and four yachts for the Republic . A few were sent out on scouting duties in the actions that would lead up to the Battle of the Downs , including a " roeifregat " ( galley ) from the Frisian Admiralty , the " Rotterdam " , under command of Captain Joris Pieters van den Broeck . After it brought back its report , Admiral Tromp decided to give battle on 16 September , with a Dutch fleet of 29 ships against 67 Spanish ships . One of the largest ships in Tromp ' s fleet was a 70 man frigate with 22 guns under the command of the Frisian captain Tjaard de Groot . In the later Battle of the Downs Broeck defeated a 140 man , 18 gun Spanish galleon . Van den Broeck found frequent fame in later years . In May 1641 he defeated an 80 man , 12 gun ship from Dunkirk , and in 1642 defeated a 140 man , 20 gun frigate with a ship of only 67 men and 10 guns . Move . The Frisian Admiralty at first only built the harbour facilities in Dokkum it thought necessary to equip about nine ketches that were to control the Wadden Sea , not considering it necessary to build facilities that could handle greater numbers of ships . When an actual need for large warships arose later on — normally two larger ships were operational — they simply used the ports of other provinces . For instance , from 1620 until 1636 the Admiralty ' s large warships were equipped at Amsterdam . In 1636 , these ships were even briefly stationed in Rotterdam , far away from Friesland . Already in 1631 a vote in the Frisian college had come up to move the Frisian Admiralty to the port of Harlingen , the main reasons being : Harlingen was Friesland ' s only major sea port and offered obvious benefits as a naval port , if only to secure Friesland ' s main trade route . Dokkum , in contrast , was land - locked and could be reached only by light ships . Still it took ten years for a commission to investigate the possibilities for a move ; it presented its report in 1642 . An objection against a move had always been that the connection between the port of Harlingen and the North Sea , the Vlie estuary , lay in the area under control of the Admiralty of Amsterdam . The waters to be patrolled by the Frisian Admiralty were just these between the islands of Ameland and Schiermonnikoog and the coast , and the Eems estuary east of Groningen . Dokkum was ideally situated to serve as a base for light ships for this purpose , the river Dokkumer Ee giving direct access to this area . However , during the 17th century the Dokkumer Ee began to silt up very seriously ; the commission feared that in future the river bed could only be kept deep enough at prohibitive costs , concluding that a relocation was inevitable . A year later , on 18 August 1643 , regulations were drafted to organize the move . On 1 March 1644 , the definitive decision to move was taken , and over the course of 1645 the relocation took place . The magistrates of Harlingen promised to see to it that the Admiralty would get good accommodation in " their " city , expenses to be met by the city . The Admiralty had , however , expected to be provided with more buildings — meeting rooms , warehouses , space for prisoners , and housing for servants . The Admiralty got a building on the south side of the south harbour . There was a request also for a building on the north harbour . A last admonition was necessary in 1653 before a few warehouses around the Westkerk became Admiralty property too . First Anglo - Dutch War . At the start of the First Anglo - Dutch War in July 1652 , the fleet of the Republic was in state of serious neglect . In 1651 it had been decided to expand the active fleet of 40 ships by activating 36 older warships . One year later it was decided to acquire a further 150 armed merchantmen as a reserve . The Frisian Admiralty did not , however , manage to comply with this first order of 1651 , though it punctually met the second command ( from 1652 ) for delivery of 17 ships . For the first time in its history the Admiralty had a considerable number of larger warships operational : up to eight were supplied to the national fleet . Each ship was between 120 and 125 feet long and between 27 and 28 feet wide . The ships were manned by 85 sailors and 25 soldiers and armed with between 28 and 30 guns . At the Battle of Plymouth in 1652 , the Frisian Admiralty ships " Westergo " , " Albertina " , " Schaapherder " , " Sara " , " Hector van Troye " , and " Gelderlandt " were present , under command of Commodore Michiel de Ruyter , as well as the Frisian captain Douwe Aukes on board the Dutch East India Company warship " De Vogelstruys " , which had been added to the national fleet on the outbreak of war , with a crew of 200 heads and 40 guns . Aukes and his vessel , separated from the rest of the fleet , were surrounded by four British ships but when his crew was about to surrender Aukes threatened to blow her up himself if they refused to fight . The crew was so afraid that in the subsequent fight two British ships were sunk while the others were put to flight . The other Admiralty colleges were not always pleased with the behavior of the crew of the ships of the Frisian Admiralty — for example , during this war , one of the Frisian ships sailed home without permission , and after the Battle of Portland the shipmasters Sekema Becks and Allert Jansz were punished for not taking part . Mainly because of money problems , it was chronically difficult for the Admiralty to sufficiently supply its vessels during the war , as was demonstrated in December 1652 . Frisian captains Schelte Tjerks Wiglema and Adriaan Brunsveldt had not yet received the funds to feed the crew when Tromp required them to join his fleet . Hastily , Wiglema travelled to The Hague to ask for the necessary money , but this was denied . Ultimately the Dokkumer captain paid for the provisions himself , " from his love for , and to the greater glory of , the Fatherland . " Wiglema himself wouldn ' t eat much of the food , being killed a few weeks after . Understandably , through the lack of money many ships , most of them being older converted merchantmen , were in poor condition . When the " Westergo " sank in 1653 , her hull hadn ' t been cleaned for eight months . Near the end of the war , in 1653 , the States - General decided , on instigation of the Grand Pensionary of the States of Holland Johan de Witt , to keep a large standing navy during peacetime . This " New Navy " consisted of a professional core of 64 capital ships . Five of these were to be Frisian ships . War in the Baltic . When in the Northern Wars Sweden tried to conquer Denmark in an attempt to gain control of the Baltic Sea , the Swedes threatened to inflict great damage on Dutch trade . The Dutch Republic thus began to fear for her trade on the Baltic Sea and sent a fleet led by Lieutenant - Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam to help the Danes in what became known as the Dutch - Swedish War . The Swedes were defeated in 1658 in the Battle of the Sound . Five Frisian ships took part in this battle , including the " Albertina " under Captain Auke Stellingwerf and the troop transport " Judith " under master Tjerk Hiddes de Vries . Stellingwerf , acting on behalf of the Admiralty , wintered in Denmark from 1658 to 1659 as did Tjerk Hiddes de Vries , defending Copenhagen against the Swedish attack . Second Anglo - Dutch War . In 1661 the States - General , to compensate losses , ordered the Frisian Admiralty to build three ships ( out of eighteen across all the Admiralties ) , and five more in 1664 , but none were ever delivered . The States - General became irritated and stated that they were " displeased in the highest possible extent " . In response , that same year two Frisian warships were built , the " Sevenwolden " and the " Princes Albertina " . The threat of war with England rapidly increasing , the Admiralty began to adopt a more active attitude towards ship construction . Ships like the " Oostergo " ( with 225 men and 56 guns ) and " d ' Elff Steden " with 175 men and 46 guns were then still seen as sufficiently heavy . However , in the autumn of 1664 the States - General became convinced it had at last become unavoidable to match the English fleet in strength and firepower ; in December 1664 they ordered the construction of 24 new and much heavier vessels along with a number of lighter ships , the Frisian share being a fleet of nine vessels with a total crew of 1930 sailors and 416 cannon . In January 1665 , a second order of 24 heavy vessels was placed , the Frisian Admiralty having to build three of them and also two yachts , two galiot s , two fireship s , and an ammunition supply vessel . Now that war was imminent and the Orangist province of Friesland — contrary to the predictions of the English ambassador George Downing — fully participated in the confederal war effort , lack of money was no longer an obstacle , and the Admiralty immediately began construction on these ships . When the Second Anglo - Dutch War finally broke out , the Frisian fleet sailed . In the course of February 1665 the Frisian squadron gathered at the Texel . The crews were mostly recruited among seamen of the merchant navy forbidden to sail their merchant ships until the navy vessels were fully manned . The crew of the " Westergo " included a Polish sailor , who discovered a way of setting an enemy sail on fire with burning arrows . On 1 May , all the captains were gathered by Lieutenant - Admiral Stellingwerf and given their orders . The next day , however , a contrary wind meant they could not sail out . In the last few days , marriages were hurriedly concluded , for the fleet was to sail on 24 May . The ships " Zevenwolden " , " Groeningen " , " Prinses Albertine " , " d ' Elf Steden " , " Westergo " , " Omlandia " , " Frisia " , " De Postillon van Smirna " , " Hollandia " , and " Oostergo " finally sailed , with a combined crew of 2279 sailors and 700 cannon . The great fleet finally arrived in the North Sea , sinking several British merchantmen . In June , however , the combined Dutch fleet engaged the English in the Battle of Lowestoft and suffered a heavy defeat , Stellingwerf being among the admirals killed . He was succeeded as Lieutenant - Admiral of the Frisian fleet by Tjerk Hiddes . In 1666 , while Lieutenant - Admiral Michiel de Ruyter was supreme commander of the rebuilt and expanded Dutch fleet , Frisian ships were present at the Four Days Battle near Dunkirk . In this battle the British lost ten ships and 2 , 800 men , compared with the four ships and two thousand man lost by the Dutch . Tjerk Hiddes distinguished himself by his bravery . This was to be the zenith of Frisian naval power , for not six weeks later the Dutch fleet was defeated in the St James ' s Day Battle with the thirteen Frisian ships being badly mauled . Tjerk Hiddes was mortally wounded , Rudolf Coenders killed . Still , the next year , 1667 , the Frisian Admiralty again equipped eleven larger vessels . It rendered only a modest contribution to the decisive Raid on the Medway — its fleet was initially too late — but such ships as the " Groningen " ( between 276 and 300 crew members and 70 guns ) , the flagship of the new Frisian operational commander Vice - Admiral Enno Doedes Star , were used to cover the national fleet . Third Anglo - Dutch War . In the Third Anglo - Dutch War the Frisian fleet was already markedly diminished in power . As the province was under threat by the army of Bernhard von Galen it couldn ' t spend much funds on naval activities . As a result , after the initial Battle of Solebay , in which nine Frisian ships were present , the entire Dutch fleet was rather small , despite having to fight the combined Anglo - French force . The Admiralty of Friesland nevertheless provided the following ships and captains for the 1673 Battle of Texel , the last great sea battle of this war : Ships of the line : < br > " d ' Elf Steden " 50 ( Witzo Johannes Beima ) < br > " Prins Hendrik Casimir " 70 ( Rear - Admiral Hendrik Bruynsvelt ) < br > " Groningen " 70 ( Vice - Admiral Enno Doedes Star ) < br > " Oostergo " 58 ( Jan Janszoon Vijselaer ) < br > Frigate : < br > " Windhond " 30 ( Jan Pieterszoon Vinckelbos ) < br > Scouting vessels : < br > " Hoop " 6 ( Cornelis Reindertszoon Eenarm ) < br > " Liefde " ( Jochem Jansen ) < br > " Brander " : < br > " Welkomst " ( IJsbrand Albertszoon ) Decline . In the years after 1673 , the Frisian fleet never recovered . Although the national Dutch fleet continued to grow in strength during the wars between William III of Orange and Louis XIV of France , the Frisians were unable to keep up with developments . In 1685 the entire Frisian fleet consisted of two frigates , and even these were in a poor condition . Between 1672 and 1712 Friesland had just seven naval vessels built . Due to the wars with France , in 1712 the Republic was financially exhausted . Even the rich province of Holland decided to temporarily discontinue warship construction ; for much poorer Friesland this situation would basically last well into the second half of the 18th century . As a result , soon after 1715 Friesland was unable to equip even a single larger vessel . To end this situation , between 1728 and 1730 the English shipwright Thomas Davis in Harlingen built the " Prins Friso " of 52 cannon , to provide the Admiralty with a flagship . This was the only major warship constructed in Friesland between 1700 and 1758 . In 1740 the frigate " Termeer " was purchased from the Admiralty of Amsterdam and renamed the " Friesland " . In the second half of the 18th century a minor Dutch naval renaissance took place with modern warships being built in an attempt to counter growing British naval dominance . Friesland also embarked on a small construction programme . In 1758 Charles Bentham built the " Prins Willem " ( 36 cannon ) , in 1760 wharf master Willem Lodewijk van Genth built the " Princesse Maria Louisa " ( 54 cannon ) , and in 1769 the " d ' Eendracht " ( 24 cannon ) was built . After 1778 production accelerated and fourteen vessels were under construction between that year and 1789 , though two of these would remain unfinished . The Harlingen Era . The Harlingen period encompassed both the apex and the lowest point of Frisian sea power . At the height of the Admiralty , Harlingen had four wharfs . Dozens of warships were launched . This period produced naval heroes such as Tjerk Hiddes de Vries and Auke Stellingwerf , both fatally wounded during naval service — under Dutch conventions , being killed in battle was the mark of a real naval hero . Under the command of Tjerk Hiddes de Vries , during the Second Anglo - Dutch War , the Frisian Admiralty ' s fleet was at its largest , with no less than forty vessels , large and small . The Frisian Admiralty in this time also profited from the sale of seized goods and ships . For example , during the Four Days Battle on June 13 , 1665 , the " Nagelboom " , a VOC ship taken the previous year by the English during the Battle of Lowestoft , was recaptured by the Frisians . As it was their prize it was also their legal possession , no longer that of the VOC . In an advertisement in the " Haerlemse Courant " a year later the same ship came up for sale : " The council members of the Frisian Admiralty present to be publicly sold to the highest bidder a capital and distinguished Warship named the Nagelboom , captured by Vice - Admiral Coenders in the latest Battle against the English , complete with Shrouds , Rigging , Sails , Anchors and Ropework , and also a large quantity of Cannon and all further accessories , more broadly specified in the Inventory kept by our Sales Master , that any whom it pleases may there see and inspect . Who has interest may come , on the next 31 July Old Style , in the College of their Noble Mightinesses within Harlingen , at ten o ' clock before Noon , and buy according to the Conditions and Articles that can be read in advance by any Bystander from the prescribed Day . " In the 18th century activities were minimal ; the short revival later that century was dealt a serious blow when during the night of 12 to February 13 , 1771 the townspeople couldn ' t prevent a fire laying waste to the building of the Frisian Admiralty in Harlingen . Not only did the " vergaderhuis " ( council hall ) and two associated warehouses burn down , but also the entire archive . After this fiasco the Admiralty moved to the " Havenplein " . The time in Harlingen saw other mishaps as well . In 1781 , during the Fourth Anglo - Dutch War , the Frisian Admiralty in Harlingen began building the two largest ships of the line in its history , the 74 gun " Vriesland " and " Stadt en Lande " ( named after the provinces of Friesland and Groningen respectively ) , but construction was halted when it was realized , after new soundings , that they were too large to leave port , having too deep a draught to pass the " Buitenhaven " , the silted exit channel . After several years ' indecision as to what to do with them , they were sold for scrap in 1792 . The end . At the end of the eighteenth century the Frisian Admiralty hit hard times , with Friesland suffering major financial problems . In 1795 , during the Batavian Republic , the different Admiralties of Netherlands were merged into a central committee to fulfil the wishes of the Patriots , in the context of transforming the Dutch confederation into a unitary state . The Admiralty ' s shipyard , where warships were nearing completion and launch , moved into private hands . The last ship launched by the Admiralty was in 1789 , the 20 gun " Syreene " . Few opposed this merger , since the best days of this and the other Admiralties were well behind them . The Dutch Navy ' s dominant role was over forever . Sea battles in which it participated . Between 1596 and 1792 the Admiralty of Friesland participated in several sea battles , usually as part of a confederate fleet from the five different Dutch Admiralties , the Zeeuwse , Friese , Westfriese , Amsterdam and the Rotterdamse . In a few cases , it participated in international coalitions . In some sea battles the Frisian Admiralty opted out ; sometimes because it was too late to join in , and sometimes because it did not have sufficient funds to raise a fleet , as in most battles of the Third Anglo - Dutch War ( since Friesland and Groningen were already under attack from the bishop of Münster , Bernhard von Galen ) . A few ships of the former Frisian Admiralty fought in the Battle of Camperdown in 1797 , under the flag of the Batavian Republic . Famous " Vlootvoogden " ( " Fleet Guardians " ) and other notable officers of the Frisian Admiralty . Due to the small initial size of the fleet of the Frisian Admiralty , in its first period no flag officers were appointed , though Van den Broeck functioned as an acting rear - admiral in 1652 . This situation lasted until the Second Anglo - Dutch war , when , in 1665 , a full hierarchy of three admirals was created . After 1691 , however , no vice - admiral was appointed and after 1723 again no flag officers were present at all .