Replica of the Prins Willem (1651)

Full-scale replica of a Dutch sailing ship - a VOC-ship in  the  Golden  Century  of  Holland.
The "Prins Willem", built in 1651 at Middelburg, Zeeland (the Netherlands) was one of the largest of East Indiamen to be constructed during the 17th Century.
Built to withstand long and often hazardous sea voyages, the East Indiaman enabled the Dutch East Indie Company to participate in the highly profitable trade with Asia and contributed to the Netherlands' dominance of world trade during the 17th Century.

The "Prins Willem" was seconded to the Dutch Navy during the First Anglo-Dutch War, and it participated in the 1652 sea battle near Duins. After returning to the merchant navy, the "Prins Willem" made five journeys to South East Asia along the lucrative spice route, before being wrecked off the island of Brandon on the return voyage to the Netherlands in Februari 1662.

A full-scale replica was recently build in Holland and shipped to Japan to be a major attraction in Nagasaki Holland Village, in Omura (Japan),  a Dutch-themed amusement center. We show you some photographes of this replica. Click on the images for a larger view.

Foto's W.van Marle

To read the story about how the "Prins Willem" was wrecked in February 1662, visit the following site
www.vocshipwrecks.nl/home_voyages/prins_willem2.html
(The story is in the Dutch language only)
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Last update August 4th 2003
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