108 17de eeuwse handelsbetrekkingen

When Michiel de Ruyter went to Iligh in the 17th Century he traded in hats. What the lord of Iligh really wanted of course were weapons and lots of it. But the Staten Generaal, the parliament of the Dutch Republic had ordered that there would be no weapons sold to the Sultan of Morocco for fear he would turn them on the Dutch. But Ali Aboudmiaa presented himself as an independent ruler who had nothing to do with the Sultan. That was the arrogance that would cost his offspring and Iligh dearly later on. For De Ruyter Aboudmiaa's word was enough. The hats provided excellent cover for the more profitable canons and muskets. On the other hand hats and other head coverings like helmets only showed the importance of the wearer if decked out with exotic oistrich feathers and that was something Ali Aboudmiaa had plenty of.

88 Michiel de Ruyter in Iligh

Michiel de Ruyter has written in his diaries about his visits to Iligh and his meetings with the ‘Sant’. But until now there are no documents found written by people in Iligh about his visits. Of course Iligh was destroyed a few decennia later. The strange thing is that there isn’t a memory either among the family Aboudmiaa of a Dutch trader selling them modern weaponry. Maybe the sounds of the name were just too foreign: El Soussie who wrote about Iligh in the nineteen fifties did mention him and gave him an unrecognizably scrambled name. Bert Hogervorst hasn’t figured out yet how he came by his information: from the biography of De Ruyter or by documents he got from the Aboudmiaa family and reportedly never gave back? Thinking about De Ruyter in Iligh I can see that the set up might be different from what he was used too, but I’m sure De Ruyter also saw similarities between Iligh and the Dutch Republic. Iligh was small but was making a name for itself in international trade in particular across the Sahara. It had mighty enemies that were eager to destroy it. It was wealthy and it had a liberal attitude towards others. Jews in particular had found refuge there. Not Jews from the Iberian Peninsula as in the Republic but Jews from nearby Ifrane. And as in the Low Countries the Jews had brought prosperity because of their connections. It was ‘The Golden Age’ in the Republic but the same can be said about Morocco. In the seventeenth century there wasn’t such a big difference between the standard of living and the level of development in Europe and the Islamic world. That only came to be in the nineteenth century with the industrial revolution in Europe.

87 Thinking about Michiel de Ruyter

During his lifetime Michiel de Ruyter was portrayed many times. His portrait in paint and print must have decorated many a wall. Clearly people needed at the time of threatening civil war an idol and he fitted the profile. When De Ruyter became vice admiral of the fleet under Cornelis Tromp, the less talented son of the celebrated Maarten Tromp, he was a novice to the viper pit that was the Dutch political scene. He had no connections and was a self made man. He came from an Orangist Island but got his commission from Johan de Witt a staunch State supporter. Although admiring Johan de Witt and his gifted brother Cornelis and becoming friends with them, he never chose sides. In contrast his boss at the Admiralty Cornelis Tromp was an card-carrying Orangist and took part in intrigues to bring Willem III Prince of Orange to power. De Ruyter’s only loyalty was with his family and the Dutch Republic. On the portrait paintings of De Ruyter he has a fleshy, glum but not unfriendly face albeit rather plain. He is clearly heir to generations of Jenever drinkers as so many Dutch. His stance is confident but rather square. His clothes are plain and practical. His ability to stay neutral yet be loyal to a few principles, combined with a sharp mind and healthy curiosity in anything that was new, different and could be put to use, made him an ideal ‘traveller’. His ships might have been an extension of his home island, but once on foreign shore he was open to new experiences. Hence his learning the Irish a.o.. This worked very well of course when he was not tied to the duties of warfare. The Bros De Witt stimulated his innovative tendencies. That’s how a.o. came the forming of an ‘army at sea’ about: the Marines.

86 Michiel De Ruyter on shore

After his lucrative period on the Salamander Michiel De Ruyter settled into the life of a respected Burger of Vlissingen. He married Anna van Gelder a 38 year old widow with children and bought a house. To celebrate his love for his new wife he called his house: ‘De Gecroonde Liefde’ (The Crowned Love). It could have been the name of a ship. With the narrow, steep stairs and small low-ceilinged rooms houses in Holland and on the islands (Zeeland) could be seen as ships on shore. Of all the properties in Vlissingen De Ruyter chose the house right across the warehouses of Cornelis Lampsins. I drew the street and the house. There was a sharp cold wind from the north. It made sitting out of the sun very unpleasant. There was also no seating. However the man of the house where I leant against the windowsill kindly gave me a chair: to leave when I had finished. De Ruyter never sold the ‘Crowned Love’. However his plans for a peaceful life on shore was never to be. That same year the Republic got into war with England. The Admiralty of Zeeland asked him for help and he couldn’t say no. Although he really didn’t want to go back to sea. From that time onwards till his death in 1676 he was in the Navy. The ships the Province of Zeeland send to war were just merchant ships with guns. Nevertheless De Ruyter defeated the English war ships in the Battle at Plymouth. After the death of Admiral Maarten Tromp, De Ruyter was asked by Johan de Witt the ‘Raadpensionaris’ (leader of the governing council) of the Republic to take Tromp’s place in the Dutch fleet. This promotion forced him and his family to move from Vlissingen to Amsterdam. He and his wife bought a house on the ‘Buitenkant’ (Outside) with a view of the harbour. Now it is Prins Hendrikkade 131. He became the hero of three sea wars with England, invented the Marine Corps and modernized the fleet.

84 Weapons for Feathers

For eighty years the Dutch Republic was in a state of war with the Spanish Kingdom and made it a profitable business. The Republic started off on borrowed money trying to fight a war the traditional way with hired troops under the command of Princes. That didn’t work at all. Quickly enough the Republic came to rely on the Merchant Navy. With letters of consent in the pocket and guns below deck the captains of the merchant fleet became the scourge of the Spanish. Part of the loot went to the coffers of the Republic but a sizable part stayed with the ships owners, skippers and the crew. That part was often in kind: goods, riches and weapons. The Dutch became important weapons’ traders. The story goes that the most important client was actually the very people they had taken the guns from: the Spanish. When Michiel de Ruyter sailed his own ship the Salamander to Morocco, he brought at first ‘regular’ stuff for trade with him. In the MuZeeum in Vlissingen they told me with a knowing smile he brought ‘beads and mirrors for the natives’. It was a little bit different. Ali Aboudmiaa, the ‘Sant’ as De Ruyter calls him, had territorial ambitions. He wanted weapons of the most advanced variety. And that was what De Ruyter provided. In exchange he got Ostrich feathers. Was it a good deal: weapons against feathers? De Ruyter thought so. At home the rich and powerful liked to wear Ostrich feathers on hats and helmets. They were willing to pay handsomely for ‘fashion’. Ali Aboudmiaa probably laughed till his stomach hurt. The once very advanced guns are now decorating the sea wall in Vlissingen. Ancient or not they still have firing power. On special occasions the wick is lit and the cannons boom.

83 About Pilots, Pirates and ‘Lorrendaaiers’

In the old days pilots were fishermen who for a bit of cash helped skippers through the treacherous waters of the estuaries that made up the Low Countries. Even now with satellite navigation, radar and depth sounding there is not a ship that passes Vlissingen without a pilot. The pilot’s boats are high-powered affairs that flit in and out of the pilot harbour like hornets out of their nests. The sketch shows a pilot leaving port. To the left on the fort the statue of De Ruyter. It is funny to see the small boats speeding angrily up towards one of the huge freighters, swerve around, latch-on and board. When the job is done they race back full throttle. The whole procedure reminds me irresistibly of pirates. The Dutch Republic owed in its first 25 years a lot to pirates and privateering. In the beginning the Republic didn’t have a fleet and on land it could do little against mighty Spain. But on the waters between the many islands and beyond on sea belligerently fearless and reckless skippers and their crews did Spain but also England a lot of harm. Writing out letters of consent to privateers (Kaperbrieven) kept the Republic in money. The biggest triumph was when the pirate Piet Hein captured the Silver Fleet that sailed from the Americas back to Spain. It provided the State’s coffers with money for almost a year. De Ruyter did the ‘kaap’ (privateering) once: in 1637 commissioned by Lampsins. Pirates were considered respectable until the Dutch got a proper fleet. On the other hand ‘Lorrendraaiers’ were bad asses! There is a painting of two ‘Lorrendraaier’ ships before Vlissingen in full sail and proudly flying the Republic’s colours in a devil may care attitude. ‘Lorrendraaiers’ were ships that carried no letters of consent and didn’t belong to any organisation. Instead they pirated on the regular merchant navy. In particular they did a bit of illegal slave trade. Before becoming an admiral De Ruyter worked all kinds seafaring jobs but never did he stoop so low.

80 Vlissingen 1652

1652 was an important year in the life of Michiel de Ruyter. Het married Anne van Gelder and had bought a house. His trade with Iligh and the Caribbean had made him a rather wealthy man. He wanted to spend more time with his family and less time on the seven seas. However that was not going to be. Johan de Witt asked him to help out the young Republic as it was threatened on all sides. This map of Vlissingen shows a relative big city that is well protected from outside enemies both human and water. The population of Vlissingen has grown but not by much. The old town and coast are still more or less the same. Although most harbours and docks as well as the moat have been filled in. What I had to draw I could find on this map. The history of Vlissingen is a long one. It has always been a desirable possession because of its strategic position at the entrance of the Schelde estuary and its rich hinterland of Antwerp, Brugge and Gendt. In 1572 it became the second city within the very young Dutch Republic to rid itself of Spanish rule. They weren’t ‘taken’; the population freed itself. After that it became a wealthy port and trading centre by itself till Amsterdam took over in importance. Typical after getting his commission as Vice Admiral of the fleet De Ruyter had to move to Amsterdam. However he kept his house in Vlissingen.

78 Michiel de Ruyter as seen on TV

On my first night in Vlissingen my local friend Martina and I settled in front of the TV to watch ‘The Admiral’ on Netflix. The film tells the story of Michiel as head of the fleet during the wars with England. It is set in the period after he was a trader, had his own ship the ‘Salamander’ and travelled with it to Morocco and the Caribbean. It starts in the year he was asked by the council of the Dutch Republic to join the admiralty. Apart from his prowess in battle and his genius as a naval tactician we are shown the political reality of the times. The Republic was rich and doing well in international trade. The other sea powers were jealous and attacked the young country: in particular England and later France. Inside the Republic a civil war threatened. The Seven Provinces were ruled by the party of traders and ad hoc politicians called the ‘Staatsgezinden’ or State Supporters. Their leader was Johan de Witt who was supported by his brother Cornelis. They were opposed by the faction around the Prince of Orange. The princely pretender was Prince Willem III the later King William of England or King Billy. Willem III was gay and Lord Bentinck was his lover as seen on the film. Michiel de Ruyter came from a region that was staunchly Orange, but was also a great friend and admirer of the bros De Witt. Apart from some misplaced, modern American style and lengthy speeches about ‘freedom’ the movie explains a very complicated and for an Anglo-Saxon public totally incomprehensible moment in history succinctly effective. Well done! The sketch is of the Great or Saint Jacob’s Church the most important landmark in the coastal town and very important in the life of De Ruyter.

75 Paolo de Mas in Iligh in 2011

Paolo de Mas only came back to Iligh in 2011 with a TV crew with presenter Daphne Bunskoek. The Dutch national broadcaster made a series about slavery and the Dutch: a rather controversial and neglected subject. One part of the series was dedicated to Dutch hostages or the so-called Christian slaves. They weren’t really slaves they were hostages held for ransom. But of course when they weren’t paid for they ended their lives as slaves. In the meantime they were set to work: for instance on building the city walls of Meknes. The rulers in Morocco tended to hold all Dutch sailors for ransom that stranded on Moroccan shores or whose ships were looted. In the 17th century that were quite a lot: among them was also Dutch rebel warrior Piet Hein. The VOC had a ‘ransom fund’ for these occasions. But crews of ships that weren’t part of that organisation had to rely on private or parochial fundraising to be bought out. The House of Iligh also held Christian sailors for ransom and among them was a number of Dutch. Michiel de Ruyter describes in his diaries how he could buy out a number of them but also had to leave behind some as he didn’t have enough funds and he didn’t know if he would be paid back for his troubles. To highlight this story Paolo de Mas took the TV crew to Iligh. They were welcomed in the White Castle by his old friend Hamdi Aboudmiaa. Most shots were taken amid the rundown southern part of the village: not even in the ‘court’. And by the look of it, the weather was cold and miserable. But it is a great story and Paolo told it well in front of the cameras.

Chapter 1 Iligh and the Dutch in the 17th century

Part of the Grant Application was a list of chapters and a short description of each chapter. Writing it brought in focus the potentially strong and weak points of the plot-line.From the start we put ourselves in the middle of the story together with Iligh as a location and as a historical power. But does that make a riveting story? Chapter 1 The seventeenth century: the first Dutch connections with Iligh. There are two important seventeenth century sources that tell us about Iligh in Dutch. Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral of the fleet and hero of several wars against England, kept a diary all through his years at sea. Between 1644 and 1652 before being asked by the Dutch Republic to the admiralty, he traded with the ruler of Iligh. In his diaries he describes the travels inland from Santa Cruz (Agadir), the negotiations with the ruler of Iligh whom he calls the 'Sant'because of his religious status as descendant of a Sufi saint and his meetings with Dutch hostages. One of the hostages was Jan van Maren a ship's captain who wrote the story of his ordeal in Iligh after being freed by his former boss: De Ruyter. Will there also be written sources in the archives of Iligh that tell us about trading with the Dutch? The drawing is of the roadstead of Salé. Here Michiel de Ruyter went on land for the first time in Morocco.