IN THEE STAITS SERVIS
139
Figure 3. Major groups of foreigners in
Adriaan Banckert's crew, 1664-1666
H British
Southern Netherlands
French
German
4-
'Z 2-"
23 Dec 1664 Winter 20 Apr 1665 3 22 July 30 Sep 1665 30 Dec 1665 27 May 1666
1664/5 1665
Despite a handful of men who served only for a few months over this period, the
Scots contingent grew steadily in overall numbers around a small and long-serv
ing hardcore of predominantly educated men on the lower deck. The latter had
joined Banckert at the earliest opportunity in summer 1664 when war was look
ing increasingly likely and naval preparations begun. The hardcore members John
Johnson, Thomas Qualeth, and Andrew Smith held firmly on to their Scots iden
tity whilst simultaneously showing clear signs of Dutch assimilation - Johnson
and Smith signed their names in Dutch form. Paid as prime hands, by May 1666
the British made up 6% of Banckert's crew, and had followed him into his new
flagship Tholen. The educated Thomas Qualeth was promoted to quartermaster
and Banckert also obtained Andrew Dougal, formerly De Hase's pilot. Another
educated Scot, George Morris, mentioned above, and somehow personally obli
gated to Banckert, also joined in August 1665. He had previously served with
Abraham Crijnssen aboard Prins te PaardJ08
As we have seen, British personnel did not just serve on the lower deck; entry at
or promotion to warrant/petty officer was just as likely for them as for other for
eigners. At Rotterdam in 1652 'many of the gunners and inferior officers and sev
eral other men are English, Scots and others'.109 Matthew Stuart, a Calais resident,
was gunners mate aboard Vlissingen in 1665.110 Sometimes their service was suffi
ciently long enough to span two wars. A cluster of Scots served aboard Cornelis
Evertsen the Younger's Utrecht in the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The chief bosun,
Peter Merkel of Aberdeen, enlisted in July 1664 and had risen rapidly through the
junior bosun's grades, his wife was in Zeeland with him. Two of Evertsen's three
gunners hailed from Dysart: Alexander Swain and David Thomson. Both had also
received considerable wage rises in rapid succession, marking them as key skilled
