EENDRACHT Jacob le Maire

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(She is not the same EENDRACHT used by Dirck Hartog)

During the last years of the sixteenth century, the Dutch began challenging the Portuguese monopoly on the trade routes to the East Indies. Some individual companies organized ships and crews, and made voyages to the East Indies until 1602, when these companies were incorporated into one company called the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie(=Dutch East India Company) usually referred to as the VOC.
A charter was granted by the Staten Generaal of the Zeven Proviencies (Netherlands), which gave the VOC a monopoly of trade and communication around Cape of Good Hope and through the Straits of Magellan.

Isaac le Maire, a shareholder and director of the VOC, broke away from the VOC by founding a new company in 1610 called the Australische of Zuid Compagnie (=Compagne Australe).
At a high personal cost he fitted out two ships in the Dutch town Hoorn.
The EENDRACHT (Unity) a square sterned vessel of 180 last (360 tons) and armed with 19 gothelingen (cast guns) and 12 steenstucken (canon-perier). Carried on deck a sail and row-sloop and two boats.
Under command of Captain Willem Corneliszoon Schouten and a crew of 65 men.
The HOORN (most probably named after the town Hoorn) a yacht of 55 last ( 110 tons) got a armament of 8 gothelingen and 4 steenstucken, she was under the command of Jan Corneliszoon Schouten, the brother of Willem Corneliszoon Schouten, with a crew of 22 men.
Isaac le Maire appointed his young son, Jacob le Maire to takeoverall command of the two ships.
The destination of the voyage was kept secret and many rumors were going around Hoorn, as to where the ships were heading. The crews of the two ships were called “gouthaelders” (gold seekers) in Hoorn.
16 May 1615 the crew of both ships were signed on at Hoorn and nine days later the EENDRACH sailed from Hoorn to the roads at Texel, where she arrived two days later .
14 June 1615 late in the afternoon both ship set sail from the Texel roads to find a passage to the Southland.

Le Maire suspected that another route to the East existed south of the Straits of Magellan and the two vessels headed that way.
August found the two vessel were off the African coast and the first cases of scurvy were amongst the crew. At some place in Sierra Leone they landed and bartered with the natives for fresh food and drinking water. Many lemons were taken on board and due to this fruit only three men lost their lives in the 1½-year voyage.
After passing of the equator the crew was informed on 28 Oct 1615 where the ships were heading.
After arrival off the coast of Patagonia on 8 Dec. 1615 both ships anchored at Punta Deseado (=Port Desire), a favorite shelter for careening the vessels because of the tidal range.
During the cleaning and burning of weeds from the hull of the HOORN things got out of hand, and the vessel burned to the waterline. Only the guns and anchors were saved.
The crew of the HOORN were placed on board of the EENDRACHT and on 13 Jan. 1516, she heaved in her anchor and set sail south.
20 Jan. she passed the entrance to the Straits of Magellan and continued southward.
24 Jan she sighted a gap in the coastline and headed for the entrance, she sailed through the opening and headed to the west. The strait was named Le Maire Strait (=Estrecho de Le Maire) after his father and the land on the south was named after the Staten Generaal of the Zeven Provincies, Staten Landt (=Isla de los Estados).
Still sailing to the west along the coast on 29 Jan. a cape was sighted, which was named after the hometown of the ship Kaap Hoorn (Cape Horn), most probably the first European vessel ever to sail around this cape.
The course was altered in a northerly direction and on the 27 Feb. the western entrance of Strait Magellan was passed.
Steering north, they arrived at the Juan Fernandez Islands.
Passing through the Tuamotu Archipelago on 10th April 1616, they landed on Honden Eylandt (=Dog Island = Puka Puka). They then passed Sonder Grondt, (Without Ground) it was so named because there were no places to anchor.
14th April, another atoll was called Waterlandt, because they found fresh water, another island was called Vliegen Eylandt after they were attacked by swarms of mosquito’s.
At least one did havea good anchorage, the island was covered in Palm trees and was named Cocos Island (=Tafahi) and is in the north of the Tonga group of islands. On a nearby island the crew bartered nails and trinkets for pigs and bananas. The natives tried to raid the vessel and the island was named Verraders-eylandt (Traitor Island).


They were welcomed on 1 May 1616 on a friendly island, which they named Hoorn Island (Futuna and Alofi, part of the Wallis and Futuna Islands) and which are in a position halfway between Samoa and Fiji.
From there they headed to the N.W. and in July the coast of New Guinea was sighted, the anchor was dropped on the 25 June, and fighting broke out between the crew and the natives who came on board. The EENDRACHT heaved in the anchor and sailed along the north coast of New Guinea.
Sept. arrived at Ternate and on 18 Oct. she dropped her anchor on the road of Batavia (Jakarta) on the 28th October.
The ship and cargo were seized by the VOC. The at that time Governor General Jan Pieterzoon Coen did not believe that the vessel had reached Batavia via a newly discovered passage around South America, and that the journals had been falsified.
Le Maire and Schouten and 16 crew members were shipped back with Joris van Spilbergen’s fleet to the Netherlands, Jacob le Maire died during this homeward passage on 22 Dec. 1616, a broken man.

After the crew returned in the Zeven Provincies, Isaac le Maire sued the VOC for the seizure of the vessel and the journals, it took him more as two year before he won his case and was paid the cost with interest.
I couldn't find any information as to what has happened with the EENDRACHT after she was seized.

Grenada 1991 $4 sg2228, scott1957
Niuafo’ou 1985 1p50 sg54, scott54. 1p50 sgMS55, 1999 80s sg286, scott? sgMS?
Papua New Guinea 1987 70t sg554, scott?
Tonga 1985 32s sg896, scott?
Wallis and Futuna Island 1986 8f sg488, scott? 2013 330f sg?, scott?

Source: Many Dutch books. Encyclopedia of Exploration to 1800 by Raymond John Howgego, published by Hordern House, ISBN 1-875567-36-4.
Mirror of Australian Navigation by Jacob Le Maire, published by Hordern House Rare Books Pty. Ltd., ISBN 1-875567-25-9.
A google search on le Maire will give you many accounts of this voyage, one of the best is http://www.mercatormag.com/article.php3?i=48

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Walles & Fortuna 2002 125f sg?, scott?
Niuafo'ou 2016 $2/2.70 sgMS?, scott?
Tonga 2016 $1.20/5 sgMS?, scott? (The $1.20 stamps shows also the HOORN.)