Started Sailing

16th century ship supplies.

by Brian
(Johnson City New York)

My son is researching Giovanni da Verrazzano and we were curious as to what supplies may have been on the Spanish Carrack "La Dauphine". Any links or information regarding this would be greatly appreciated. If possible, the original manifest. thanks. Brian

Comments for 16th century ship supplies.

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Jan 30, 2011

Not being an expert on food...
by: Han

Hi Brian,
I googled a bit and found this on the site:

http://www.hrmm.org/halfmoon/manual.htm from which I copy/pasted this text:

"The normal cooked meal was a stew or soup. It would contain salted beef, or salted pork, sometimes dried fish. Peas and beans provided the usual starch in these stews. An important ingredient in these dishes were onions and/or garlic. Both were used primarily for their flavoring effect, but also for their medicinal properties, such as vitamin C unknown to the sailors of the time, both therefore helped prevent scurvy.

Scurvy was not a common problem for sailors in the North American area. The journeys from Europe were relatively short, averaging approximately 12 weeks, and traditional food supplies tended to survive better in the more temperate climates.

Whenever possible crews would supplement their preserved food with fresh rations. We know from Juet´s journal that Hudson´s crew developed a particular fondness for Maine lobsters.

The normal drink of Hudson´s sailors was a type of weak beer called "duun beer" (or sometimes "klein beer") by the Dutch. The weak alcohol content helped to preserve the freshness of the drink, as fresh water would turn bad after a few weeks at sea. Fresh rain water was continually collected in a barrel.

Ship-Board Food & Food ways
Provisions supplied by the Dutch East India Company
1. Meat (Beef)
2. Bacon (Pork)
3. Wine
4. Brandy
5. Oil
6. Klein beer
7. "Good" beer
8. Spanish Wine
9. French Wine
10. Vinegar
11. Water
12. Ham (for officers)
13. Smoked Beef (for officers)
14. Smoked tongue (for officers)
15. Hard tack 16. Groats
17. White peas
18. Gray peas
19. Beans
20. Butter
21. Stock-fish (usually dried cod)
22. Cream Cheese
23. Hard Cheese
24. Salted Pork
25. Salted Beef
26. Pickled Herring
27. Whale Blubber
28. Brandy
29. Salt
30. Mustard Seed

Daily meals:
Breakfast: Normally included groats and pickled herring.
Dinner (lunch): Was the most substantial meal of the day. It would include a stew, or soup comprised of available meat or fish with dry beans or peas and flavorings such as onion and garlic.

Supper: Was normally leftovers from Dinner (lunch), sometimes supplemented by cheese.

Once a week, five pounds of hardtack and a pound of butter would be distributed for each person. Beer or water was available to be drunk at will."

I should remind you of the fact that this is about a Dutch ship at the start of the 17th century, but it won't differ much from a Mediterranean ship a few years earlier (maybe they had no beer and more wine).
For a longer trip they also took goats, pigs and chickens with them.

For the ship itself they took a lot of spare canvas and rope.

This is all I can think of for now.

Regards,
Han.

Oct 09, 2015

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