When yachts were first used and built in Holland is not known; probably at a very early date. Naturally, from the nature of the country, they were a necessity, as were the private carriages and public coaches in other countries before the days of steam; and the various types of yachts used in Holland were as numerous as their employment; we should feel deeply indebted to the Dutch artists of that period, upon whose canvas yacht-portraits have frequently been delineated.
The most ancient yacht of which diligent and careful research has been able to discover a portrait, is one that was owned by the burgomasters of Amsterdam about the year 1600. The original picture is executed by Rool, in India ink on parchment. Worn by age, it nevertheless gives the details of the hull and rig with the fidelity and minuteness for which the artists of Holland are justly famous. This yacht was probably used by the burgomasters in their various official duties afloat, to their great comfort and enjoyment: a portrait is also given of the yacht owned by Maurice of Nassau, the younger son of William the Silent, who died at The Hague on April 23, 1625.
In 1638 Queen Mary of France visited Holland, receiving a series of splendid ovations at the various cities en route. A representation of the review in her honor by the yachts of Amsterdam is here given.
Some particulars of the seventeenth-century yachts of Holland are given in the Dictionaire de Marine, published in Amsterdam, 1702. The measurements in this work are in the Rhenish foot of
