AH-WR-0994

Prince Maurice

Dutch Colonial Merchant Ship · Dutch Republic · Lost 1657 · Long Island & the New York Approaches

A Dutch West India Company ship bound for a Delaware River colony was wrecked on Fire Island in a 1657 nor'easter, its passengers saved by watching Indigenous islanders.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The Prince Maurice sailed from Amsterdam in December 1656 carrying about 129 colonists, soldiers, and Dutch West India Company officials bound for the colony of New Amstel on the Delaware River. Separated from her convoy by storms, she struck the Fire Island coast on the night of March 8, 1657, during a nor'easter. Indigenous people keeping watch on the shore heard the wreck, and passengers and crew were gradually brought off the broken ship in the following days. The disaster delayed and complicated the colony's founding leadership, several of whom were aboard.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Dutch West India Company

Loss

Date: March 8, 1657
Cause: Storm
Location: Coast of Fire Island, Long Island
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Amsterdam and Texel, Netherlands → New Amstel, South (Delaware) River colony
Cargo: Gunpowder, roofing tiles, and colonial supplies
Aboard: 129
Lives lost: Accounts describe passengers and crew reaching shore with the help of local Indigenous people and small boats over the following days; a precise death toll is not established in the sources reviewed.
Master: Dirck Cornelisz Honingh (skipper)

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Fire Island, New York
Region: Long Island & the New York Approaches

General area of Fire Island; no specific wreck position is published.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (62/100)

Casualty figures, the vessel's precise design (fluyt or pinnace), and any wreck location beyond "Fire Island" are not established in the sources reviewed.