AH-WR-1420

Unidentified 1619 Dutch Privateer

Privateer/Pirate Vessel · Dutch Republic · Lost Reported grounded in 1619 per Governor Nathaniel Butler's account · Bermuda

A stranded Dutch privateer or pirate pinnace of 1619, rescued and repatriated by Bermudians, later identified through a joint archaeological survey of a wreck site on the island's reef.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

In 1619, a Dutch pinnace described by Bermuda's governor as carrying down-on-their-luck buccaneers grounded on the island's western reef while sailing from the Caribbean. Islanders rescued the Dutch and English crew, who were repatriated within the year, while the vessel was reportedly left to break apart in later storms. In 2018, East Carolina University and National Museum of Bermuda archaeologists proposed that an unidentified wreck site in a nearby sheltered bay may represent the remains of this vessel, potentially making it one of the earliest archaeologically documented privateer or pirate ships in the Americas.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: Reported grounded in 1619 per Governor Nathaniel Butler's account
Cause: Grounding
Location: Western reef, Bermuda
Water: Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda reef
Voyage: Caribbean
Cargo: Arms, lumber, and hardware, according to salvage evidence
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Disarticulated timbers and structural remains documented by archaeologists in a shallow bay believed linked to the grounding site.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Site examined by East Carolina University and National Museum of Bermuda archaeologists, announced 2018
Protection: Site studied under partnership between East Carolina University and the National Museum of Bermuda; specific protective designation not established in sources reviewed.

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position withheld to protect the site
Nearest: Western Bermuda reef
Region: Bermuda

Precise site location not published in sources reviewed, consistent with protection of an active archaeological site.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (40/100)

The vessel's name, exact build details, and definitive link between the historical 1619 account and the surveyed wreck site remain unconfirmed in the sources reviewed.

East Carolina University News Services
Historical account of the 1619 grounding, rescue of the crew, and archaeological investigation of a candidate wreck site
National Museum of Bermuda
Institutional context for Bermuda underwater archaeology partnerships