It was carrying cargo from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies, and had taken the northern route to avoid interception by the English, since the Second Anglo-Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667) was expected to start soon.
The Kennemerland was an armed merchantman of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie; VOC).
[1] The ship made its maiden voyage for the VOC between 17 April 1662 and 25 August 1664, sailing from the Texel to Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) and back.
The night was dark and there were four sailors in the shrouds watching for land, but breakers appeared suddenly under the bow of the ship and it struck Stoura Stack in the Out Skerries before any warning could be given.
[5] The islanders salvaged much material, but agents of William Douglas, 9th Earl of Morton seized much of what they had recovered on the basis that he was Vice-Admiral of Orkney and Shetland.
King Charles I directed the Exchequer in Edinburgh to dispute the seizure, and Morton lost the goods as well as his position as Vice-Admiral.
Records of the legal disputes include an estimated inventory of the goods and other material on board, which seems to be based on interviews with the survivors, and details of everything that Morton's agents seized up to 1667.
[6] Divers from Aston and Manchester Universities excavated about 90 square metres (970 sq ft) of the sea bed during the summers of 1973 and 1974.
[10] There were bridle bits and stirrup irons, tar, tallow, rosin, mercury, olive oil, brandy, wine, vinegar, beer, preserved fruits, butter, flour and meat.
Forty years later a team from Cotswold Archaeology was sent by Historic Scotland to review and revise the plans of the Kemmerland based on the remnants still on the seabed using GIS technology.