[1] On 28 December 1779, departing from Fort Rammekens [nl], she made her maiden voyage to Batavia, Dutch East Indies under command of Justinus van Gennep.

[1] On 15 January 1781 Middelburg returned from Guangzhou, China to the Dutch Republic together with the ships Honkoop, Hoog Carspel and Paerl.

[3] They arrived at Cape of Good Hope for an intermediate stop on 31 March 1781 and the fleet continued their voyage on 13 June 1781.

On 21 July 1781, as part of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War during the Battle of Saldanha Bay the fleet was ambushed by a squadron of Royal Navy warships under the command of commodore George Johnstone.

[4] The crew of Middelburg followed the instructions of the governor of the Cape Colony to prepare the ships for destruction when English capture threatened.