Rotterdam was constructed in 1872 at the Henderson, Coulborn and Company shipyard in Renfrew, Scotland, United Kingdom.

She had a four-cylinder quadruple expansion engine driving a single screw propeller but she could also use her ten sails for propulsion.

[2] Some excitement occurred on 28 January 1876 when the New York Times reported that the well-known "Boston Forger" Mr. E. D. Winslow, had escaped from the United States to Holland by taking passage on the Rotterdam.

Some ferocious weather had caused considerable damage to the ship and had resulted in a delay of six days as she docked on 26 November 1879.

All 56 passengers survived the incident and were evacuated from the ship by the Zierikzee (a local fishing vessel, adapted for use as a lifeboat) and landed safely ashore.

Then the weather turned for the worse and the abandoned ship broke into two pieces on 12 October 1883 due to the pounding waves building up over the sandbank.