Onrust

Onrust
History
Laid downWinter 1614
General characteristics
Length44.5 ft (13.6 m)
Capacity16 tons
New Netherland as charted by Block in 1614

The Onrust (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɔnrʏst]; English: Restless) was a Dutch ship built by Adriaen Block and the crew of the Tyger, which had been destroyed by fire in the winter of 1613. The Onrust was the first ship to be built in what is now New York State, and the first fur trading vessel built in America. The construction took four months in the winter of 1614 somewhere in New York Bay. Help from the local Native population is surmised based on the relationship developed by Jon Rodriquez, left on the island during a previous voyage. The Onrust was 44.5 feet long[1] and capable of carrying 16 tons.

In 1614, Block sailed through the whirlpools (Hellegat) on the East River, and into Long Island Sound. There he named Block Island for himself. Block was also the first European to venture up the Connecticut River. He managed to get as far as the Enfield rapids, about 60 miles up the river. Besides finding several inland water routes, creating trading networks and mapping native villages, the two first accurate maps of the east coast were drawn based on the voyages of the Onrust. Later in the year, Block rendezvoused with the Fortuyn, also under his command, near Cape Cod and sailed back to the Netherlands on 1 October 1614. The Onrust was last reported in 1616 as headed to explore the "New River", now known as the Delaware River under Cornelius Hendrickson.

  1. ^ Van Dusen, Albert "Connecticut" Random House, 1961, p. 19. Note: Refers to the name as 'Restless' rather than the Dutch name Onrust.