History · Dutch Emigration
Great Ships: Extraordinary Journeys
A historical nonfiction project exploring the vessels and human stories of Dutch emigration, from nineteenth-century sailing ships through the great passenger liners of the twentieth century and the transition to modern cruising.
About the book
The ships carried them across oceans. Their stories deserve to be preserved.
Great Ships: Extraordinary Journeys is a historical nonfiction project exploring both the vessels and the human stories of Dutch emigration, from the early sailing ships of the nineteenth century through the great passenger liners of the twentieth century and the eventual transition to modern cruising.
The book will examine the ships themselves: their construction, wartime service, shipping companies, passenger accommodations, and voyages. But its heart will be the experiences of the people who travelled aboard them.
Families left behind their homes, relatives, friends, and familiar surroundings, often uncertain whether they would ever return. Some travelled with excitement and optimism; others with sadness, fear, or little choice. Their journeys were marked by hardship, courage, unexpected friendships, and the hope of building a better future.
Through original photographs, passenger lists, tickets, shipboard menus, diaries, letters, and firsthand recollections, this book seeks to preserve those experiences for future generations.
A companion to The Netherlands and the Great Exodus: 1946–1960, this project will explore the wider maritime history of Dutch emigration while giving particular attention to the extraordinary postwar journeys that carried thousands of families to Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond.
Contribute to the project
An Invitation to Share Your Family's History
Many of these stories have never appeared in history books. They survive in family photograph albums, handwritten diaries, treasured documents, and memories passed from parents and grandparents to their children.
If you or your family travelled aboard one of these vessels, I would welcome the opportunity to hear your story.
Whether you have a complete family history, an original passenger ticket, a photograph, or simply a childhood memory of an ocean crossing, your contribution may help preserve an important piece of our shared history.
Historical material and personal recollections can be sent to: books@RichardAKiers.com