House of the chief executive in Middelburg - Middelburg

Michiel de Ruyter often sailed on (private) warships tasked with protecting merchant ships. Also in the service of the state, he had to defend sea routes that were important for Dutch trade. De Ruyter made sure that expensively loaded ships, from the WIC and the VOC for instance, could return home safely.

This building is the home of the VOC's chief quartermaster. The building bears the monogram of the VOC and the date 1616. After Amsterdam, Middelburg was the VOC's second city. The equipagemeester was responsible for the VOC dockyard that was located behind the house. Here, 336 ships were launched.

The dockyard provided many jobs in Middelburg. In the 18th century, some 700 men worked at the shipyard. These included positions such as sailmakers, blacksmiths, painters and carpenters.

Later, the building was used by the Middelburgse Commercie Compagnie and N.V. Vitrite.