Transport by Water

Transportation overland was difficult, especially in winter, so many people owned boats. Inland, they would travel use sailing vessels, rowing boats or barges to get around. In the late Middle Ages goods were mostly transported by sea in types of cargo vessels such as cogs and hulks. Increasing trade in the 17th and 18th centuries led to a demand for ships with larger cargo capacities. The solution arrived in the form of the pear-shaped fluyt, a vessel with an elongated hull that could carry bigger cargoes. Although fluyts mainly plied the Baltic trade routes, some also sailed to the East Indies. Waterborne transportation remains important for the Netherlands, and its port in Rotterdam is now the biggest Europe.