Source: Gevelstenenvanamsterdam.nl | Gable stone of coopers working (not sure if free to use)
Source | A cooper working at the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in 1784 (image free to use)
Source: Gevelstenenvanamsterdam.nl | Gable stone of a Cooper (not sure if image free to use)
Keeping the seamen alive on a boat in the 1600's was a huge logistical operation. Stopping along the way was not always possible. When there are around 140 men on board, you have to bring a lot of food. , and with Not only did they need a lot of food, it needed to be kept edible as well. Even when you did go on land, there was no assurance food with a long shelf life could be found. This meant a ship going to the East or West Indies carried a supply that lasted up to 8 months. This food was stored in wooden barrels, made by a cooper. There was often a cooper on board to keep the barrels intact.
In de barrels pearl barley was stored (which they prepared with water). The Geelvinck family (Shareholders in slavery) was known to supply this to both the VOC and WIC. Dried fish and meat were only eaten once a week if you were a low rank sailor. There was Dutch gin (jenever) available for everyone on board, also stored in wooden barrels.
Without the cooper, long sailing journeys would have been impossible. There were a lot of coopers in Amsterdam, because there were a lot of people who all required a lot of food. Not all wooden barrels were used on ships, on land people needed barrels as well. For salting herring for example.
