Invariably there were some commanders without any close links with the town or city in which their Chamber had its headquarters. They had not been born there and they continued to live in their place of birth. This situation was by no means a coincidence in towns such as Flushing, Dordrecht, Leiden or Gouda, for fellow townsmen held appointments as directors on the boards of Chambers and such men were not indifferent to the interests of fellow citizens. Nevertheless, apart from such instances there were also commanders from other parts of the Dutch Republic, from Brielle in Holland to Harlingen in Friesland and the city of Groningen. One commander might choose to move to the town in which his employer was located while another preferred not to uproot himself. In the case of Jakob Rijzik of the Zealand Chamber, he opted to return to Brielle with his wife after the end of his maritime career in 1773. In the random sample of geographical origins, a few regions stand out as sources of commanders, but mostly only during a specific period. Examples were the Meuse towns of Vlaardingen and Maassluis, the coastal village of Katwijk-aan-Zee (Katwijk on Sea) and the island of Texel. At no time was there ever a set pattern of movement from any of these regions to any one particular Chamber.

Vlaardingen and Maassluis

During the eighteenth century, Vlaardingen and Maassluis were the most important fishing communities in the Republic. For quite a long period of time they were relatively prosperous, and had approximately 5,000 and 4,000 inhabitants respectively. The ship owners in both places managed to keep their boats at sea for the majority of the year by practising other forms of fishery alongside their principal one. The herring catch prevailed in Vlaardingen; in Maassluis the cod catch was more important; but in each town the other sort of fishery was pursued as an alternative. The first half of the century was marked by strong growth in both towns. In 1741 Maassluis had 1,000 fishermen. In the years around 1750, there were local complaints about a shortage of men for the herring busses and the hookers used for the cod fishery.