This newspaper used another Dutch newspaper Dagblad voor Zuid-Holland for an item dealing with the defence of Venezuela. The latter newspaper received reliable tidings from a Dutchman who arrived recently in Venezuela. Along the coasts mainly in the neighbourhood of the harbour were torpedoes laid by North American engineers. Two newly built monitors were bought by the government for a considerable sum (some said no less as 2.000.000 Venezulano’s) and were now lying in a North American harbour with a well fitted out crew waiting for the first signal to come to Venezuela. The Middelburgsche Courant dated 8 December 1875 wrote all in an earlier stadium that Venezuela was negotiating with the USA for buying two monitors resulting in sending the Dutch ram turret Hr. Ms. Prins Hendrik to the West Indies. The Zierikzeesche Nieuwsbode dated 11 December confirmed the last newspaper writing that the Prins Hendrik was fitted out and the detachment marines sent in May 1873 to Atchin ordering back by telegram presumably as a result of these negotiations. The Nieuwe Goessche Courant dated 11 January 1876 referred to these negotiations and reporting that according to the latest tidings the Venezuelan cabinet prepared more as 100 letters de marque to give out.
Impression of the Prins Hendrik der Nederlanden by Ron van Maanen
