1807

In 1807, according to Lambert van Mounen’s recollection of his father’s account, a gunpowder ship exploded in Leiden, devastating part of the city. The year anchors a narrated family memory of the disaster and its aftermath, though Lambert presents the date as an estimate rather than a certainty.

The Date in the Recollection

While walking with Ben, Lambert recounts what his father remembered of the explosion. His father had been in Leiden at the time and was nineteen years old. Lambert places the event in 1807, adding that his father remembered it clearly; the date is therefore conveyed as a remembered estimate, not as an independently confirmed statement.

The Disaster and Its Aftermath

The ship, carrying forty thousand pounds of gunpowder and bound for Delft, was lying beside the Rapenburg Canal when it exploded around noon. Lambert’s account describes widespread destruction, with about three hundred houses scattered or ruined and fires and collapsed buildings across the area. Professor Luzac was among those killed.

Lambert also recounts the response that followed. The king came to the city and remained in the streets through the night, encouraging efforts to control the fires and rescue survivors. A collection for those affected was raised throughout the kingdom, and the treasury contributed one hundred thousand guilders. The recollection links the year not only to sudden devastation but also to a public effort to aid the city’s survivors.