Riouw-class gunvessel
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Riouw class was a class of four steam screw gunvessels of the Royal Netherlands Navy. They were the first composite built ships of the Dutch navy.
The Dutch colonial navy in the 1870s
In the 1870s the navy in the Dutch East Indies consisted of an auxiliary squadron of four ships from the Netherlands, and the colonial navy of 22 ships. The auxiliary squadron was primarily responsible for external defense. The ships of the colonial navy (Indische Militaire Marine) were meant for transport and flotilla services.
From the introduction of screw propulsion up to the 1870s almost 20 small wooden steam screws ships were built for the Indische Militaire Marine. Next to these screw-driven ships an almost equal number of steam paddle-ships were built, most of them from iron. The wooden screw ships tended to decay quickly, and so the Dutch navy began to look into the possibilities of composite built ships.
Ordering
In early 1870 the department of the Indische Militaire Marine in Batavia asked the Dutch Navy in The Hague to immediately start the construction of four screw steamships fourth class. The reason was that a number of these vessels present in the Indies would soon have to be decommissioned because of their condition and advanced age.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Riouw-class gunvessel” as open-knowledge reference entry. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as open-knowledge reference entry. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 15, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q85797317. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1870.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Riouw-class gunvessel”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Riouw-class gunvessel primary sources, Riouw-class gunvessel archive and Riouw-class research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Riouw-class gunvessel”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Riouw-class gunvessel” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.