Abraham Johannes de Smit van den Broecke (Aardenburg, 13 May 1801 - Oost-Souburg, (1 January 1875) was a career officer of the Royal Dutch Navy and a conservative minister for the navy.
Early life
Abraham Johannes de Smit van den Broecke was born on 13 May 1801. His parents were Abraham van den Broecke (1768-1840), mayor of Aardenburg and Adriana Jacoba de Jonge (1777-1835). Abraham's eldest brother Servaas (1798-1863) would become a notary like his father. The second brother Jacobus Cornelis (1799-1870) would become famous as a medical doctor. The third older brother Hendrik (1800-1866) became a merchant. A younger brother Philippus made career as a lawyer.
At age 13 Abraham went to the Kweekschool voor de Zeevaart in Amsterdam in 1814. This was a boarding school for naval education. It's remarkable that Abraham was sent to the navy so young instead of going to university like his brothers. Early on he would succeed in making everybody refer to him by the double name De Smit van den Broecke, using his third given name as part of a new family name. This instead of simply being named Van den Broecke like his more successful brothers.
Career in the navy
Early service
In August 1815 Abraham van den Broecke joined the navy as a midshipman. In 1826 he was mentioned as A.J. de Smit van den Broecke, 'extraordinary lieutenant 2nd class'. In 1828 he was a regular lieutenant 2nd class. In December 1832 he commanded gunboat no. 79 near Vlissingen. On 5 April 1834 De Smit van den Broecke became a lieutenant 1st class. In 1835 he was on the ship Snelheid, making a visit to New York. He had a few lines describing him in an American newspaper. In July 1839 De Smit van den Broecke served on the steam vessel Cerberus and temporarily commanded her near Hellevoetsluis.
On 1 October 1840 lieutenant 1st class De Smit van den Broecke got his first official command of a ship when he was appointed as commander of the Cerberus. On 13 September 1842 he became commander of the steam vessel Bromo.
Commanding the warship Bromo in the East Indies
In 1844 de Smit van den Broecke sailed to the Dutch East Indies in command of the Bromo. In March 1845 an experiment with using coal from Banjarmasin instead of European coal was held on board the Bromo. On 6 December 1845 he became a captain lieutenant. In June 1846 De Smit van den Broecke was in the Dutch intervention in northern Bali (1846). Here he commanded the landing division, and a record of his actions was published. On account of the expedition against Bali De Smit van den Broecke became a knight 3rd class in the Military Order of William in December 1846. In January 1848 De Smit van den Broecke sailed the Bromo towards home, and in May 1848 he arrived in Hellevoetsluis.
Commanding on the North Sea
On 1 April 1849 de Smit van den Broecke became commander of the steam vessel Cycloop. In May the Cycloop sailed to London. On board were Prince Henry of the Netherlands (1820–1879), his ADC Ridder van Rappard, VA Lucas and Lt-Colonel Rigot de Bignins. They all visited a ball in Buckingham Palace with about 1,900 invites. In May 1850 the Cycloop conducted spring maneuvers near the coast, shooting with cannon and hand weapons. On 16 April 1851 de Smit van den Broecke changed to the new steam vessel Gedeh. After making a trial run on 28 May 1851, he sailed from Vlissingen to London on 29 May. In London Prince Henry came on board again, and on 11 June they arrived back in Hellevoetsluis. After some uneventful cruises in the North Sea and along the coast, de Smit van den Broecke was promoted by seniority to captain on 1 January 1852. In January 1852 de Smit van den Broecke was to sail the Gedeh to the West Indies in order to collect the crew of the unfit brig Amphitrite. However, before the Gedeh sailed again, De Smit van den Broecke resigned the command and became inactive on 1 February.