A world power Naval history of the Netherlands

the royal prince , other vessels @ 4 days fight, 11–14 june 1666 abraham storck depicts battle of second anglo-dutch war. in foreground swiftsure berkeley sinks. on right grounded prince royal admiral ayscue surrenders firing white smoke; de ruyter on zeven provinciën accepts. in between hms royal charles can seen broken mast.

the dutch revolt (1568-1648) in many ways started revolt of beggars , navy no exception. william silent, leader of revolt, issued letters of marque under authority sovereign prince of orange. these roving bands of ships became known sea beggars. capture of brielle first significant victory of revolt, , led entire province of holland , zealand declaring prince , against habsburg overlord, philip ii of spain , spanish government. revolt progressed independent government , state, navy reorganized better command structure. government of newly established dutch republic installed 5 admiralties (de maze, amsterdam, zeeland, noorderkwartier, , friesland) had offices in rotterdam, amsterdam, middelburg, hoorn, enkhuizen, , dokkum (later harlingen).

during 17th century dutch republic involved in many wars, many of them @ sea. main goal of dutch navy protect shipping lanes on world and, if need be, repel naval invasion of dutch territory.

until 1648 spain enemy; dutch fleet destroyed main force of large spanish fleet still under construction @ gibraltar in 1607. other activities included blocking port of antwerp , flemish coast (to prevent spanish troops there getting supplies) , escorting dutch merchants in baltic.

in course of 17th century, dutch wealth , maritime expansion source of envy across europe, in england. when anti-dutch navigation ordinance of 1651 passed, tensions ran high. during first anglo-dutch war english fleet concentrated on privateering against dutch merchant fleet. example of battle of dungeness in december 1652, in maarten tromp able keep channel open dutch trade. in second anglo-dutch war 5 major battles took place, of them in english waters. during period raid on medway (1667) took place, worst naval defeat in english history until day. third anglo-dutch war in fact conspiracy between france, england, cologne , münster attack netherlands , destroy dutch republic major naval power.

michiel adriaenszoon de ruyter, lieutenant-admiral of united provinces ferdinand bol, painted 1667

although dutch fleet largest of world @ time, combined fleet of france , england put dutch in defensive position, due tactical brilliance of michiel de ruyter, managed inflict damage both fleets in 3 consecutive battles in dutch territorial waters @ nation s anxious moment, invasion had called off. treaty of westminster (1674) marked end of trade wars between english , dutch. new era arrived in 1688, when new anglo-french alliance seemed imminent; dutch stadtholder william iii took desperate gamble sailing england large fleet landed in brixham in devon. marched london , toppled father in law james ii, in weak position then. william had himself proclaimed king of england, making greatest maritime rival ally. in 25 years after glorious revolution dutch , english fought various other allies against france, @ height of powers during reign of louis xiv. naval war zone shifted north sea , english channel french coast , mediterranean. @ end of war of spanish succession (1713) series of wars ended.

at start of 17th century squadrons of dutch fleet reinforced merchant ships adapted battle in earlier conflicts. introduction of line-tactic increased demand ships more manoeuvrability, speed , crew experience. in 1653 dutch government decided build 60 ships, , 10 years later placed order 60 more. flagship of republic, de zeven provinciën, fitted 96 guns. comparison, british hms victory, built more century later, had 8 guns more.

with 4000 sailors dutch navy relatively small employer in peacetime, in times of war thousands more hired. flag officers , captains responsible hiring ship s crew. ship s crew hired 1 campaign, excluding officers. since 17th century, experienced captains employed long periods of time dutch navy; responsible ships provisions, , when bought supplies less money government provided keep rest, , smart captain make small fortune way in peacetime. in 1665 regiments of soldiers deployed aboard ships. these soldiers later become famous , feared dutch marines.

in middle of 17th century dutch navy powerful navy in world.