Anglo-Dutch naval wars

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The Four Day Battle ; Painting by Abraham Storck

The Anglo-Dutch naval wars were fought in the 17th and 18th centuries between Great Britain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (United Provinces), the forerunner of today's Netherlands from 1581 to 1795 . These wars are called Dutch Wars in English and Engelse Oorlogen (English Wars) in Dutch. There was a struggle for control of the oceans and trade routes.

backgrounds

The collapse of Spanish supremacy at the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648 created a power vacuum in the young Spanish and Portuguese colonies , into which the United Kingdom (Commonwealth of England) and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, both of whom had been allies during the Eighty Years War , thrust .

The Netherlands were initially more successful; in the 17th century they experienced their golden age , an economic and cultural heyday that lasted around a hundred years. They rose to become the leading world power and trading nation, had the largest merchant fleet in Europe and dominated European trade. They had annexed most of the Portuguese territories in Southeast Asia and thus brought the highly profitable world trade in spices under their control.

The Netherlands was also in the process of exerting an important influence on England's overseas trade with its North American colonies as a result of the turmoil after the English Civil Wars (1642–1649). The Dutch navy, however, was in poor shape, while the British lord protector Oliver Cromwell had built a strong fleet.

England developed into a competitor in maritime trade and with the navigation act in 1651, Parliament declared England's claim to maritime power.

Overview of the wars

The navigation file was a nuisance to Dutch maritime trade. The Netherlands did not want to accept that and in 1652 the first war broke out. In peacetime the Dutch had to recognize the navigation act.

The rivalries were not over, however, in 1665 the 2nd war broke out with defeats for the English, who had to agree to a peace that changed some provisions of the navigation acts in the interests of the Dutch.

The English soon agreed with France on joint action against the Netherlands, which led to the 3rd War in 1672, which England had to end again after 2 years due to lack of success.

In the decades that followed, English sea trade increased while Dutch sea trade experienced a gradual decline. The rivalry between the two countries led to another war in 1780, in which, however, the Netherlands proved hopelessly inferior.

First War (1652-1654)

Disputes over trade preceded the war. In 1651, England issued the Navigational Act , which harmed Dutch commercial interests. The war began with attacks on merchant shipping. Soon there was also major clashes between the war fleets of England and the Netherlands. The English navy was able to gain control of the sea areas around England and in the Peace of Westminster the Dutch were forced to recognize the English monopoly over trade with the English colonies.

Second War (1665–1667)

Since 1663 there were again disputes, in which the main aim was to gain economic advantages. The kingdoms of France and Denmark as well as the Principality of Münster also entered the war, but hardly took part. It was not until 1665 that the English declared war on the Dutch. With the support of the French, who had meanwhile invaded the Spanish Netherlands - now Belgium - the Dutch got the upper hand. After the Dutch destroyed a large part of the English fleet on the Thames, the English and Dutch signed the Peace of Breda in 1667 . The English kept the Dutch possessions in North America (the area around what is now New York City ), while the Dutch received Suriname from the English. The navigation file was modified in favor of the Netherlands.

Third War (1672–1674)

This war was part of the Franco-Dutch War (also known as the Dutch War ), which lasted from 1672 to 1678. One cause was the economic interests of the English royal family, which in 1670 had allied themselves with the Kingdom of France against the United Netherlands in the secret Treaty of Dover .

Both states attacked in the spring of 1672 - this year is known in the Netherlands as the Rampjaar (disaster year). France, the Duchy of Munster and Kurköln invaded the republic, while a landing of the English could be prevented. After several unsuccessful sea ​​battles, the English parliament forced King Charles II to conclude peace. With the Peace of Westminster England left the war without profit.

In the Palatinate War of Succession 1688–1697, the English and Dutch fleets fought side by side again, now against the French. They also took action together in the Great Northern War in 1700, here against a Danish fleet off Copenhagen.

Fourth War (1780–1784)

The economic decline of the States General and the rise of British naval power led to tension between the two countries. In the American War of Independence (1775–1783), the United Netherlands supported the rebellious Americans. In December 1780, Great Britain declared war on the Netherlands. The Dutch fleet was no longer a serious enemy for the Royal Navy. Only the intervention of the French navy prevented worse - France had also been at war with Great Britain since 1779. In autumn 1783 negotiations took place that led to the conclusion of the Paris Peace in May 1784 .

More wars

Some historians count the naval wars between Great Britain and the Batavian Republic or the Kingdom of Holland during the Napoleonic period as further Anglo-Dutch naval wars.

In the First Coalition War France conquered the Netherlands and was able to achieve the surrender of the Dutch fleet in 1795 . The newly founded Batavian Republic was allied with France and the Dutch fleet now supported the French in their war against Great Britain - but was defeated by the British in the 1797 naval battle at Camperduin .

In the naval war of Great Britain against the French Empire in the years 1804–1815 as part of the coalition wars (from the 3rd coalition) the Dutch fleet no longer played a major role.

literature

  • Jaap Bruijn: Varend Verleden - De Nederlandse Oorlogsvloot in de 17e en 18e Eeuw. Meppel 1998, ISBN 90-5018-407-3 .
  • Charles Ralph Boxer: The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th Century . Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1974.
  • Roger Hainsworth / Christine Churchers: The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars 1652–1674. Sutton Publishing Limited, Thrupp / Stroud / Gloucestershire 1998, ISBN 0-7509-1787-3 .
  • Jonathan Israel: The Dutch Republic - Its rise, greatness and fall 1477-1806 , Clarendon Press, Oxford 1995. ISBN 0-19-873072-1 .
  • James R. Jones: The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the Seventeenth Century , Longman House, London / New York 1996. ISBN 0-582-05631-4 .
  • Alexander Meurer: History of naval warfare in outline. Leipzig 1942.
  • Helmut Pemsel : Command of the Sea. Vol. 2. Vienna / Garz 2005. (= Helmut Pemsel: Weltgeschichte der Seefahrt. Vol. 5. )
  • Robert Rebitsch : The Anglo-Dutch Sea Wars . Böhlau Verlag Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2014. ISBN 978-3-205-79470-7 .
  • Jan Willem Schulte Nordholt: The Dutch Republic and American Independence , University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill / London 1982. ISBN 0-8078-1530-6 .

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