Naval Battle of Dover
Main battles of the war
| date | May 29, 1652 |
|---|---|
| place | English Channel at Dover |
| output | draw |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 40 ships | 25 ships |
| losses | |
|
2 ships |
|
Dover - Plymouth - Elba - Kentish Knock - Dungeness - Portland - Livorno - Gabbard - Scheveningen
In the naval battle of Dover (called in English naval battle of the Goodwin Sands ) on May 29, 1652 (May 19, 1652 according to the Julian calendar used in England) the fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands met. This sea battle was the prelude to the First Anglo-Dutch War , there were no winners.
prehistory
In October 1651, the adopted English Parliament the first Navigation Act ( Navigation Acts ) and certain that only ships from England and the country of origin of goods were allowed to move to England. When, in the spring of 1652, George Ayscue brought up 27 Dutch ships trading with the royalist colony of Barbados , the Dutch became even more angry. The Commonwealth had previously imposed an embargo on the royalists as part of the English Civil War . On the other hand, after the death of the Dutch governor Wilhelm II, the foreign policy of the United Netherlands was determined by the large trading companies of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The States General decided on March 3, 1652 to enlarge the fleet, 150 merchant ships were hired and equipped as warships.
Then the Commonwealth began on March 12, 1652 also with war preparations. Since both parties were hardly prepared, some time would have passed before the outbreak of war. But on May 29, 1652 there was a chance meeting of the fleets of the Dutch Admiralty Lieutenant Maarten Tromp and General for the Sea Robert Blake in the English Channel near Dover . One of Cromwell's instructions required all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the Channel to lower their flags in greeting. When Tromp refused, there was a battle.
The battle
A Dutch convoy of 40 ships under Tromp met 25 English ships under Blake. When Tromp delayed the flag salute, Blake fired three warning shots. The third shot hit the flagship Tromps, the Brederode , and injured some sailors. Tromp responded with a broadside of his flagship. This resulted in a five-hour naval battle in which the Dutch were overwhelmed because of their numerical superiority and both fleets were damaged. When dusk fell, the Dutch ships withdrew to protect the convoy. The English managed to intercept two stragglers, sank the Sint Maria and captured the Sint Laurens , which they soon gave up. The Sint Laurens managed to get back home.
consequences
The Dutch lost two ships, but were able to save the convoy. The Commonwealth declared war on the Netherlands on July 10, 1652.
Ships involved
England (Robert Blake)
Anthony Young's squadron:
| Anthony Young's squadron | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ship | Ship type | Cannons | captain |
| President | 36 | Anthony Young | |
| Nightingale | 24 | Jacob Reynolds | |
| Recovery | 24 | Edmund Chapman | |
| Robert Blake's squadron | |||
| ship | Ship type | Cannons | captain |
| James | 60 | Flagship, Robert Blake, Captain John Gilson | |
| Victory | 52 | Lionel Lane | |
| Garland | 44 | John Gibbs | |
| Speaker | 52 | John Coppin | |
| Ruby | 42 | Anthony Houlding | |
| Sapphire | 38 | Robert Moulton, Jr | |
| Worcester | 42 | Charles Thorowgood | |
| star | 24 | Robert Saunders | |
| Portsmouth | 36 | William Brandley | |
| Martin | 12 | ||
| Mermaid | 24 | Richard Stayner | |
| Ruben | Merchant ship | 26th | |
| 3 more small ships | |||
| Nehemiah Bournes Squadron | |||
| ship | Ship type | Cannons | captain |
| Andrew | 56 | Nehemiah Bourne | |
| triumph | 62 | William Penn | |
| Fairfax | 52 | John Lawson | |
| Entrance | 44 | ||
| Centurion | 36 | ||
| Adventuree | 36 | Andrew Ball | |
| Assurance | 40 | Benjamin Blake | |
| Greyhound | 20th | Henry Southwood | |
| Seven Brothers | Merchant ship | 26th | Robert Land |
United Provinces (Maarten Tromp)
| Escort ships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ship | Ship type / Admiralty | Cannons | captain |
| Groningen | 38 | Joris van der Zaan | |
| Zeelandia | 34 | Jacob Huyrluyt | |
| Main fleet (Maarten Tromp) | |||
| ship | Ship type / Admiralty | Cannons | captain |
| Brederode | Rotterdam Admiralty | 54 | Maarten Tromp, admiral |
| Alexander | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Jan Maijkers |
| Blauwen Arend | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Dirck Father |
| Sint Salvador | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Matheeus Corneliszoon |
| Present Faam | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Jacob Corneliszoon Swart |
| Troijane's Ark | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Abraham van Kampen |
| Kroon Imperiaal | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Cornelis Janszoon Poort |
| Valck | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Cornelis Janszoon Brouwer |
| Prinses Roijaal | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Maarten de Graeff |
| Neptunis | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Gerrit van Lummen |
| Sint Matheeus | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Cornelis Naeuoogh |
| Prins Maurits | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Nicolaes de With |
| Rozeboom | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Gerrit Schuyt |
| Angel Gabriel | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Bastiaan Bardoel |
| Witte Lam | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Cornelis van Houten |
| Gideon van Sardam | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Hector Bardesius |
| Sint Francisco | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Stoffel Juriaenszoon |
| David en Goliad | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Claes Bastiaenszoon Jaarsveld |
| Elias | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Jacob Sijvertsen Spanheijm |
| Zwarte Leeuw | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Hendrik de Raedt |
| Sint Maria | Amsterdam Admiralty sunk |
28 | Sipke Fockes |
| Groote Liefde | Amsterdam Admiralty | 38 | Bruyn van Seelst |
| Nassouw van den Burgh | Amsterdam Admiralty | 34 | Lambert Pieterszoon |
| Great Vergulde Fortuijn | 35 | Frederick de Coninck | |
| Angel Michiel | Amsterdam Admiralty | 28 | Fredrick Bogaart |
| Forgive Haan | Middelburg Admiralty | 30th | Jan le Sage |
| Goude Leeuw | Middelburg Admiralty | 30th | Jacob Penssen |
| Leeuwinne | Middelburg Admiralty | 30th | Joannes van Regermorter |
| Sint Laurens | Middelburg Admiralty captured and abandoned |
30th | Bastiaan Tuynemans |
| Witte Lam | Vlissingen Admiralty | 32 | Jan Tijssen Matheeus |
| Monnikendam | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 32 | Pieter Florissen, Rear Admiral |
| Wapen van Hoorn | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 24 | Pieter Aldertszoon |
| Prins Maurits | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 28 | Cornelis Pieterszoon Taenman |
| Monnikendam | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 24 | Arent Dirckszoon |
| Wapen van Enkhuizen | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 30th | Gerrit Femssen |
| Wapen van Alkmaar | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 28 | Gerrit Nobel |
| Roode Leeuw | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 24 | Reynst Corneliszoon Sevenhuysen |
| Peere boom | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 24 | Tijs Sijmonszoon Peereboom |
| House of Nassau | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 28 | Gerrit Munth |
| Alkmaar | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 28 | Jan Warnaertszoon Capelman |
| Sampson | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 26th | Willem Ham |
| City of Medemblik | Noorder-Kwartier Admiralty | 26th | Pieter Schellinger |
Individual evidence
- ^ Georg Wislicenus : Germany's sea power: together with an overview of the history of seafaring of all peoples . Reprint-Verlag-Leipzig, Holzminden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8262-2313-6 , pp. 20 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed on January 11, 2017] first edition: 1896, reprint).
- ^ British Civil Wars