Naval Battle of Nevis
date | May 10th July / May 20, 1667 greg. |
---|---|
place | before Nevis |
output | English victory |
Parties to the conflict | |
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Commander | |
losses | |
20 men |
2 or 3 small ships |
The naval battle off Nevis took place on May 10th during the Second Anglo-Dutch War . / May 20, 1667 greg. in the Caribbean off the island of Nevis . An allied fleet of the United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of France attempted a landing on the island - but was routed by a fleet of the Commonwealth of England .
background
In April 1667, the English fleet under John Berry blocked the island of St. Kitts , which was occupied by the French at the time. A Dutch fleet under Abraham Crijnssen came from Suriname and merged in Martinique with French ships under Lefebvre de la Barre .
The battle
The Dutch-French fleet reached the south coast of Nevis in the morning hours of May 20th and was discovered by the English. At 8:00 a.m., 17 English ships under the command of Berry set sail in Charlestown . 13 of them immediately attacked the attackers and the French battle line broke up. Crijnssen's ship Zeelandia attacked Berry's ship Coronation at a short range before being pushed aside by Brander. After a haphazard artillery duel over a long distance, La Barre retreated towards St. Kitts at 11:00, forcing his Dutch allies to follow him.
The English lost 2 or 3 small ships and 80 men; the Dutch and French lost 20 men.
Aftermath
Crijnssen was disappointed with the behavior of the French and the Dutch fleet ended the joint operation.
In June 1667, 20 English ships set out from Nevis and tried unsuccessfully to recapture the French occupied island of St. Kitts. A short time later, the English Admiral John Harman reached Nevis with his fleet. He attacked the French in Martinique several times in July and sank numerous French ships on July 6th.