Anglo-Dutch Wars. Anglo-Dutch rivalry

Anglo-Dutch Wars

ANGLO-DUTCH WARS. England and Holland, which forced the Spanish maritime trade from distant seas (see. Anglo-Spanish wars), were bound to come into collision because of competition in this trade. Since the Dutch have taken over the lion's share of the sea traffic, not only from their possessions, but from all the rest, October 9th, 1651 Eng. parliament published the famous Navigation Act , which terribly limited Dutch trade. This led in 1652 to war. The enemy fleets differed slightly in strength. The Dutch had more warships, but the English. who were armed with heavier artillery. Both sides resorted to strengthening the military. fleet armed commercial. k-lyami. Disadvantage Gold. consisted of the huge size of her commercial fleet, which required protection and made it possible to seize many rich prizes, while the Dutch considered this opportunity in a mean way. to a lesser extent. In addition, the geographical position of A. was very advantageous, since all sea routes to G. went past the English. coast. Therefore, G., as relatively weaker at sea, took up a defensive position from the very beginning of the war, while A. immediately began to act offensively. In the spring of 1652 in London, between the English. the government and the Dutch ambassadors were still negotiating, but war was already inevitable, because the reason (competition in trade) was irremovable, and it was not difficult to find a pretext. V English. canal off Dover cruised gold. esc-ra from 42 kr-lei under the beginning. adm. Tromp, whose task was to protect merchant ships returning to G. in case of an attack by the British. English they had only two small detachments in the sea - 9 krbl. under the beginning Burna in the Downs, the outer roadstead of the port of Dil (Downs, Deal), and 8 crbl. under the beginning Black in Rye. The rest of the English fleet, ok. 60 krbl., was still in the Thames. In addition, adm. Ayscue, with several ships, was in the West Indies. On the 29th May Tromp appeared before Dover, where he anchored and explained that he was forced to approach the English. shores due to unfavorable winds. Bourne demanded the removal of the Dutch, and at his notice came up from Rea Black. One of the demands made by A. to G. during the negotiations was the recognition of the English. the fleet is the owner of the seas washing A., as a sign of which the Dutch to-whether when meeting with English. should have been the first to salute them by lowering the flag. Now Black, passing by Tromp with his cell, fired three warning shots, demanding a salute. Tromp responded with fire from the whole side. A general battle ensued, in which the British, in spite of more than double superiority in the number of gentlemen, took two ships from them. Darkness divided the opponents. This skirmish served as a pretext for the start of the war. action. The English plan was entirely based on an attack on Dutch industry and commerce. July 7 Black from 39 military. krbl., 2 firewalls and 18 armed. commercial the ships came out of the Thames to the village. with orders to destroy the Dutch fishing flotilla near the S.-V. coast of Scotland (the question of fishing rights was also one of the causes of the war), and then to intercept those commercial gold. ships that will take a route around Scotland. Askew, who at that time had returned from East India, was ordered to move from Plymouth to the Downs to protect the approaches to the Thames, where he arrived on June 80, and the strength of his squadron was increased to 14 ships, of which half were armed. merchants. By strengthening his squadron armed in the Thames courts, he must. was again to go into the channel to intercept the goal. trading courts. Tromp's position was excellent. The enemy scattered his forces in pursuit of the second. goals, and he had 32 military. krbl., 6 brand. and 54 vor. merchant In addition, from the ambassadors returning from London after the termination of negotiations, he learned about the weak composition of the Esq. Askew. He could break the enemy piece by piece. However, the attempt to attack Askew failed, because he was very close to the shore, under the protection of strong shores. fortifications, and the direction of the wind did not favor the attack. Therefore, Tromp chased after Black, who at that time managed to disperse the fishing flotilla, taking about 100 of its vessels and all 13 were small. their frigates that guarded her, and have already moved to Scotland. O-you to fulfill your second task. Here Tromp overtook him on August 5, but it didn’t come to a fight, because a fierce storm blew out from NW, and the English. the fleet managed to take cover under the shore, and the Dutch suffered terribly. Only with 39 vessels did Tromp return to G., the rest either sank or were damaged and scattered, and returned alone only in September. Tromp was changed. Witte-de-Witt took his place, and the famous Ruyter was appointed as his assistant. Only on July 28 was war officially declared. Both sides continued to follow the same course of action - attacking trade by the English and defending it by the Dutch. In features for English. persecution of this second. the goal was erroneous, because their squadrons, although inferior in number to the Dutch, were stronger and in their composition there were much more real warships. This gave the English a great advantage in battle, which was shown in the skirmish before Dover on May 29th. Askew with 52 military. ships at this time moved to Plymouth, and Black was at the. shores of England. 21st Aug. Ruiter since the 30th c. court., went out to sea, having the task of leading through the English. channel in the sea caravan of 60 commercial. ships About 20 of these ships were armed and could reinforce Ruyter's squadron. Aug 26 Askew, near Plymouth, blocked his path and a fight took place (see fig. Plymouth Battle.), the consequence of which was the retreat of Askew to Plymouth. After leading the caravan to the sea, Ruyter wanted to attack Askew in Plymouth, but this was prevented by the wind. Ruyter cruised until the end of Sept. in z. parts of English. channel, providing t. arr. freedom of movement for commercial ships, but when he received the news that Black went to sea with the main. by English forces. fleet, he retreated to the goal. beregam, and 2 Oct. between Dunkirchen and Newport joined with de Witt. Black did not have time to prevent this connection. De Witt had 64 krb., and Black - 68. The meeting took place on 8 Oct. not far from Newport, near the shallow Kentish Knock (Kentish Knock), at which the British took over (see. newport battle.); but, although they received reinforcements from 16 krbl on the night after the battle. from the Askew squadron, A-ne did not dare to pursue DeWitt, fearing small goals. coast. In the calculation that the defeated goal. the fleet will not be able to go out to sea soon, A-not again scattered their forces. 18 crb. was sent to the Sound, because there were misunderstandings with Denmark, which helped Holland, escorting her trades. court; 12 krbl. were in Plymouth, 20 korb. escorted the bargain. ships, many ships were being repaired in the Thames, and Black himself was in the Downs with only 37 ships. Meanwhile, the Dutch were energetically working on the restoration of the fleet and by December they had collected an esque. of 73 ships, most of which were armed. bargain. to-whether. Due to de Witt's illness, command of the fleet was returned to Tromp. Tromp was given the task of leading through the English. channel to the ocean caravan of 300 rooms. ships and hold in G. those gathered at the island of Re trading. to-li, returning from the colony. Since the British captured in the canal in a multitude of solitary bargaining. ships, the latter were ordered to gather in caravans, which were supposed to be carried out under the escort of strong squadrons. Learning about the division of English. sea ​​forces, Tromp left the caravan at the goal. coast, went to Downes and appeared suddenly in front of Black on December 9th. Black could not remain at anchor, for he had not bothered, as Askew had done in July, with the construction of the shore. batteries, and a contrary wind prevented him from retreating into the Thames. Forced to take the fight, Black was defeated on December 10 (see. Dover Battle.), and Tromp led his caravan into the ocean without hindrance, and for several weeks he owned the waters of the English. channel. The Ang-ne energetically set about collecting their ships and arming new ones, and in mid-February Black from the 70th court. was ready to go to sea. His task was - not to allow Tromp to conduct a caravan from about. Re. Tromp had 80 weaker. ships and he was greatly constrained by a coravan from 250 bargaining. glue. Feb 28 1653 opponents met at Portland. The battle lasted 3 days (cf. Portland.battle .). Goal-tsy lost 12 k-lei and about 39 auctions. court., and English is not the only one to-l. But still, Tromp managed to achieve his goal and bring his caravan to G., including strategic. success was on the side of the heads. Hostilities also took place in the Middle. sea. Since 1650, the English did not have an escort there to protect the auctions. ships from pirates. In 1652, this escort consisted of only 6 soldiers. to-lei and 2 gates. com. ships, while the barrens had there, although much weaker, but about 30 ships. One of the English detachments were blocked by the Dutch in Livorno, and another, after a fierce battle, managed to break through to about. Elba, where he was also blocked. The defeat of the English at Dover responded to the state of affairs in the Middle. sea. Hertz. Tuscany, under pressure from the Dutch, demanded the release of the English. detachments from Livorno and from about. Elba. On March 14, Badiley, who was on the Elbe, who were much stronger than the Dutch, went out in order to divert the attention of the enemy and give the weaker Appleton the opportunity to leave Livorno. The loaches fell for this bait and went after Badiley, but Appleton left too early, and the loaches were in time to pounce on him with all their might. There was a heated battle, in which almost the entire detachment of Appleton was destroyed, and Badiley was not pursued. In May, Badiley received orders to leave the Middle. the sea, which a-did not consider it impossible to keep behind them. - After the battle of Portland, the opponents set about new. armaments and buildings of the military. ships, because previous battles showed the weakness of ships converted from merchant ships. Goldsk. the government forbade its subjects from fishing off the coast of Greenland in order to facilitate the recruitment of crews and free the fleet from the need to protect fishermen. Tromp rightly insisted on abandoning the defense of trade, meaning that every effort should be made to break the sea power of the English. However, at the beginning of May 1653, despite the fact that the new ships were not yet ready, Gol. the government demanded that Tromp bring 200 bargaining into the ocean around Scotland. ships going to Spain and France, and brought the congregation to p. Scotland trade. ships, returning to G. It was very risky, but, fortunately for the heads, they succeeded. English fleet under the beginning. Monka and Dina received news of this, went up to the Goldskin. coast to seize the caravan, and on May 15th was only a few miles from Tromp, but due to the fog he could not see him. Also, by chance, they didn’t meet him when he was going back at the end of May, they kept at the Dutch. coast. Upon his return, Tromp gathered all his forces and with 98 ships. and 6 brand. went out to sea with unity. task is to find English. fleet and give him a general. battle. The British also aspired to this, whose forces consisted of 100 ships. and 5 brand., moreover, their ships were again larger, more heavily armed, and their fleet included a smaller number of weapons. merchant ships. Opponents met on June 12 at S. Foreland. The battle lasted two days, Tromp was defeated (see. newport battle.), and his fleet took refuge in Texel and Willingen. English the fleet suffered so little and was so well supplied that it did not return to its bases, but blocked the Dutch. coast, occupying the main. forces position between Texel and Willingen. That's right now Dutch. marine trade and fishing ceased completely, and G. suffered huge losses. With rare energy, the Gauls repaired their ships. and armed new ships. 3rd Aug. Tromp left Willingen with 90 packs and 5 brands. His task was to connect with esk. de Witt, who was in Texel from the 27th ship. and 4 brand., which he succeeded on August 9. meaning English. fleet. 10th Aug. a decisive battle took place at Scheveningen, in which Gld. the fleet was again defeated, at which Tromp was killed (see. Battle of Scheveningen 1.). English. were also so damaged that they were forced to return to their shores, and Dutch. marine trade could continue; military the enemy fleets were so weakened that they were not able to start any serious operations this year. On April 15, 1654, the Peace of Westminster was concluded, according to which G. was forced to recognize the Navigation Act. This war is characterized by the fact that both fleets, having begun with the pursuit of secondary goals - an attack on trade and its defense - were led by the force of things to a concentration of forces for the struggle for the possession of the sea, i.e. to the right strategy.

War 1665-67 G. could not come to terms with the constraints for her maritime. trade; rebuilding her fleet and finances, she resolved to make an attempt to recover what had been lost in the previous war. A., for her part, believed that she had not achieved all her goals in this war, and most importantly, G. continued to be the most dangerous competitor in trade. Therefore, A., in which Cor. Charles II, who, moreover, had a personal hatred for G., also strove for war. Pretexts were easily found in the constant violence that the trading companies in the colonies inflicted on each other. Louis XIV, whose cherished dream was to establish himself in the Netherlands in the place of the ousted and weakening Spain, played a double game. He pushed G. to war in order to weaken her, promised her support, in 1666 entered into a formal alliance with her, but did not provide any help. Already in 1663 they began to equip an extensive expedition to capture gold. colonies in Zap. Africa and Sev. America. Tue Jan. 1664 English adm. Holmes (Holmes) with 22 krbl. appeared off the coast of gold. possessions in Africa and took possession of Fr. Goreya and many points on the Golden Coast. Then he crossed to America, in August he took possession of New Netherland and renamed the chief. city ​​of this province from Nov. Amsterdam in New York in honor of the Duke of York, chief. head of English fleet and inspirer of the expedition. On complaints gldsk. pr-va, A. declared that this expedition was private (by the way, it means that part of its ships belonged to the state), promised to investigate the case, and she energetically continued armaments. Then the order was given to Ruyter, who was with the esc in the Middle. sea, for operations against pirates, take away by force what Holmes had taken and attack the English. merchant ships, but only outside European waters. In the European possessions of the opponents, the visible peace continued. Ruiter took to Spanish. ports for a year of provisions and at the end of October. appeared at the Gold Coast, again took possession of all the points and Fr. Woe, I grabbed some more. points belonging to the British, and in February. 1665 with 12 krbl. went to East India, then to New Foundland, everywhere taking rich prizes. A. responded with violence and european. waters. Dec 29 1664 English adm. Allin attacked Gibraltar. the strait to the caravan gold. bargain. ships sailing from Smyrna with an escort of a military detachment. ship under the beginning adm. Van Brakel, with which the latter was killed in battle. Jan 24 1665 G. declared war on A.. Tue Jan. 1666 France and Denmark were the first to join. Taught by the experience of the previous war, in which the protection of trade means. the measure debilitated the military. fleets and hampered their operations, the Gauls issued a decree that during the war forbade all maritime trade and fishing in order to concentrate all forces to fight the English. military fleet. In terms of numbers, the enemy fleets were almost the same (about 100 krbl. on each side, except for the firewalls), but now they consisted almost exclusively. from warships, and a goal. the ships were no longer inferior to the English either in size or in artillery. Since the war was declared in the winter, when in Sev. sea ​​to swim for the ship. the then construction was dangerous, then the military. actions began only in the spring, all the more so because earlier the fleets had not yet been prepared for going to sea. Gold. the fleet was located at two points - in Meuse and Texel. Therefore hertz. York, commander of the English. fleet, went to sea on May 1 and headed for the goal. shore. to prevent the connection of the goal. squadron, as well as to intercept the one returning from Sev. Ruyter's America. But, for fear of being late, eng. the fleet left without sufficient supplies; three weeks later, having withstood the same fierce storm, he had to turn back. Now (May 22) May squadron, under the beginning. adm. Evertsen, moved to Texel. A few days later, the main hall. fleet adm. Wassenaar went to sea in search of the English. fleet, which at that time was loading battles in Harwich. supplies and provisions. Having received information about the exit of the hall. fleet and considering Harwich, surrounded by shoals, inconvenient for battle, hertz. York moved on June 11 with the fleet and transports to Solebey (Solebay or Southwoldbay). On the same day a goll appeared in Solebeus's mind. fleet, and therefore, hastily loaded, hertz. York went out to sea. Because of the calm, the fleets entered the battle only on the 13th of June at Lowestoft. The heads were defeated (and the chief adm. Wassenaar died, see below). Lowestoft Battle .) and retreated with heavy losses to Texel. The English pursued listlessly and soon returned to their ports. Returning from V.-India, Ruyter bypassed A. from the north and entered the State (Norway). Then he learned about the result of the battle. at Lowestoft, and therefore carefully made his way along the coast of Norway and Denmark at the mouth of the river. Emsa, where he anchored on 6 Aug. Meanwhile, English. fleet, under the beginning. Earl of Sandwich, in search of Ruyter went out on July 15 to Scotland. banks, but instead of waiting for him here, he soon switched to p. to Dutch o-you, detaching adm. Tiddiman with 14 krbl. in Bergen, where, according to rumors, there was a detachment of Dutch ships. O.-Indian company. It turned out to be true, but a goal. The detachment fought off Tiddiman brilliantly. Upon his return, Ruyter was appointed chief and went to sea with 93 krbl. and 11 brand., in order to carry out the bargaining that was gathering there from Bergen. ships returning from afar. country He walked along the banks of A. to 58 ° N. lat. and here, on August 25, I learned about the division of the Sandwich fleet and the appearance of the English off the coast of Norway. Fearing for Bergen, Ruyter went there, but no longer found Tiddiman there. On the way back, Ruyter was terribly overtaken by a caravan. the storm that scattered his ships. 13 Sept. he ended up at the Dogger Bank with only 36 krbls. At this time, Sandwich was returning from the north and 8 soldiers fell into his hands, one by one. krbl., 2 brand. and 2 krbl. rest. ind. comp. Both fleets were forced to return to their ports to repair the damage caused by the storm. In A. at that time, a plague broke out and, due to difficulties in manning ships, English. the fleet no longer went to sea. Knowing that English courts are scattered. ports, Ruyter in the middle of Oct. went out to English. bereg. He bypassed Harwich, Yarmut, Lowestoft, Solebey and Downs, but the English. hurried to hide all their ships in the Thames. Then Ruyter blocked the Thames, but on November 1, due to illnesses that had developed in the fleet, he was forced to return to G-ia, leaving a detachment of 18 rbls for the blockade of the Thames, which was subsequently reinforced by 16 rbls and held out at sea until February. This means. was constrained by the sea. English trade and a lot of their bargaining. ships fell into the hands of goals. So. arr., due to the fact that the victory at Lowestoft was not used by the British, goal. the fleet caused serious damage to the English. trade, had the opportunity to strengthen and practice their crews with long cruising at sea. By the spring of 1666, G. produced 84 krbl. Denmark was under the contract to put up 40 krbl.; however, although her fleet was prepared to go to sea, it did not budge and did not take part in the war. Just as ephemeral was the hope for help from France: her fleet of 40 krbl .: left in January. 1666 from Toulon, but only by the end of Aug. he reached La Rochelle, and in September he was in Dieppe, after which he returned to Brest. English made 80 krbl. and, consequently, they could only fight with one goal. fleet. June 5th goal. the fleet, which was being prepared in different ports, concentrated, and on June 10, Ruyter headed for Downes, where, according to his information, the English was located. fleet. English forces. were divided, because Charles II received false news that supposedly the French. the fleet has already approached the entrance to the English. channel and is on the way of connection with goal. fleet; therefore, Charles II ordered to send a detachment of 20 krbl. to meet him, to which another 10 krbl. could join in Plymouth; the detachment separated from the fleet on June 8 or 10. It was a gross strategic mistake, because the English, occupying a favorable central position. position, instead of hitting the opponents in parts, they separated themselves into parts, and both of these parts were weaker than the opponents approaching them from opposite sides. On June 10, Monk (Count of Albemarle), commanding the English. fleet, left the Downs with 58 ships. to meet Ruyter. On June 11, the fleets met at Dunkirchen, and fought a stubborn battle for 4 days (see. four day battle 1.), with what English. retreated to the west to connect with the squadron. Prince Rupert, who had separated from the French. Despite the fact that by the end of the third day they succeeded, they were still defeated on the head, but also the Dutchman. the fleet was so damaged that it was forced to return to Willingen. Thanks to Ruyter's energy, goal. On June 6, the fleet already went out to sea again, consisting of 75 krbl. and transports, on which there were about 7000 dry. troops, it was supposed to land in English. beware, on which numerous English insisted. emigrants - republicans who were in G. after the restoration of royal power in A.. The low weather enabled Ruyter to approach the mouth of the Thames only on the 13th of July. English the fleet was not yet fully prepared to leave, but the approaches to its anchorages in the Thames and Harwich were heavily fortified. I had to abandon the landing force, which was sent back, and confine myself to the blockade of the Thames. 1st Aug. English the fleet began to leave, and then Ruyter retreated to the open sea so as not to fight between the shallows. 4th Aug. the opponents converged at Nordforeland, and in a two-day battle, the goats were defeated (see. nordforeland battle .), and Ruyter had to take refuge in Willingen. This was used by the English. and equipped an expedition of small-sitting ships for a raid on the islands of Vli and Schelling, near which there were about 150 goals. bargain. ships and where the ship's stores were located. reserves owned by both the government and the East India Company. All this adm. Holmes, who commanded the expedition, was set on fire; the Dutch suffered a loss of about 12 million guilders, after which the detachment of Holmes joined the main forces located in Harwich. 5 Sept. Ruiter came out with 79 krbl. and 27 brand., having orders to connect with the French. squadron. Having received the news of Ruyter's departure, the English also came out. from Harwich (about 100 krbl.). In the course of 10 days, the fleets maneuvered in English. channel, sometimes coming to see each other, but both opponents evaded the battle. From the side Ruiter is understandable, because English. were stronger and his task was to connect with the French. English it was more profitable to enter the battle before this connection, and the only reason for their avoiding the battle was the condition of their ships. Not expecting Ruyter to leave so quickly, they considered the campaign of this year ended and did not begin serious correction and supply of their fleet after Nordforeland. fight. In addition, the weather was always fresh, inconvenient for a fight. 16th Sept. English entered Portsmouth, occupying a central position between Ruyter and Hertz. Beaufort (French fleet). Ruyter continued to hold out in front of Boulogne, and rejected the offer of the French to go to join in Brest. 18th Sept. he received an order to return to G., because they lost hope of joining the French there, but this order was immediately canceled, because news was received of a huge fire in London (September 12-16), which destroyed almost the whole city. Since in A. there was already a strong trend in favor of peace, in G. they hoped that the national disaster would intensify this trend, and the presence of the Dutch would also contribute to this. fleet in English. channel. Therefore Ruyter advanced to the west, all the time withstanding severe storms. 28 Sept. he received a message from Beaufort that he was in Dieppe, waiting for the Dutchman there. fleet 24 hours, but what is further to the east, in view of the position of the English. fleet, he could not go, and returned to Brest. In Dutch. meanwhile, the squadron developed illnesses and moved east. Oct 3 fell ill and Ruyter himself had to leave the fleet. In the middle of Oct. peace negotiations began, and in May 1667 in Breda, delegates gathered to work out the terms of peace. The negotiations dragged on, and Louis XIV, who was planning an attack on Flanders just that year, counteracted the peaceful currents so that G.'s attention would continue to be distracted by the war with A. Therefore, G. decided to force A. to peace by energetic actions at sea and armed her fleet. Meanwhile, Charles II, who spent a huge state. funds for his personal purposes and in need of money, in the hope of peace, did not proceed to arm the fleet, deciding, in case of renewal of c. actions, limit themselves to operations to pursue trade (cruising operations). As a result, on June 17, Ruyter appeared at the mouth of the Thames with 84 krbl., 15 brand. and landing detachment at 17.416 hours, ravaged Sheerness and Chatam, burned ships and supplies there (see. Thames 1), after which he blocked all the Yu.-V. coast of A. On July 21, a peace was concluded in Breda, according to which G. achieved some relief in Navig. Act (permission to carry German goods on Dutch ships), but New Netherland remained with A., in return for which G. received English. colony of Suriname.

War 1672-74 A. remained dissatisfied with the terms of the world - Ruyter's raid on the Thames was hard to forget - and therefore Louis XIV, who was beneficial to the mutual weakening of A. and G., managed to induce Charles II to a new war, at which he entered into an alliance with him. Finding fault with petty pretexts (misunderstandings in salutes), A. moved on to defiant demands, and in March 1672, English. squadron (Adm. Holms) attacked in English. channel to the caravan goal. bargain. ships returning from Smyrna, and entered into battle with the detachment escorting them. On March 29, she announced that from April 7th. will start at actions, and on this day France declared war. This war was for G. not purely naval, like both previous ones, but she had to defend herself against the invasion of the French from a dry path. army. The plan of the allies was to invade G. from land and from the sea, for which the united fleet had to receive ground troops. Ruyter sought to force the English to fight before the French joined, and on May 12, as soon as 40 krbl were ready, he went out, hoping to catch the English. the fleet is still in ports, unprepared; but, coming to English. shores, he received information about the connection of the Allied fleets at Fr. White. All new reinforcements approached Ruyter, and, following the order of the Dutch. government, he decided, covering the mouth of the Thames with the whole fleet, to send an expedition of 39 light ships up the river. But English. the fleet had already left, the approaches to the harbors were protected, and the success of Gol. the expedition did not. Ruyter decided on this dangerous operation, because the east wind was blowing. winds that delayed the allies in Eng. channel; having received information about the approach of the union. fleet, Ruyter retreated to the shores of G. Plan gldts. consisted in keeping behind the shallows near its shore, attacking the allies when they start landing, and at the same time using each is convenient. chance for an attack. On May 29, the allied fleet appeared, but, having held out in sight for a goal of 2 days, went to Solebey for provisions and water. Ruyter immediately advanced to Nordforeland, and, having learned from the scouts that the allies were standing in Soleb in disorder, he went there and suddenly attacked them on the 7th of June. The Union Fleet was commanded by Hertz. York, French squadron of the Comte d'Estre. Despite the advantage in the forces of the allies (large krbl. 57 English and 30 French against 75 gld.), after a stubborn battle (see. Solobeyskoye Battle 1.) Ruyter gained the upper hand, but his krbli were also significant. damaged, and he retreated to Willingen. The consequence of the defeat of the English was a delay in the intended landing. But on the other hand, on the dry path, the French won a number of successes, as a result of which internal. turmoil and change of government. Prince William of Orange was proclaimed stadtholder. This was reflected in the fleet by the lack of funds for correction, fighting. supplies and people who were required for the army. Ruyter had only 47 krbl., 12 frags. and 20 brand., and then poorly equipped, with which he decided to hold on to the shoals until the Allies proceeded to the actual landing. Only at the beginning of July is the union. a fleet of 90 ships, on which troops were planted, approached the Dutch. the shores, but, despite the good weather, the Allies did not dare to land for a long time, fearing Ruyter, who was holding on their flank behind the shallows; after the 21st of July, prolonged storms blew out, which so damaged the allied. the fleet that he was forced to return to A., and on September 28. French squadron went to France. In winter, golts strengthened the entrances to the rivers and internal. bays, and Ruyter was preparing for the earliest possible exit to the sea in order to prevent the connection of the allied squadrons. To do this, he intended to block the mouth of the Thames, where the English was being prepared. fleet, ships with stones and at this time fall on the French. fleet. On May 10, 1673, Ruyter was already at the Thames, but at first the barrage operation was hindered by bad weather, and then the English appeared. fleet, and gold-am had to return. The coast protection plan was the same as in the previous year. Ruyter's fleet, brought to 52 krbl. and 12 freg., took up a position behind the Schuneveld shoals. At the end of May, the allies united (English: 54 krbl., 8 freg. and 24 brand., French 27 krbl. 3 freg. and 10 brand.). The English fleet was commanded by Prince Rupert, the French-m - gr. d'Estre. The allies entered Harwich, where they received a large landing force and on June 1st appeared in front of Schuneveld. They did not dare to make a landing, having first mastered the Dutch. fleet, and on the 7th of June they attacked it (see Schuneveld Battle 1.), but were repulsed with such damage that they decided to go to A. for repairs and the transport of numerous wounded; but on the 14th of June Ruyter attacked them again and again gained the upper hand. only on July 25 the allies were able to go out to sea again, and again, despite their previous experience, they had landing troops on the ships (about 7000 hours). At the mouth of the Thames, another 30,000 people were prepared. for immediate transportation in case of success of the first landing. Now Ruyter had 77 krbl. and freg. and 22 brand., and therefore he went out on July 29 to the sea, on July 30 he met with the allies, and kept in mind them for 2 days. They evaded the fight, maneuvering in such a way as to distract Ruyter from the coast. Fearing that the English did not land troops behind him, Ruyter returned on August 1st. to Schuneveld. The allies followed him and marched along the entire Dutch. coast, but did not dare to land, because they feared an attack by Ruyter. At this time, the return of the bargaining caravan was expected in G.. ships from O.-India, on the safe arrival of which depended the financial possibility to continue the war. All Georgia now pinned its hopes on the fleet, because it was necessary at all costs to remove the allies from the coast. Aug 18 Ruyter moved to Camperdown (Dutch name Camperduin), and came into contact with the enemy. Aug 21 Ruyter attacked the allies at Texel and inflicted a severe defeat on them (see. Texel battle 1.). The allies retreated to the English. the coast, and then the French. the squadron went to Brest. O.-Indian caravan arrived safely. The influence of the Texel victory was also reflected in the fact that parliament and societies. opinion demanded from Charles II the annulment of the alliance with France and the conclusion of peace. In general, they were not very excited against the French, because they believed that in battles they protect their ships and that, in general, A. serves only their goals - the establishment of France in the Netherlands. Peace negotiations began, and although Charles II tried to oppose them, but when G. began to prepare a powerful fleet in winter to continue the war, A. refused unnecessary demands, and on February 19. peace was made at Westminster. G. also yielded on many points, because she needed peace to wage war with France, which lasted another 4 years (see. Dutch-French.wars). The wars between A. and G. played a big role in the development of the art of war at sea. During this period, they disappeared from the military. fleets armed with commercial ships, types of military ships were established, correct formations were developed, and naval tactics were developed in general. In addition, a real naval strategy was developed, which set itself the main task of fighting the enemy fleet, in order to achieve possession of the sea, instead of the previous "cross expeditions" and the pursuit of trade.

War 1780-1783 Holland took part in this war against her will. The incredible oppression that neutral trade was subjected to by the British forced G. to join the "Armed. Neutrality" declared by the coalition of the northern powers, and as soon as she did this, A. declared war on her, without declaring it to any of these powers. A. believed that the war with G. was beneficial to her, because the barrens had no power, but possessed numerous, rich and advantageously located colonies, which A. hoped to use as important strategic ones. points and for exchange at the conclusion of peace. She immediately captured the islands of St. Eustathius and St. Martina in V.-India, made an attempt to take possession of M. Dobr. Nadezhda, captured Negapatam and Trincomalee, and if her attempt failed and most of the captured points were taken from her, then this was done not by the Dutch, but by the French, and not for the goals, but because these points, which had an important strategic . meaning, were needed by the French. Therefore, all these events are described in the description of the Anglo-French. wars, between English. and only one battle took place, 5 Aug. 1781, at Dogger Bank, when their escorts met, accompanying the caravans of bargaining. ships in the Baltic Sea. Both opponents were seriously damaged and dispersed to their ports. According to the terms of the world, G. received from the hands of Fr. back to Trincomalee, and Negapatam remained for A. ( Wars 1795-1801, 1803-1815 and literature, see English-French.wars).

The international position of Holland in the 17th century. it was sometimes very difficult: it often had conflicts with the governments of those states that it tried to subordinate to its trade monopoly in one way or another.

True, Holland had a more or less calm rear - Germany. “Holland,” wrote Marx and Engels, “the only part of the Hansa that reached commercial importance, separated itself, cutting off Germany, with the exception of only two ports (Hamburg and Bremen), from world trade, and from then on began to dominate all German trade. The German burghers were too powerless to limit exploitation by the Dutch. The bourgeoisie of little Holland, with its developed class interests, was more powerful than the much more numerous German burghers, with their characteristic lack of common interests and their fragmented petty interests.

The Dutch claims to a foreign trade monopoly met with a rebuff in Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, but still, as a rule, things did not come to open clashes here either. Its relations with the two largest Western European states, France and England, developed differently.

From the moment the country entered the international arena, the contradictions between the Dutch and English bourgeoisie were sharply revealed. Competition between Dutch and English merchants in European markets and their rivalry in the colonies during the first half of the 17th century. sometimes aggravated so much that both countries were on the verge of war. In Russia and in the markets of the Baltic countries, in the North American colonies and in the countries of East Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea and on the coast of West Africa - everywhere the richer Dutch merchants pressed the English.

At times it came to armed clashes between trading companies at sea, as was the case in 1617-1618. in the area of ​​the Sunda and Moluccas. During the years of the civil war in England, the Dutch bourgeoisie, observing friendly neutrality with respect to the English Parliament, while taking advantage of England's weakness, intensified their offensive against England's positions in trade. The British bourgeoisie suffered the most significant losses in the Russian and Baltic markets, as well as in the markets of the Mediterranean countries and in the colonies of Spain.

After the victory of the bourgeois revolution in England, a short period of the greatest Anglo-Dutch rapprochement began. Negotiations were underway in The Hague and London on concluding a close military-political alliance and dividing spheres of influence. However, the contradictions between Holland and England turned out to be stronger in the final analysis than the factors that brought them closer together. A significant role was played by the intrigues of the Orangists and the English royalists who fled to Holland during the revolution, as well as the efforts of French and Spanish diplomacy, which sought to kindle a war between the two bourgeois republics.

The adoption by the English Parliament of the "Navigation Act" (1651), directed against the Dutch mediation in England's trade with other countries, marked a change in the course of English policy towards Holland. The refusal of the British to repeal the act was one of the causes of the first Anglo-Dutch war (1652-1654).

This war was a series of gigantic naval battles on the scale of that time, in each of which more than 200 ships often participated on both sides with a total number of sailors of 20-30 thousand people, with 6-8 thousand guns. Despite the high fighting qualities of the Dutch sailors and the naval skill of the Dutch admirals led by Martin Tromp, the Dutch fleet still suffered a number of defeats in decisive battles in June - July 1653.

The failure of the Dutch is due primarily to the superiority of the British military organization and military equipment created during the civil war. The first Anglo-Dutch war was a severe test for the Dutch economy. Dutch merchant ships, scattered all over the world, often became the prey of the British, and heavy losses were also inflicted on the Dutch fishing fleet. The blockade of the Dutch coast by the English fleet in the summer of 1653 exposed the weakest side of the Dutch economy - its excessive dependence on foreign trade: the blockade almost led Holland to disaster.

Under the peace treaty signed at Westminster on April 15, 1654, Holland recognized the "Navigation Act" and undertook to compensate for the damage caused to the English East India Company, starting from 1611. This peace marked the beginning of the Dutch retreat from England.

The first Anglo-Dutch war did not resolve the economic contradictions between the two countries. Even during the years of the protectorate, relations escalated more than once. For a number of years, Dutch diplomacy unsuccessfully sought to conclude an agreement with England, which, according to its plans, was supposed to nullify the effect of the "Navigation Act".

The restoration of the Stuarts in England did not soften the Anglo-Dutch rivalry. The court of Charles II was financially and politically interested in military adventures against Holland and pursued an aggressive policy. The new "Navigation Act" issued by Charles II in 1660 was even less acceptable to the Dutch than the act of 1651. Collisions, especially frequent in the colonies, eventually led to a break and a second Anglo-Dutch war.

Formally, the war was declared at the beginning of 1665, but in fact it began already in 1664 with the attack of the British on the Dutch fortresses on the west coast of Africa and the capture of New Amsterdam in North America by them. The Dutch had greatly strengthened their navy since the first war and improved its organization. The Dutch fleet under the command of de Ruyter defeated the British and even, breaking into the Thames, threatened London.

In this situation, the British were forced to sign the Treaty of Breda on July 31, 1667, according to which England retained New Amsterdam, and Holland received Suriname in South America and retained the island of Pulo Run (Moluccas) taken from the British. The terms of the "Navigation Act" were somewhat relaxed.

The Second Anglo-Dutch War was a turning point in the history of relations between the two states. The departure of the British from Indonesia, and the Dutch from North America, actually meant the division of spheres of influence between the Dutch and English bourgeoisie. The third Anglo-Dutch war (1672-1674) was therefore not as fierce as the previous wars.

The main opponent of Holland this time was already France, for which the conquest of Holland was one of the conditions for establishing hegemony in Europe. England was drawn into the war by Charles I, bound by secret obligations with. The English bourgeoisie was also seduced by the promise that the Dutch island of Walcheren and the cities of Bril and Cadzand would be annexed to England; The Scheldt would thus be open to English trade, and the Dutch coast under the control of the English fleet. The plans for the partition of Holland, however, were destined to come true.

In order to repel the attack of the bromine French army on land, the Dutch opened dams, and the sea, flooding part of the country, created an insurmountable obstacle in the path of the advancing French. On the sea, de Ruyter, leaving a small squadron to distract the French, directed the main attacks against the stronger English fleet and managed to completely secure the Dutch coast.

In England, the victories of the Dutch fleet, on the one hand, and the exposure of the secret intentions of the English court, on the other, aroused the discontent of the bourgeoisie. At the insistence of Parliament, the king signed in February 1674 a separate peace with Holland. Peaceful dialect did not introduce significant changes in the position of the parties. The war with France continued until 1678, when the Treaty of Nimwegen was concluded.

The overall result of the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 50-70s of the XVII century. was the weakening of the military and state power of Holland, the restriction of its trade and colonial expansion. These wars thus hastened the decline of Dutch trading power. The intensification of the class struggle and popular uprisings, which were also to a certain extent the result of wars, shook the dominance of the Dutch bourgeoisie and forced it to seek external support. The most acceptable ally for her was the English bourgeoisie, with whom Holland was further connected in the joint struggle against France.

Holland waged wars with France in 1672-1678, 1688-1697, 1702-1713. Ovya turned out to be even more ruinous for Holland than the wars with England. The hostilities that took place on the territory of the republic caused it serious damage: a large loss of livestock, the destruction of a complex irrigation system, etc. At the same time, Holland found itself increasingly subordinate to its ally England: the Dutch territory served as an outpost of England on the continent, the navy played the role of an auxiliary force for the English fleet.

The only thing that Holland achieved as a result of these wars was the recognition of her right, according to the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, to maintain her garrisons in some fortresses in the territory of the Spanish Netherlands (the so-called barrier fortresses), which was supposed to guarantee her from French aggression. How illusory these guarantees were was revealed in 1747-1748, when, during the War of the Austrian Succession, French troops easily captured these fortresses, and only the intervention of England saved Holland from complete defeat. This defeat was the end of the Dutch great power.

During the war of the North American colonies for independence, Holland acted together with France and Spain against England. But her naval forces at this time were already in complete decline. The British actually blocked the republic: in 1781, only 11 Dutch ships passed through the Sound. This fourth Anglo-Dutch war (1780-1784) dealt a new blow to Holland as a colonial power.

Negapatam, an important stronghold of the Dutch in India, passed to England. The assertion of the British in Negapatam created a threat to Dutch dominance in Ceylon, which a little later (1795) also fell into the hands of the British. England, moreover, achieved freedom of navigation for its ships in the waters of the Indonesian archipelago, which undermined the Dutch monopoly in the spice trade.

As a result of the war, the debt of the Dutch East India Company increased significantly and reached in the late 70s of the XVIII century. 85 million guilders; The company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The West India Company was not in the best condition either.

Soon the state was forced to take over the debts of both these companies.

Anglo-Dutch Wars

- wars between England (from 1707 Great Britain) and the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (Holland) in 1652-1654, 1665-1667, 1672-1674, 1780-1784. The conflicts were based on the desire of the powers to dominate the sea trade routes and competition in colonial expansion. In the first half of the XVII century. The United Provinces became one of the leading maritime powers of the Old World. Owning numerous trading posts on the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and ousting the Portuguese and British from there, the Dutch became a monopoly supplier of spices to Europe. English merchants constantly faced Dutch competition also in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, off the coast of Africa and America. The British were especially annoyed by the Dutch commercial hegemony in the Baltic and North Sea, where the Dutch controlled the trade in grain and ship timber.

Despite economic contradictions, Protestant Holland during the English Revolution of the 18th century. was perceived by the supporters of the English Parliament as a natural ally in the struggle against monarchical tyranny and the papal Counter-Reformation. In April 1649 the English Republic proposed an alliance to the United Provinces. The Dutch republicans, who represented the richest provinces in the States General, met this proposal favorably, but the Orangists are supporters of the stadtholder William II of Orange, a relative of the executed Charles I, opposed. William II provided patronage to the English royalists even after they killed the English envoy I. Dorislaus in his own chambers. Relations between the two republics deteriorated. On 10/09/1651, the English Parliament adopted the Navigation Act, which allowed goods to be imported into England and its colonies only on domestic ships and on ships of producing countries. This seriously hurt the interests of Holland, which received significant income from intermediary trade and charter of its merchant ships, and now it has already initiated new negotiations on concluding a military alliance, during which the parties agreed on almost all the points of the future treaty. At the same time, the Dutch corsairs, operating from French ports, continued to attack on behalf of Charles II to English courts.

07/09/1652 England declared war on the United Provinces, accusing them of implementing the "Orange plan" to overthrow the English Republic and restore[. In June 1652, Blake attacked a flotilla of Dutch fishermen and the military convoy accompanying them off the Orkney Islands. 07/02/1652 in the English Channel, the English squadron Askew attacked a large merchant caravan: 6 ships were captured, 3 burned, 26 ran aground and only 7 reached the Dutch coast. In mid-August 1652, Askew's squadron attacked a Dutch merchant caravan from the West Indies and the warships of Admiral M. A. Ruyter guarding it, but the attack was repulsed with considerable damage to the British. 10/28/1652 Blake, near Kent, defeated the Dutch fleet under the command of K. de Witt and Ruyter. After part of Blake's squadron was sent to the Mediterranean Sea, M. Tromp defeated Blake on 12/10/1652. In March 1653 the Dutch defeated the British off the coast of Italy. However, having gathered in the English Channel a fleet of 80 ships under the command of Blake and J. Monk, the British seized the initiative. On February 18–03/02/1653, they significantly beat Tromp and Ruyter near Portland, capturing more than 10 merchant ships from the caravan guarded by them. In June 1653 Blake defeated Tromp and C. de Witt off the coast of Suffolk. In the summer of 1653 Monk blockaded the Dutch ports from the sea. In August 1653 the Dutch fleet tried to break the blockade at Scheveningen, but was defeated. Tromp was killed in action. This defeat strengthened the position of the Republicans, led by J. de Witt, who managed to agree with O. Cromwell acceptable peace conditions. By the Peace of Westminster of 1654, the United Provinces recognized the articles of the Navigation Act of 1651 and pledged to limit the power of the House of Orange.

A.-g. v. 1665-1667 began with the capture of trading posts and colonies of Holland in the West by the British. Africa and Sev. America. After the Dutch regained what they had lost by force, England declared war (March 1665). In the Battle of Laustoft (June 1665), the British destroyed 17 enemy ships, but the Dutch managed to save the main part of the fleet. In August 1665, the British attempted to capture the Dutch East India Company's spice caravan in the Danish port of Bergen, but their attack was repelled by coastal battery fire. In 1666 France (January) and Denmark (February) entered the war on the side of the United Provinces. In late May - early June 1666, the Dutch squadron under the command of Ruyter and K. Tromp won a four-day battle in the English Channel, destroying 20 English ships. However, in August 1666, the English admiral R. Holmes made a successful raid on the island of Terschelling, where he burned about 130 Dutch ships with goods. In 1667, the English fleet, due to financial difficulties, was unable to go to sea, which Ruyter took advantage of: in February, he led his squadron up the Thames to the Chatham shipyard, where he burned many enemy ships. After that, the British requested peace, which was signed in Breda on 07/31/1667. The United Provinces received the right to import German goods into England, regained the previously lost Suriname, but were forced to abandon their North American colony of New Amsterdam.

A.-g. v. 1672–1674 England led in coalition with France. In 1668, England, the United Provinces, and Sweden entered into an anti-French Triple Alliance, but behind the backs of the allies, Charles II signed a secret treaty with France, pledging to support her at sea against Holland. In 1672 England (March 28) and France (April 6) declared war on the Republic of the United Provinces. On land the success was with the French, but at sea the Dutch. Admiral Ruyter's squadron defeated the Anglo-French fleet at Solebey (June 1672), Schoneveld (June 1673) and Texel (July 1673). The unsuccessful course of hostilities and the growth of opposition sentiments within the country forced Charles II to conclude a separate Peace of Westminster on February 19, 1674, repeating the conditions of the Treaty of Breda in 1667.

Cause A. - g. v. 1780–1784 became the position of Holland during the War of Independence of the North American colonies of England. Dutch shipowners and merchants, taking advantage of the neutral position of their country, supplied weapons and ammunition to the rebellious Americans. After the English fleet was ordered to detain all Dutch ships bound for America, confiscate their cargo and detain their crews, the United Provinces joined the League of Neutral Powers. 12/31/1780 Great Britain declared war on Holland - 08/05/1781 the Dutch squadron in the North Sea defeated the English fleet, but some time later it managed to completely block the Dutch ports from the sea. In February 1781, the British captured the island of St. Eustatius, through which the main Dutch supplies went to the North. America, and then almost all the Dutch trading posts in Africa. The war ended with the signing of the Peace of Paris in 1784, according to which Great Britain received Negapatam in India and the right to freely trade in Indonesia.

Shatokhina-Mordvintseva G. A. Foreign policy of the Netherlands. 1713-1763. M., 1998; Hainsworth R. and Churches Ch. The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars 1652–1674. Stroud, 1998; Pincus S. C. A. Protestantism and Patriotism; Ideologies and the Making of the English Foreign Policy, 1650–1658. Cambridge, 1994; Wilson C. Profit and Power: A Study of England and Dutch Wars. L., 1957. S. V. Kondratiev.

Historically, England had to fight for quite a long time in neighboring territories for various reasons.
Wars between England and Holland (Netherlands) are no exception. They had well-explained facts. So the Anglo-Dutch wars broke out in 1651 on the basis of maritime dominion.
This issue was summarized as follows. Both England and the Netherlands have an identical geographical location - both are washed by the seas. So maritime dominion is the main trump card of both countries, giving the right to establish their own laws on the sea.
The reason for the outbreak of the first Anglo-Dutch war was that the English Parliament decided that imported goods should be imported into England exclusively by transportation on ships belonging to the British crown.
This led to the fact that the trading forces of Holland were significantly weakened.
Moreover, England wanted complete dominion in the North Sea. Of course, the Dutch authorities did not like such an active political position.
Both countries, realizing that they are those states that have, in principle, equal rights to the ownership of sea routes, nevertheless became involved in the conflict.
The first war began with a battle in the Pas de Calais. The British were pushed back to the mouth of the River Thames, to the very city of London. The Dutch fleet had at its disposal ships, banderas, in sufficient numbers to destroy the entire British fleet.
The British continued to defend fiercely. They launched a desperate attack. This time the weather conditions were not favorable for the Dutch: the lack of wind prevented the Dutch from seizing the initiative. Moreover, the British were masters at the mouth of the Thames.
As a result of a brilliant operation undertaken by the British, the Dutch fleet fled, three admirals were killed.
Thus, the Dutch admiral de Ruyter capitulated quickly.
In parallel, there was a military campaign with another Dutch admiral - Cornelius Tromp. When the admiral advanced to the rescue of his rearguard. As a result of the mass offensive of the British, the Dutch fleet retreated to its port of Vilingen. As a result of this unsuccessful offensive operation on the part of Holland, the loss of several ships of the squadron. The English army, on the other hand, lost slightly fewer units of floating equipment and about 2,000 people killed and wounded.
Later, both sides signed a peace treaty: now Holland was losing its colonies on the continent of North America.
The next Anglo-Dutch war was also fierce, but this time France, Sweden, and partly Germany also fought on the side of England. The Dutch could rely on the help of their following allies: Spain, another part of Germany, Denmark, the Principality of Brandenburg.
The war began with an attack by the British on the sea. France, meanwhile, attacked Holland from land, attacking Amsterdam, but they could not take the city due to its good defense and powerful fortifications.
The English fleet now exceeded twice its original strength. Together with the French ships, he had more ships than the Dutch had. The same Dutch general Tromp again returned to the position and also commanded the most advanced Dutch detachments. In a difficult situation was General Rupert, who was forced to fight practically alone (with a small army) against the main forces of the British and French.
General Ruyter was able to forge an encirclement ring around 20 English ships.
In this battle, the English fleet began to suffer defeat. After this, Ruyter led ships with goods on his ships from the East Indies.
On the diplomatic field, England agreed to terminate the alliance with France, which turned out to be a weak ally in the war with Holland. The opposing sides made peace. Under this treaty, humiliating for England, Holland confirmed its claim to dominion at sea. Communication with the colonies in the New World was also restored for Holland.
Although the Anglo-Dutch wars ended in the defeat of England, in the future she managed to defend the high and honorary status of the mistress of the sea almost peacefully: Holland herself ceased to claim this superiority.

Not a single series of wars in the history of mankind has done as much for the development of the fleet as the confrontation between England and the Netherlands in the second half of the 17th century. It was in the course of three heavy armed clashes between the two states - pretenders to maritime dominance in the world - that the fleet was divided into military and civilian, and the sailing fleet finally took its rightful place in the structures of maritime states. And even though the rowing fleet was not completely ousted and remained in the Baltic and Mediterranean states for another century and a half, from now on the sailing ship has become the only owner in the ocean.

Economy is the cause of wars

Not having time to win the anti-Spanish war for independence, combined with the bourgeois revolution (1555-1609), the Netherlands began active colonization. The pearl in the Dutch necklace of colonies was the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), the capture of which began in 1596. This was largely facilitated by the emerging rather powerful navy of the country, created from numerous detachments of marine geos.

But far more numerous was the Dutch fishing and merchant fleet. If the first practically did not go beyond the North Sea and consisted mainly of, then the second by the middle of the 17th century. turned out to be practically a monopoly of the world's maritime carrier. A huge number of Dutch coggs, carracks, galleons and other lesser-known varieties of Dutch transport sailing ships sailed almost all the world's seas and oceans, carrying out a variety of trade and transit operations.

Somewhat later, in 1640, the bourgeois revolution began in England as well. Four decades later, she brought to power very ambitious politicians who did not want to put up with the Netherlands monopoly on world maritime trade. Moreover, despite the revolutionary upheavals, England retained a fairly powerful navy, which already consisted of full-fledged military sailing ships. Yes, and numerous merchant sailboats also carried artillery systems on board, and if necessary, without even re-arming them, they could be put into battle formations. And if so, then the challenge to the Dutch maritime trade monopoly was thrown on November 15, 1651.

Forbidden monopoly

On that day, the English Parliament adopted the so-called Navigation Act. Its essence was that goods could be delivered to Foggy Albion and all British colonies either on English ships (although there were not so many ships suitable for such transportation), or on ships producer countries. But here's the paradox: in general, almost all of these countries did not have their own merchant fleet for such mass transportation.

The proud rulers and inhabitants of the country that they themselves created (remember the famous proverb “God created the Earth, and the Dutch created Holland!”), Having learned by that time to successfully beat the fleet of Spain, without hesitation, adopted English call.

However, now they had to fight in extremely unfavorable conditions, because any ship or ship going to the Netherlands from the colonies had to pass the English coast either from the east (through the English Channel) or from the west, through the Irish sea. The first path was shorter, but ran past the main English naval bases, but the second direction increased the path home to the Dutch ships.

As a result, Dutch sailors, tired after many months of sailing through the stormy waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, simply could not help but encounter the fresh forces of the English navy, which had left their own ports only a few hours or days ago. It was impossible to ignore the English threat - such a passive position could lose, and very quickly, the colonial empire, and hence the status of a great power. And the Netherlands decided to fight.

Fleets of amateurs and ships for various tasks

The whole paradox of the situation at the beginning of the Anglo-Dutch wars consisted precisely in the fact that England, whose Parliament adopted an offensive navigation act for the Netherlands and thereby provoked a war, was not ready for it itself. First of all, because since 1640 a revolution has been raging in the country and two civil wars have thundered one after another. The fleet did not take any special part in these events; at that turbulent time, simply no one was involved in it. Theoretically, England had good warships (one famous "Lord of the Seas" was worth something), but their crews were poorly trained, and there is no need to talk about the command staff.

All English admirals supported the royal power and were either executed or died on the fronts of civil wars. Those who emigrated (mainly to France), of course, did not want to return home.

Confrontation with the Netherlands

At the same time, it was during the struggle against King Charles I in England that the most powerful army at that time was created, which was led by courageous and talented generals. And therefore, in the absence of other personnel, it was to these generals that the Parliament entrusted a responsible mission - confrontation with the Netherlands on the seas, assigning exotic military ranks of generals of the sea.

Things were no better in the Netherlands. And although the country has not actually come out of various wars for a century, whether with the former metropolis of Spain or with some exotic native tribes, what is commonly called the navy with all its attributes, she didn't have. But there was a huge number of sailors and a huge trading and fishing fleet. Only the latter numbered over 15,000 different sailboats, but, unfortunately, most of them were small varieties of holkov - beads with a displacement of 80-100 tons with crews of 20 people.

But on the other hand, the Netherlands had a developed shipbuilding industry, a whole cohort of talented shipbuilders and, as further events showed, outstanding admirals.

In general, both fleets were not ready for war, although by its beginning they already had a clear organizational structure. True, this is not the merit of a particular naval commander, but the result of a combination of circumstances. The fact is that the entire English navy could not be placed in one base, and therefore it was divided into three parts: white, red and blue squadrons. A similar situation was with the fleet in the Netherlands. Only here the ports were located very close to each other, and warships had to share their berths with numerous “merchants” and “fishermen”. Therefore, the Dutch fleet was divided into even smaller formations than squadrons - divisions. Soon this practice was adopted by the British.

Ranks and flags

It was during the Anglo-Dutch wars that a coherent system of naval military ranks and flags was formed. So, the commander of the fleet was the admiral of the fleet. Initially, this title belonged to the head of state, so the English squadrons were commanded by an admiral, and the Dutch by a lieutenant-admiral, that is, a deputy commander. The squadron of the admiral or his division in the squadron was always under the red flag and was in the center.

The forward division - the vanguard, marching under a white flag, was commanded by a vice admiral, and the trailer division or squadron, marching under a blue flag, was commanded by a rear admiral. Ships were commanded by captains. True, it soon became clear that often the captain also needed to lead a small detachment of ships to carry out a task that had just appeared. This detachment was numerically smaller than the division, and therefore even the youngest, Rear Admiral, was not prestigious to lead such an insignificant battle group. But each ship in the group was commanded by a captain, and therefore he was in an equal position with the appointed chief. In order to single out a captain who had already outgrown his rank, but had not yet reached the rank of admiral, an intermediate rank was introduced. In Britain, it was called the commander, and in the Netherlands - schaubenacht, which in translation meant "looking at the night."

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Subsequently, in the Netherlands, the number of schaubenachts who never rose to the rank of rear admirals began to exceed the number of the latter many times over. And they were all appointed and appointed, because the tasks of the fleet were constantly becoming more complicated. Without further ado, the Dutch simply renamed the rear-admiral rank into Schaubenakht and introduced the title "commander" taken from the English tradition. At the same time, a special naval flag corresponded to each official.

Each warship in the course raised a pennant. This is the start that the ship is in campaign. In the base, a special flag was raised on the front flagpole - guis. It still means that a warship is an impregnable fortress.

Opponent Forces

So, for the battles of the first Anglo-Dutch war (1652-1654), both fleets were not quite ready. However, both the British and the Dutch highly appreciated their chances of success. The advantage of the British was considered their best combat skills and superiority in artillery, as well as the proximity of their own bases. The Dutch counted on the large number of their merchant fleet, which could be quickly armed, and on the professionalism of their sailors and admirals. But the Dutch also had special weapons - firewalls and frigates. The first were any ships, which are not a pity. They were filled with combustible and explosive substances and tried to send them to the enemy ship for the purpose of setting fire to them.

But the frigate, a warship, which in 100 years will have a long and wonderful life, appeared in the navy of the Netherlands quite by accident.

In numerous expeditions, the Dutch commanders noticed that some of the ships of their squadrons were much faster than everyone else. They decided to take advantage of this advantage by entrusting them with the functions of communications, reconnaissance and capturing prizes - as the merchant sailing ships of the enemy that fell into the hands of military sailors were then called. Among the British, the last of these functions were traditionally performed by numerous privateers, on whom the British leadership had high hopes.

mighty winds

The wind for a sailing ship is everything, so the ability to use it for sailing admirals, commanders and ordinary sailors (all of them are usually called sailors) is a vital necessity. Of course, the winds are different (we have already talked about this more than once), but the main thing is where and how the wind blows. It is on this basis that the course of the sailboat relative to the wind is built.

Ever since the Middle Ages, sailors have divided the angular space around the ship into heading angles - rhumbs. There are 32 of them in total. However, the ship is a geometrically correct design, and therefore the wind can blow from the starboard or port side. Accordingly, the movement of the ship in one direction or another is called tack.

A ship cannot go against the wind. The opposite wind-liventik not only literally stops the sailboat, but can also lead to the destruction of its mast economy. Therefore, in order to move, the ship is forced to turn either to the right or to the left, that is, to move alternately on the right and left tacks. Of course, the speed in this case is small, the sailing ship still goes forward. A tailwind blowing into the sails from behind - forewind allows you to theoretically develop the fullest speed. However, in practice, due to a strong wind, the bow of the ship sinks deeper than necessary, and some braking occurs. Therefore, the backstay is much more favorable, that is, the position when the wind blows from behind from the side. In this case, the sails develop maximum thrust, the hull normally sits in the water and the ship moves at the maximum possible speed.

And finally, the half-wind course - gulfwind and the wind blowing in front and sideways - the braidwind is also favorable, but at the same time difficult for the movement of a sailing ship.

The course of the war

The first battle of the Anglo-Dutch Wars took place on May 19, 1652 near Dover. Here the Dutch squadron, consisting of 42 warships, was waiting for its East Indian caravan and met with two English squadrons of 9 and 8 ships, respectively. The English general of the sea, Robert Blake, behaved defiantly.

Knowing that the British fleet of 60 warships was ready to come to the rescue from the mouth of the Thames at any moment, he demanded that the Dutch lieutenant-admiral Martin Tromp salute the English flag - after all, the meeting took place off the British coast. Tromp didn't respond.

When the British flagship fired three warning shots, Tromp's ships responded with broadside salvos. A fight began, no different from what the world had seen before: unsystematic maneuvering of individual ships and useless firing at the enemy. The Dutch tried to use fireships, but for various reasons lost two of them without causing any damage to the British. With the onset of darkness, the fleets dispersed without much regret, since the battle, in fact, was fought for the honor of the flag.

The Hunt for the Admiral

Having drawn conclusions, Blake began to attack the Dutch fishermen who hunted in the North Sea with whole squadrons. Tromp, adding 54 more mobilized "merchants" to his 32 ships and 6 firewalls, began to hunt for the Englishman, but a severe storm that broke out on August 5, 1652 destroyed 53 of his 92 ships. The talented admiral was removed from his post, and the Dutch fleet was headed by Witte de Witt and Michael de Ruyter. And already on August 16 they tried to take revenge on the Pas de Calais.

With 30 warships, they went out to meet a caravan of 60 merchant ships, the path of which was blocked by George Askew's English squadron of 52 warships. J. Askew tried to attack the Dutch from the windward side, breaking through their formation, but as a result of this theoretically correct, but practically unsuccessful maneuver, he allowed his enemy to be in the wind and thereby win the battle.

This battle can be considered the first naval battle of the classical sailing era, where the wind became the main player. It was precisely the control of the wind, that is, such a maneuver that would allow the squadron to remain on the windward side, that became the most important task of the admirals who led sailing ships into battle.

The battle of Scheveningen is the final battle of the first Anglo-Dutch war, which took place on August 10, 1653.

This rule was already confirmed on December 10, 1652, when Tromp unexpectedly forced Blake's squadron, standing at the entrance to the Thames, to take the fight. The wind from the coast did not allow the British to take cover in their bases, and the advantageous position of Tromp's ships on the windward side provided them with an advantage in maneuver and speed.

By this time, the Dutch realized that the squadrons should be completed exclusively with specially built warships, the power of which is approximately equivalent. The British, in the absence of a large navy, continued to arm merchant sailboats, which differed sharply both in the number of guns standing on them, and in running and maneuvering qualities.

Ability to use the powers of the elements

However, this did not prevent the British from eventually winning this first war, and the battle of Scheveningen on August 10, 1653 put a bullet in it. Here, the British already actively used the wind to their advantage, having learned, unlike the Dutch, actively maneuver in any direction. And although this battle on the part of the English, as before, was distinguished at first glance by the absence of any system, it once and for all made the wind an ally of the admirals. It is also noteworthy that the three Dutch squadrons in this battle moved all the time, using a fair wind - that is, they developed the maximum possible speed.

Battle of Texel Island 21 August 1673

The British not only dared to grapple with their formidable enemy in battle, but also, breaking a single formation and actively maneuvering, cut through the enemy’s system several times, putting his ships in two fires. These maneuvers showed the sharply increased naval skills of the English sailors and brought them a convincing victory. Having lost only 2 ships out of 120, they sank 14 Dutch ships out of a hundred in their fleet. Moreover, with artillery fire, the British repelled 4 attacks of Dutch fire ships and killed their outstanding commander, Martin Tromp. True, Robert Blake did not long outlive his opponent: three weeks later he died on the shore.

The birth of linear tactics

The battles of the first Anglo-Dutch war revealed all the shortcomings inherent in young military sailing fleets. From it, the Dutch drew the main conclusion: all trade caravans should henceforth be accompanied by strong fighting squadrons. At the same time, other squadrons most prepared for battle, consisting exclusively of specially built warships, should not only meet caravans arriving from the colonies to the metropolis, but actively attack enemy squadrons, its bases and shipyards.

The British drew similar conclusions and, like the Dutch, set about building a large navy. The initiator of its creation was General of the Sea John Monk, who is often credited with winning the battle of Scheveningen.

It was Monk who achieved the decision of the Parliament on purposeful and permanent state financing of the construction of the navy (this decision abolished the notorious ship dues, which could not finance the construction of a massive navy). He also transferred to the British, but soon to become world-famous as the Royal Navy (Royal Navy), the principles on which the new revolutionary army of the Parliament was built.

The main one was this: the ship, as a fighting organism, must constantly be kept clean and tidy, as well as the sailors, whose personal hygiene was henceforth a subject of special concern to the commanders.

Specialized warships

The Dutch admirals made the same decision. It became clear that the power of the artillery of warships moving in a single formation and clearly performing the maneuvers of the flagship, multiplied by their number, is the key to victories in the coming battles. This became the basis of the linear tactics that dominated the seas for the next two centuries. It was for linear tactics that they began to build warships with a significant number of guns in several onboard batteries.

It was these ships that became the basis of the power of the navies of all maritime powers and were called linear. The era when hastily armed merchant ships operated in a single formation with specially built warships is a thing of the past once and for all.

All these conclusions were confirmed during the battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665-1667. And they finally gained a foothold in the decisive battles of the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1671-1673. So, in the famous Four-Day Battle of June 1-4, 1666, both fleets (the Dutch - 101 warships under the command of Michael de Ruyter and the English - 109 warships under the command of Prince Rupert and General John Monk) fought with exceptional bitterness and, in spite of everything, maintained a clear battle order and conducted active artillery fire on the enemy from various distances.

Naval Classics

The commanders of both fleets constantly sought to stand on the leeward side, which is why the battles were fought on constant counter courses. It was in this battle that the outstanding Dutch admiral M. de Ruyter first used the maneuver that became a classic of naval art - capturing the head, that is, the enemy's flagship. At the same time, this battle proved that the strength and reasonableness of the use of firewalls, combined with the power of artillery in battle, is much more important than boarding, and also that ammunition should be disposed of wisely.

This time it was the British who, using their superiority in rate of fire, were left without shells at the most decisive moment of the battle and could not repel the attack of the Dutch firewalls.

In addition, the relatively high survivability of wooden military sailing ships was confirmed, which was practically impossible to sink with the then artillery. At the same time, damaged and practically devoid of movement combat units create a big problem both for their crews and for the command of the fleet as a whole.

However, despite the fact that this battle ended in favor of the Netherlands, whose fleet lost 6 ships, but burned and captured 20 English ones, forcing the squadrons of Monk and Rupert to take refuge in the bases, this battle did not put an end to the Second Anglo-Dutch War . In the summer of 1667, de Ruyter undertook a bold raid on the English shores, where in two months he destroyed and burned almost all the English bases on the southeast coast of the island of Britain, blocked the Thames and forced the British to sign a peace favorable to the Netherlands.

True, the British, although with great difficulty, won the Third Anglo-Dutch War. However, it was not their strategic victory that entered the annals of history, but the last success of de Ruyter - the famous 14th battle of the Anglo-Dutch Wars, which took place at the end of July 1673 near the island of Texel in the North Sea.

Hard win

Then the Dutch fleet of 75 ships, led by Admiral de Ruyter, met with the combined Anglo-French fleet under the command of Admiral Prince Rupert of 95 ships (30 French and 65 English).

At first glance, the balance of power was not in favor of the Netherlands, but M. de Ruiter thought otherwise. Based on the experience of the previous battle at Solbey (June 7, 1672), he knew the very low fighting qualities of the French sailors (their finest hour is yet to come), their passivity during the fighting, and therefore decided to immediately withdraw the French avant-garde from the battle using your artillery.

And so it happened: the Dutch vanguard of Vice Admiral Bankerst, consisting of 10 ships, led the French squadron out of the battle with a decisive artillery attack. And although the French received relatively light damage and were quite capable of continuing the battle, their crews preferred to do repairs.

The further neck, as they say, was a matter of technique: the successful maneuvering of the Dutch avant-garde helped de Ruyter put the English vanguard into two fires, and force the French rearguard to leave, as the Dutch ships entered the gaps between the French (the Dutch fired from the side guns on the bow and stern of French ships). At the same time, the Dutch did not retreat a single step from the already classic linear tactics, which brought them victory.

But an additional factor, among others, that determined the victory of de Ruyter, was the active use, for the first time in the history of wars, of operational communications between the ships of the Dutch squadrons. It was provided by very small sailing ships - advice notes (translated from French - “I notify”). It was these nimble one- and two-masted boats that quickly moved throughout the battle area, transmitting the orders of the famous Dutch admiral to his subordinates.

But what about the French?

The decisive victory of the Netherlands in the Battle of Texel split the Anglo-French coalition, which helped de Ruiter to prevent an English landing on the Dutch coast. But at the same time, it clearly demonstrated all the shortcomings of the navy of the French kingdom, which, on the orders of the famous French king Louis XIV, was created with incredible speed under the direct leadership of the outstanding political and economic figure of the kingdom, Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683 gg.).

When in 1661 this man became minister of the sea, the French fleet consisted of only 9 ships, 3 frigates and 8 galleys, and their technical condition was very deplorable. Using the instructions of his king, the energetic minister, despite the modest possibilities of the French economy of that time, launched the largest shipbuilding program in Europe at that time. As a result, the French fleet began to grow rapidly: by 1666 it consisted of 71 ships, and by 1671 - already 196. By 1683 - the year of Colbert's death - the French navy consisted of 112 ships of the line, 25 frigates and 80 galleys.

Together with various warships of other classes, the French fleet totaled 276 units - 72 more than that of England. At the same time, two squadrons - the Mediterranean (FloMed) and the Atlantic (FloAnt), whose names are preserved to this day, were equipped with ships of different ideologies.

If in the Mediterranean the French massively used galleys and light sailboats of the type, then in the Atlantic (mainly in the North Sea) - exclusively sailing multi-gun ships. Their design embodied many advanced solutions, especially in the field of hull strength, which became not only the hallmark of the French shipbuilding school, but also its main secret for a long century and a half.

But it was not possible then to raise the training of French sailors to the proper level, which was confirmed by the Third Anglo-Dutch War. However, a start was made: France gradually took second place in the world in terms of building and increasing the power of the naval sailing fleet.