In the early 1650s the damage caused by French and Barbary Coast pirates to Dutch Levant trade forced the Republic of Seven United Provinces to send an expedition commanded by Admiral Johan van Galen to the Mediterranean. With the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War the Dutch squadron had to face yet another enemy – the English ships under Captain Henry Appleton and Captain Richard Badiley.
In the first months of 1653 Dutch and English squadrons have been chasing each other in a cat and mouse game in the vicinity of the island of Elba. A series of actions resulted in a capture of an English frigate Phoenix by the Dutch. The ship was placed under the command of a young officer Cornelis Tromp, the son of the glorious Dutch Admiral Maerten Tromp.

In March 1653 the Dutch have finally succeeded in trapping Captain Appleton and his 6 ships in the port of Livorno (Leghorn) in Italy. Livorno was a neutral territory under the Grand Duke of Tuscany. On one night the English undertook a successful sortie and recaptured the Phoenix. Cornelis Tromp was surprised in his sleep but managed to escape by jumping overboard. Later he was fished out of the water by a merchantman.

This action meant a violation of the port’s neutrality by the English. Van Galen issued a demand for the English ships to leave. By this point an English squadron commanded by Richard Badiley has arrived to join forces with the trapped ships. The Dutch sailed out to face the new threat on a favorable wind. The blockaded squadron attempted to use the chance to escape and left the port. The Dutch however abandoned their previous target and instead attacked the escaping ships. All but one of Appletons ships were either destroyed or captured and only Mary could outrun the Dutch and rejoin Badiley. The wind prevented the latter from coming to Appletons rescue. At the end Badiley found himself outnumbered (8 + Mary vs. 16 Dutch) and was forced to retreat. Admiral Van Galen was mortally wounded in the action and died on March 23.

The Battle of Livorno (Leghorn) by Johannes Lingelbach, 1660

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

These three paintings on display in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam depict the battle from three different perspectives. The first one painted by Johannes Lingelbach allows us to see the event through the eyes of a witness from the port. The monument on the left bears an inscription in Italian: Bataglia secuita tra li vaseli olandesi e inglesi il di 14 Marzo 1653 (The battle that took place on March 14th 1653 between Dutch and English ships). At the lower right of the painting one can see a note which was obviously added later that describes the events on the painting.

The Battle of Livorno (De zeeslag bij Livorno 14 maart 1653), Reinier Nooms

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Amsterdam chamber for Levant trade ordered this painting from Reinier Nooms to commemorate the event that allowed the Dutch to take control over the Mediterranean. The heading of the note at the lower left reads “Sea battle off Livorno between the Dutch and English fleets under the direction of the Commanders Jan van Galen and Sir Appleton”. The painting shows us the climax of the battle: in the center we can see the boarding of the English flagship Leopard by Zon and Julius Caesar. Further to the right one can see the burning Sampson and Tromps’ Halve Maan.

Slag bij Livorno (Battle of Leghorn), Willem Van de Velde the Elder

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

The latter two ships form the centerpiece of the next painting by Willem van de Velde the Elder. The Halve Maan is firing her guns at the Sampson, which has already been set on fire by a fire ship. In the background one can see the recaptured Phoenix, which is impossible since she was taken to Naples and was not present at the battle.

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Battle of Scheveningen (Slag bij Ter Heide)

The Battle of Scheveningen (Battle of Ter Heide) was painted by Jan Abrahamsz between 1653 and 1666. The flagship of Admiral Tromp, the Brederode and the Resolution under the flag of Monck can be seen in the middle of this painting.

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

By the middle of the 17th Century the tensions rose between the Commonwealth of England and the Republic of the Seven Provinces. Political rivalry, religious strife and most of all economic competition had drawn two protestant countries into decades of bloody conflict known as Anglo-Dutch Wars.

In 1650 the Dutch Republic stood proud. After 80 years of the unprecedented struggle for freedom from the all-mighty Spanish Empire the Seven Provinces had finally got their independence formally acknowledged in Westphalia. By this time the former ragtag fleet of the rebellious “sea-beggars” had become the world’s leading maritime power.

As the disputes heightened and diplomats strove to reach a settlement over the commercial issues, the States-General decided to intimidate the English by voting for an increase of the Dutch navy by not less than 150 ships. The effect of this move was quite the opposite to the expected. The English became convinced of the Dutch intentions on war and started preparing themselves to it.

The final trigger was provided by the long-standing English claim to be saluted everywhere in the “British Seas”. The extent of the “British Seas” was never defined, although it is safe to assume that the Channel and the Dover Straits were implied. The Dutch however stood to their own belief of the “freedom of the seas”. Thus the all-important passage of the Dutch trade shipping to the high seas was at stake. The war became inevitable as a result of several flag incidents that led to a bitter confrontation between the naval forces of the two nations.

One of such incidents took place on May 19th 1652 when Tromp and Blake met off Dover and firing broke out over the issue of the salute. Tromp had instructions from the States-General to yield the salute on the understanding that it was a courtesy not an acknowledgment of any legal jurisdiction. In the time of high tensions such orders proved to be fatal. The English were outnumbered and fought a confused action which still brought them two Dutch prizes. The leadership of the Commonwealth was enraged by what they regarded as a treacherous attack and formally declared war on July 8th.

The next twelve months had seen many actions including some of the scale never seen before. So on 2 June 1653 Tromp with 104 ships met Monck and Deane commanding 105 men-of-war. The encounter ended a disaster for the Dutch who lost 20 ships and were routed. The English navy now mounted a blockade of the Dutch waters causing a standstill in trade and a famine for the common people.

The blockade had eventually been lifted after the victualling had collapsed not being able to maintain such an armada 100 miles off its bases. Tromp used this moment to sail out and unite his fleet on 25 July. He was met by Monck and the two fleets fought on July 31st. The English formed a line to use their artillery superiority and passed four times throught the unformed Dutch fleet. Both sides suffered badly, but the losses for the Dutch were worse.

Tromp was killed by a musket ball on the fourth pass. His last words were said to be: ‘I have done, be of brave heart’.

Another depiction of this battle was created by Willem van de Velde the Elder in 1657. He was present at the action and tried to capture the event as he was sailing in a galliot with his son. Subsequently he was heard as a witness in a dispute about the roles of the different commanders.

Battle of Ter Heide

By Willem van de Velde, the Elder, 1657

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

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