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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Unsuccessful English attack on the VOC fleet at Bergen, 12 August 1665, by Willem van de Velde the Elder, 1669

(De mislukte aanslag van de Engelsen op de retourvloot in de haven van Bergen)

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

(Image 48222195 pixels, 3.45MB)

In July 1665 Lord Sandwich, commander of the English fleet, took his ships to the sea hoping to exploit the recent victory over the Dutch at Lowestoft. His two targets were de Ruyter’s squadron bound home from West Africa and the Americas, and a rich VOC convoy, which arrived twice a year from East Indies laden with spice, gems and luxury goods.

The English were having their usual problems with victualling, and a long cruising along the coast of Holland was unattractive. Sandwich took his fleet to the north to Denmark-ruled Norway where he expected the VOC convoy to be coming on the route around Scotland on its way home. Denmark was friendly to the Dutch and was obliged to maintain neutrality. The English envoy in Copenhagen, however, reported that King Frederik III of Denmark was about to break his alignment to the Dutch, and was only waiting for a rich Dutch convoy to arrive to one of his ports. The profits from the captured cargo would be shared with the English. At that time a single VOC Indiamen could be worth of £250000, which was a quarter of the English crown annual revenues. The VOC convoy arrived in 1665 to Bergen consisted of 60 ships carrying cargo worth of over 11 million guilders.

Sandwich decided to split his forces and sent 30 of his ships under Sir Thomas Teddiman to attack Bergen. At that time the new orders from the Danish king had not yet arrived, and when the English attacked on August 2nd (Old Style) 1665 they were met with a determined resistance put up by the Dutch Admiral Pieter de Bitter. The Danish commander Claus von Ahlefeldt did not only fail to cooperate with the attackers, instead, the Danish coastal batteries fired upon the English fleet. The attack failed and Teddiman was forced to retreat. The Dutch remained blockaded in the port.

On August 19th a relief force commanded by de Ruyter had arrived. The bad weather made the immediate escape impossible and only on August 30th had the Dutch left the port. Their ships were soon scattered by a gale on the Dogger Bank. Some of them had returned home safely but on September 3rd Sandwich captured total of 27 prizes, including two rich Indiamen. He allowed his unpaid crews to loot them while retaining the lion share of the booty to himself and his captains.

Willem van de Velde was present at the battle of Bergen and recorded it in his sketches. On this pen painting Dutch Indiamen are firing back at the English fleet with Bergenhus fortress in background on the right. On the right one can see the Catharina, one of the Indiamen, repairing the damage to her hull below the waterline. Her captain, Ruth Maximilianesz, is believed to be the commissioner of this painting.

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The Dutch Fleet under Sail

by Willem Van De Velde The Elder, 1672

Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy

(image 8000 x 4400 px, 5,14MB)

‘The Dutch Fleet under Sail’ is believed to be a depiction of the Dutch battle fleet prepared to set sail for the Medway and Sheerness in 1667. This expedition commanded by Admiral De Ruyter resulted in a stunning success. Much of the English navy was destroyed or captured. The Dutch ships that took part in that attack are represented on this painting. At the right is the Witte Olifant (built 1666) easily recognizable by a white elephant on her stern. Further right is the Vrijheid (the Freedom, built 1651, blown up in action 1676). To the left of the Witte Olifant is the Zeelandia with the coat of arms of Zeelandia on her stern. The center of the painting is occupied by the Gouden Leeuw (built 1666), with the image of a rampant golden lion on her tafferel. In the left foreground is the Huis Tijdverdrijf. In the left background the Zeven Provincien is seen. Her stern is decorated with the coat of arms of the seven Provinces of the Republic.

This painting is now kept in Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy. It was acquired in 1674 by Cardinal Leopold de Medici who at that time was travelling to Holland accompanied by his nephew Cosimo III, the crown prince of Tuscany. While being in Holland they visited a number of artists’ studios including the one of Willem van de Velde the Elder. The cardinal and the crown prince were captivated by the artist’s work and purchased a number of his paintings and among them “The Dutch Fleet under Sail”. The cardinal paid 325 guilders for this painting. This work has numerous carefully drawn details that can be studied on this high resolution image.

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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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By Willem van de Velde, the Elder, 1666-1693

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Willem van de Velde the Elder had accompanied the Dutch Fleet in a galliot to witness the events of the Four Days Battle that took place on June 11-14 1666 off the Flemish and English coasts. He sketched every phase and every detail of the battle. This drawing shows the Dutch fleet on the day before the battle began. The Dutch government had recently abandoned its opposition to bigger vessels and on this picture we can see some new powerful Dutch ships like de Ruyter’s new flagship “De Zeven Provinciën” of 80 guns, equivalent to English second rates. In addition to the new bigger ships the Dutch had mustered a fleet bigger than the opponent’s: eighty-six ships against fewer than sixty in the English squadron.

Colored drawing by Johan Herman Isings (from the sketch by Willem van de Velde, the Elder)

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