For more than a hundred years in the 17th and 18th centuries, English and Dutch sailors battled it out on the high seas. During that time, both countries, along with France and Spain, clashed over shipping routes, trade, overseas territories, and nationalistic fervor.
The four Anglo-Dutch Wars between 1652 and 1784 brought some of the most stupendous battles under sail the world has ever seen. Given both nations’ tradition of master artists, it’s no wonder this period of naval warfare also produced great art. Here is a look at some classic works from each of the four periods of the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the dramatic events they depict.
The Winds of War
In the early 1600’s, the Dutch Republic began long distance sea voyages for trade. Its interests included colonies in North America and India as well as a large merchant fleet. By the 1700’s, the Netherlands was one of the world’s leading seafaring powers.
During the same period, England built up its navy to conduct privateering raids against the Spanish, who were engaged against the Dutch. When the Dutch Republic rejected England’s offer to combine forces against Spanish naval power, English public sentiment turned against the Dutch, leading to the first of four wars at sea.
First Anglo-Dutch War: 1652-1654
In 1651, England passed the Navigation Acts. These new laws protected British maritime trade while limiting incoming trade from the Dutch. It also served as a pretext for pirates to attack Dutch ships.
As part of these navigation acts, England demanded that vessels of other nations strike their flags in the presence of the “Lords of the Seas”. When Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp failed to promptly lower his ship’s colors, his insouciance sparked a skirmish at the Battle of Dover, and England subsequently declared war on the Dutch.
Tromp died in 1653 at The Battle of Scheveningen, the final conflict of the first war. In 1654 the Treaty of Westminster ended the conflict, but a maritime rivalry remained.
Second Anglo-Dutch War: 1665-1667
Within a decade, anti-Dutch sentiment began to circulate in England again, leading to the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Epic battles raged from one side of the Atlantic to the other. These included skirmishes along the shores of what is now Virginia as well as off the coast of England.
The Dutch Republic dealt a decisive blow at the Raid on the Medway, where Dutch ships set fire to British vessels in the Chatham Dockyard in Kent. They also towed away two of England’s most important ships, the HMS Unity (which the British had previously captured from the Dutch) and the Royal Charles, flagship of the Royal Navy.
Medway is considered one of the most humiliating defeats in British naval history. The loss turned public sentiment adamantly against the war.
Fearing a revolt, Charles II ordered a treaty with the Dutch to ease British angst and end the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
Third Anglo-Dutch War: 1672-1674
Although English citizens largely opposed another conflict with the Dutch, royal motives prevailed. Unbeknownst to the general public, King Charles II had signed the secret Treaty of Dover with France. French terms included annual payments to Charles for converting to Roman Catholicism, and a vow to send troops to Charles’ aid should the English population revolt against him.
In return, Charles secretly committed England to assisting the French in their naval campaigns against the Dutch Republic. The last major conflict was the Battle of Texel. Unable to penetrate the Dutch system of flooded waterways, France failed to control the Dutch mainland, and England’s parliament forced Charles to make peace with the Dutch.
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: 1780–1784
Lesser conflicts continued for more than a century. British sea power and trading began to dominate as Dutch primacy waned. When the Dutch began providing supplies for the American Revolution against the British, it led to another flash point.
England declared war on the Dutch in 1880. Naval battles centered around Dutch overseas territories as well as battles in the North Sea. The Battle of Dogger Bank occurred over a large sand bank some 100 miles east of the English coast. The episode proved costly to both sides and ended indecisively. However, England eventually won a conclusive victory in the wider war, which precipitated instability and revolution in the Dutch Republic.
Although these bloody battles are as gone as the Age of Sail itself, they are a reminder of what it once took to dominate the high seas. Such ambition has never been the exclusive trait of any one nation, and dramatic paintings are all we have to visualize what it must have been like aboard the most ferocious war machines of the day.