Anglo-Dutch Wars

The Anglo-Dutch Wars (Dutch: Engels–Nederlandse Oorlogen or Engelse Zeeoorlogen) were a series of wars fought between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of England and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries. They fought for control over trade routes on the seas. All of the wars were mostly fought by naval warfare.

Anglo-Dutch Wars
Dutch attack on the Medway during the Second Anglo-Dutch War by Pieter Cornelisz van Soest, c. 1667.
Date 1652–54 1665–67 1672–74 1781–84 Location North Sea, English Channel, Norway, Italy, Netherlands Result Dutch domination of world trade until 1713.
Belligerents
Dutch Republic Denmark–Norway	England (–1707) Great Britain (1707–) France
Commanders and leaders
Michiel de Ruyter Maarten Tromp	The Duke of York Robert Blake Louis XIV Jean II d'Estrées
Strength
Dutch Republic 600 warships 1,500 Marines 50 soldiers Denmark–Norway Fortress, 250 soldiers	England 650 warships 300 soldiers France 60 ships
Casualties and losses
Dutch Republic 56 warships lost 20 warships captured 10,150 dead 20,000 wounded 2,500 captured Denmark–Norway 8 dead 10 civilians killed	England 40 warships lost 18 warships captured 13,310 dead 25,000 wounded 2,000 captured France 400 killed

The First War (1652–1654) took place during the Interregnum in England, the period after the English Civil War when England did not have a king or a queen. The war was fought between the navies of England and the Dutch Republic (also known as the United Provinces). It mainly took place in the English Channel and the North Sea. It ended with the Royal Navy of England gaining control of those seas and a monopoly over trade with the English colonies.

The Second (1665–1667) and the Third (1672–1674) Wars happened after the English Restoration of the monarchy. England tried to end the Dutch monopoly over world trade. Most of the fighting in both wars was done in the North Sea. In the Third War, England fought alongside France. Both wars ended in strong victories for the Dutch and confirmed their position as the leading maritime power of the 17th century. The English took New Netherland, and the Dutch let them keep it in return for Suriname.

The Fourth War (1780–1784) took place after the Acts of Union 1707 in Great Britain and involved the Dutch Republic and Great Britain. The main cause was that Britain disagreed with the Dutch trading with the United States during the American Revolutionary War. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1784) and ended with a very big defeat for the Dutch, who lost parts of the Dutch Empire.

Related pages

• Glorious Revolution
• History of England
• History of the United Kingdom
• British East India Company
• Dutch East India Company
• Anglo-Manipur War

More reading

• D. R. Hainsworth, et al. (1998) The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars 1652-1674
• James Rees Jones (1996) The Anglo-Dutch wars of the seventeenth century
• Angus Konstam and Tony Bryan (2011) Warships of the Anglo-Dutch Wars 1652-74

Other websites

• Painting of Anglo-Dutch sea battle, Third War, at the National Maritime Museum, London (in Dutch), NL: Zeeburg nieuws, archived from the original on 2002-10-14, retrieved 2013-07-16.
• National Maritime Museum Archived 2011-12-12 at the Wayback Machine, London.
• Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyters' flagship 'The Seven Provinces' Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine is being rebuilt in the Dutch town of Lelystad.
• A short history of the Anglo–Dutch Wars, Contemplator.