When we talk about great European naval strategists and tacticians, English admirals of the fleet like Blake, Drake, Nelson and Rodney are the first to come to mind. However I read somewhere that during the mid-seventeenth century, the Dutch were able to somewhat challenge Anglo hegemony on the high seas and at certain battles bested the English. Further searches from the the internet yielded the following names;
1) Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter 2) Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp 3) Cornelius Martenszoon Tromp
All three achieved the rank of Lieutenant Admiral (which I suspect is the highest rank in the Dutch Navy), won brilliant battles against their English counterparts, but were ultimately defeated.
Can anyone tell me more on the above three Dutchmen or any other brilliant Dutch Admiral I left out? Any detailed accounts of their exploits and perhaps the general state of the Dutch Navy then and during the eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries? Links would be appreciated.
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The dutch were pretty great naval powers.They fought 2 wars againest the english and spainish.Won the 1st but lost the 2nd and yea.Will try to find more on the dutch
HENG@
dunno much but i know the dutch navy harressed the Spanish Armada when they sailed to meet Nelson.
Laplace
Originally posted by HENG@:
dunno much but i know the dutch navy harressed the Spanish Armada when they sailed to meet Nelson.
Nelson?
Which Spanish Armada were you referring you? I must confess that my knowledge of naval history is somewhat lacking.
Care to share?
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apprently the dutch were considered as winning 2 sea wars againest the english!!the 2nd of the wars was a settlement with the dutch ending up having to salute the british flag while at sea.But the dutch showed the brits that their navy was no longer the best by sailing up the thames or something.At school now.Have more info when i get back.