Anglo-Dutch Wars

The **Anglo-Dutch Wars** ( or ) 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.

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

- .
- National Maritime Museum , London.
- Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyters' flagship 'The Seven Provinces'  is being rebuilt in the Dutch town of Lelystad.
- .

## Infobox (military conflict)

- **conflict**: Anglo-Dutch Wars
- **image**: Dutch Attack on the Medway, June 1667 van Soest RMG BHC0295.jpg
- **caption**: _Dutch attack on the Medway_ during the Second Anglo-Dutch War by Pieter Cornelisz van Soest,  1667.
- **date**: 1652–54
1665–67
1672–74
1781–84
- **place**: North Sea, English Channel, Norway, Italy, Netherlands
- **result**: Dutch domination of world trade until 1713.
- **combatant1**:
 Denmark–Norway
- **combatant2**:

- **commander1**: Michiel de Ruyter
 Maarten Tromp
- **commander2**: James II of England, The Duke of York
 Robert Blake (admiral), Robert Blake
 Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV
 Jean II d'Estrées
- **strength1**: Dutch Republic
600 warships
1,500 Marines
50 soldiers
Denmark–Norway
Fortress, 250 soldiers
- **strength2**: England
650 warships
300 soldiers
France
60 ships
- **casualties1**: Dutch Republic
56 warships lost
20 warships captured
10,150 dead
20,000 wounded
2,500 captured
Denmark–Norway
8 dead
10 civilians killed
- **casualties2**: England
40 warships lost
18 warships captured
13,310 dead
25,000 wounded
2,000 captured
France
400 killed