The Anglo-Dutch war of 1652-4 was the first of three conflicts between England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands (Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overijssel, Gröningen, Gelderland and Friesland).
Friction between England and the Netherlands had been increasing since the early 17th century as both nations competed in maritime trade and colonial expansion. In 1621, the United Provinces became embroiled in the Thirty Years War as Spain tried to reconquer the newly-independent Dutch republic. This gave an advantage to English merchants who could trade in Spanish markets from which the Dutch were excluded, but the peace treaty of 1648 between Spain and the United Provinces brought the powerful Dutch merchant fleets back into every trading sphere. English merchants had already been driven out of the lucrative East Indian spice trade and soon began to lose markets to the Dutch in Spain, the Mediterranean and the West Indies. Unofficial warfare developed as English captains began siezing Dutch ships and their cargoes.
Despite the intense trade rivalry between the two nations, the Council of State regarded the Protestant Dutch republic as a natural ally of the English Commonwealth in its apocalyptic struggle against Monarchy and Popery. A diplomatic team headed by Oliver St John went to The Hague in October 1650 to negotiate an alliance in which it was proposed to combine the two nations into a single diplomatic and commercial unit. Dutch republicans were in favour of the alliance, but supporters of the powerful House of Orange vehemently opposed it, expressing outrage at the execution of King Charles I and refusing to recognise the Commonwealth. Furthermore, the Dutch signed a treaty with Denmark in February 1651 which had the effect of limiting English trade in the Baltic. With the failure of his diplomatic mission, St John drafted the provocative Navigation Act of October 1651, which greatly increased tensions between the two nations.
During the winter and spring of 1651-2, large numbers of Dutch vessels were intercepted and searched. French support for the Royalists had led the Commonwealth to issue "letters of reprisal", which authorised English captains to seize French cargoes carried in Dutch ships. When George Ayscue arrived to claim the colony of Barbados for the Commonwealth in October 1651, he seized 27 Dutch ships that were trading with the Royalists in contravention of a Commonwealth embargo. The Commonwealth also continued the traditional claim to sovereignty of the "British Seas" — from the German Ocean (the North Sea) to Cape Finisterre — and required foreign ships in these waters to strike their flags to English men-of-war as a mark of respect. Dutch ambassadors in London tried to ease the growing tension, but war had become inevitable. The States General, which governed the United Provinces after the death of the Stadtholder William II, decided to expand the fleet by hiring and equipping 150 merchant ships as warships. The veteran admiral Maarten Tromp put to sea in April 1652 with orders to protect Dutch shipping from English aggression. After a confrontation between Tromp and Robert Blake off Dover in May, war broke out in July 1652.
Battles of the First Anglo-Dutch War
During the course of the war, which was fought entirely at sea, both sides were forced to review naval administration and tactics. Following the English defeat at the battle of Dungeness in November 1652, an Admiralty Committee under the direction of Sir Henry Vane was established which introduced better rates of pay for seamen and greater efficiency in supplying the fleet. Reliance upon the hiring and arming of merchant vessels was phased out because captains and owners were often reluctant to risk damage to their ships in battle. The first official Articles of War and Fighting Instructions were issued to English naval commanders, which remained the basis of naval tactics and discipline throughout the next century. In imitation of Dutch practice, the fleet was divided onto three squadrons — red, white and blue — each with its own commander to make fleet actions more manageable. The concept of fighting in line-of-battle to maximise the use of the broadside was established for the first time. This gave a definite advantage to the English fleet which had bigger and more powerful warships ("ships of the line") than the Dutch, who continued to rely on armed merchant vessels. The line-of-battle tactic continued to be used in naval warfare until the end of World War II.
Both Robert Blake and George Monck distinguished themselves in the fighting. By mid-1653, the English naval blockade was crippling Dutch overseas trade. On the other hand, the cost of repairing and supplying the fleet proved to be exorbitant. During 1653, victuallers refused further contracts with the Admiralty unless their existing bills were settled; in October 1653, unpaid sailors rioted in the streets of London.
The death in action of Tromp in July 1653 was a severe blow to the Dutch Orangist faction. The republican Jan de Witt succeeded in purging the Dutch fleet of supporters of the House of Orange. Increasing republican influence in town councils across the United Provinces created an atmosphere conducive to peace with the Commonwealth. In England, radical members of the Nominated Assembly were in favour of continuing the war to the bitter end, but peace negotiations began when moderates dissolved the Assembly and handed power to Cromwell, who had never been in favour of war against a Protestant nation.
The Treaty of Westminster, signed in April 1654, was aimed principally at limiting the powers of the pro-Stuart House of Orange in the United Provinces and at securing the expulsion of English Royalist exiles from Dutch territory.
The Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars were fought from 1665-7 and 1672-4 during the reign of Charles II.
Anglo-Dutch Wars blog [offsite]