Anglo-Dutch Wars -- Trade War at Sea
Three Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652-1654, 1665-1667, 1672-1674) were fought for control of maritime trade, fishing rights, and colonial possessions. England's Navigation Acts (1651), requiring all goods imported to England to travel in English ships, were a direct economic attack on the Dutch carrying trade. The wars saw battles of unprecedented scale in the North Sea and English Channel, with admirals like Michiel de Ruyter (Dutch) and Robert Blake (English) pioneering fleet tactics still studied today. The Dutch Raid on the Medway (1667), de Ruyter's fleet sailing up the Thames to burn the English flagship at anchor, was the most humiliating naval defeat in English history. The wars ended with the English acquiring New Amsterdam (renamed New York, 1664), while the Dutch retained Suriname and Banda islands. Dutch commercial supremacy in Asia (the VOC) was unbroken, but the wars shifted European naval power towards England.
- Year: 1652 CE
- Category: Military
