Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel de Ruyter is the greatest Dutch admiral and burned the English fleet at anchor in its own river. Born in Flushing in 1607 to a beer porter, he went to sea at eleven as a boatswain's boy, served on merchantmen and privateers, was captured by the Spanish and escaped, and worked his way up to command his own trading vessel. He was persuaded into the navy repeatedly and repeatedly returned to trade. He was known as Bestevaêr, grandfather, by his crews, ate with them, and was noted for personal modesty in a service full of aristocratic rivalry. He fought through the First Anglo-Dutch War, and in the Second he commanded the fleet. He was defeated at Lowestoft under another admiral and won the Four Days' Battle in June 1666. His most celebrated action was the Raid on the Medway in June 1667. With the English fleet laid up for want of money, de Ruyter sailed into the Thames estuary, broke the chain across the Medway, burned or captured several of the largest ships of the line, and towed away the flagship Royal Charles. The sound of the guns was heard in London, and the peace was signed within weeks on Dutch terms. In 1672 the Republic was invaded by France and attacked at sea by England and France together. He fought four battles that year and the next — Solebay, Schooneveld twice and Texel — and prevented an amphibious landing that would have ended the country. He was mortally wounded off Sicily in 1676.
- Lived: 1607 CE – 1676 CE
- Nationality: Dutch
- Roles: admiral, naval_commander
