Anglo -Dutch war : Causes, Summary, Battle and Result

Introduction :

• There are four naval war was fought between  Dutch Republic and England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This war is commonly known as Anglo – Dutch war. Out of the four, first three wars were sparked due to the economic competition which occurred due to the dominance of the English naval. Where as the final war happened because of the involvement of the Dutch in the American Revolution.

Background

• Four wars fought between the two countries over the trade. This wars were known as Anglo-Dutch war in the English and Netherlands-English in Netherland. That battle was fought among the naval forces.
  
• Of the four wars, three happened in the 17th century and the last war happened in the 18th century.
  Every time the war broke out, they slandered each other. And they believed that God had on its side.
  
• The main reason for their fight was to show the naval power and trade disputes.
  
• In this context an Englishman wrote a book ” The English and Dutch affairs” in 1664. Here he said that God’s vengeful hand was responsible for the death of the people at Amsterdam in a week due to disease.

The First Anglo-Dutch War(16652-1654)

Causes:-

• It  happened after the passing of the Navigation Act of 1651 by England to prevent the Dutch at the sea trade.
  
• In May 1652, the Netherlands declared war against England under the leadership of Maarten Tromp.
  
• At first the Dutch, led by Tromp, won the war, but the following year Britain won the war overwhelmingly.
• The Commonwealth started preparing for war, but since neither nation was prepared, the conflict was postponed by an unfortunate collision between Sea Robert Blake’s fleet and the fleet of a Dutch lieutenant-admiral in the English Channel near Dover on the 29th, May 1652. 
• Cromwell reinstated an old right that the English had long defended by ordering all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the Channel to lower their flags in salute. 
• Trump was fully aware of the importance of providing this sign of courtesy, but it was not done right away due to misunderstandings and resentment among the sailors, and Blake opened fire and starting a brief account of the Battle of Dover.
• Trump’s convoy arrived safely despite losing two ships.
  

Result of First Anglo-Dutch War

• The first Anglo-Dutch war ended on April 15, 1654 under the treaty of Westminster.
• The Treaty did not favour the Dutch.
• In this treaty, there was a secret condition that William III the young Prince and William II of Netherland would never be a head of the state itself.
  

The Second Anglo-Dutch War(1665-1667)

Causes:-

• After the animosity had began the previous year and the English had occupied New Amsterdam, the trade rivalry of the two country turned into war in 1665.
• On June 13, 1665, the battle of Lowestoft, the first battle took place. The English won the battle.
• Next year, in 1666, France joined the battle on the Dutch side.
• The Treaty of Breda, which was signed on July 31, 1667, brought about peace between England and the Netherlands. 
• The treaty allowed the English to keep control of New Netherland while giving the Dutch back Tobago, St. Eustatius, and their trading outposts in West Africa, as well as Pulau Run and the valuable sugar plantations of Suriname.
•  The Treaty of Westminster later ratified this uti possidetis resolution. England’s agreement to treat EinerGermany as a part of the Netherlands’ commercial hinterland changed navigation in the Dutch’s favor, allowing Dutch ships to transport German goods in English ports. 
• During this time Dutch navy sank four English ships and pulled the HMS Royal Charles, the English pride to the Netherlands.
  

Result of The Second Anglo-Dutch War

• That war ended with the treaty of Breads and the advantages of the treaty went to the Netherlands.
  The restrictions governing navigation in England were eased. 
• The Republic, on the other hand, had to accept that New Amsterdam would stay in English hands for the time being.
  

Third Anglo-Dutch war(1672-1674)

Causes :-

• The French and English monarchs negotiated the Secret Treaty of Dover in 1670, using Henrietta of England, sister of Charles and sister-in-law of Louis, as mediator. 
•  Few English statesmen were aware of its provisions.
  The terms included an Anglo-French military alliance against the Republic, the creation of a Dutch rump state for his nephew William, and a British brigade for the French army.  
• The treaty was signed in December 1670, but the confidentiality clauses were omitted until 1677; Louis agreed to pay Charles £230,000 a year for the brigade, £1 million for the navy and £200,000 for his public conversion to Catholicism, which was left to him. 
•  Aware Louis was negotiating with De Witt about partitioning the Spanish Netherlands, Charles demanded Walcheren, Cadzand and Sluis, Henrietta of England, sister of Charles and sister-in-law of Louis, served as a mediator as the French and English kings negotiated the Secret Treaty of Dover in 1670. 
• The provisions were not well known to many English statesmen.
• The third Anglo-Dutch war fought between English and Dutch allies with French.
• The Dutch had been called 1672 as the year of Disaster.
• During this time, England formed a coalition including Cologne, Munster and French.
• Along with the creation of a Dutch rump state for his nephew William and a British brigade for the French army, an Anglo-French military alliance against the Republic was also included in the agreement.  The treaty was signed in December 1670, but the confidentiality provisions weren’t included until 1677. 
• Louis agreed to pay Charles £230,000 annually for the brigade, £1 million annually for the navy, and £200,000 annually for his public conversion to Catholicism, which was left to him.  Charles demanded Walcheren, Cadzand, and Sluis knowing Louis was negotiating with De Witt to divide the Spanish Netherlands.
• The Netherlands was assaulted in both land and sea.
  

Result of the Third Anglo-Dutch War

• The third Anglo-Dutch war ended with the treaty of second Westminster.
• England got one million English pounds as war compensation from the Dutch.
• However the Anglo-French alliance had been broken down successfully by William III and New Amsterdam was permanently given to the English which was occupied by the Dutch in 1673.

The fourth Anglo-Dutch war (1780-1784)

Causes :-

• After the glorious revolution and Ascension of William III to the English throne, the trade supremacy had moved to the England.
• Dutch supported the revolution in the American British colonies.
• The Dutch commerce talked with the American to fight against the British.
• On December 1780, England declared war against the Dutch.
• Though the English had never built a combat navy.
  So after the end of the fourth Anglo-Dutch war in 1784, the Dutch were at the pick of the reputation and the strength.
  

Result of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War

• In particular from an economic standpoint, the war was disastrous for the Netherlands.
•  Furthermore, it served as further evidence of the 18th century Dutch Empire’s powerlessness. The Stadtholder’s poor management was attributed, if not worse, for the subpar outcomes in the immediate aftermath of the war by his rivals, who were unified in the Patriot Party.  His power was significantly diminished for a time when these were able to reverse a number of the 1747 revolution’s reforms. 
• In 1784, the fourth Anglo-Dutch war ended with the treaty of Paris.
•  England got the permission to trade in the East Indies and Dutch relinquished Nagapattinam on India’s east coast.
• The Prussian and British intervened to put an end to this patriotic rebellion in 1787. The rebels were expelled, but in 1795 they returned with the aid of a French revolutionary army and replaced the previous Dutch Republic with the Batavian Republic. Low Countries played a crucial role in British strategic planning.
  

Conclusion

• Majority of the war fought with the naval counterpart.
  The first  Anglo-Dutch war was won by the British. 
• The Second and Third Anglo-Dutch war we’re won by the Dutch. But the Fourth Anglo-Dutch war was won by the British.
• Some historians say that  during the Napoleonic era the wars between Britain and  the Kingdom of Holland and the Batavian Republic,  as the Fifth and Sixth Anglo-Dutch wars.