The English Parliament had passed the first of the Navigation Acts in October 1651, aimed at hampering the shipping of the highly trade-dependent Dutch. Agitation among the Dutch merchants had been further increased by George Ayscue's capture in early 1652 of 27 Dutch ships trading with the royalist colony of Barbados in contravention of an embargo. Both sides had begun to prepare for war, but conflict might have been delayed if not for an unfortunate encounter on 29 May 1652 (19 May in the Julian calendar then in use in England) near the Straits of Dover between a Dutch convoy escorted by 40 ships under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and an English fleet of 25 ships under General-at-Sea Robert Blake.
Battle
An ordinance of Cromwell required all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the Channel to lower their flag in salute. English ships were attacking Dutch merchant ships, seizing cargoes and taking ships as prizes. Tromp subsequently was given general orders to protect Holland's commerce, while keeping watch over the English fleet. On 19 May 1652, Tromp was cruising in the English Channel with a fleet of forty ships between Nieuport and the mouth of the Meuse River. British Admiral Robert Blake was lying in Dover Roads with fifteen ships, with eight others were anchored in Bourne in the Downs.[1] While on patrol Tromp received orders from a dispatch ketch to engage Blake's fleet, and had not struck his flag in salute. Blake, aboard his flagship the James, assumed Tromp had received orders to commence battle and fired two warning shots. A defiant Tromp hoisted a red battle flag,[2] which prompted Blake to fire a third gun, hitting Tromp's ship and wounding some crew members. This was followed with Tromp returning fire with a warning broadside from his flagship Brederode. Blake in turn fired a broadside and a battle that would last five hours ensued.[3] Tromp immediately engaged Blake's flag ship where the two ships exchanged broadsides as they passed one another. While tacking to turn and fire another broadside the Brederode came into violent contact with British Admiral Rosekrantz's ship, the Bonaventure, which grappled with the Brederode where its crew began boarding. During the fierce melee that followed Tromp's crew held the attackers back. At this time another British ship, the Garland, came along to the other side of Tromp's ship, placing Tromp's ship between the two British ships. Vice-admiral, John Evertsen, now aware of Tromp's plight quickly came to assist, placing his ship directly alongside of the Bonaventure and fired a broadside severing all her masts, after which Evertsen's crew boarded and engaged the English in hand-to-hand fighting and overcoming the English crews. [4] The fighting continued until nightfall, where both sides withdrew, the battle having no distinct victor.[5] The crews of Tromp and Evertsen divided the prisoners between the ships and sailed back toward Texel, with Blake, with his flagship in tow making his way to Dover.[5][6][7]
Aftermath
Both fleets were damaged, but as darkness fell the Dutch fleet withdrew in a defensive line to protect the convoy, and the English captured two Dutch stragglers: Sint Laurens, which was taken back by them but not used, and Sint Maria, which was abandoned in a sinking condition and later made its way to the Netherlands. Tromp then offered his excuses to Blake and asked for the return of the prize, but this was refused by Blake.
War was declared by the Commonwealth of England on 8 July 1652.
[5][8]
^During this period in English history dates of events are usually recorded in the Julian calendar, while those the Netherlands are recorded in the Gregorian calendar. In this article dates are in the Julian calendar with the start of the year adjusted to 1 January (see Old Style and New Style dates).
Dutch Republic
Commonwealth of England