Foreign policy of the 17th-18th centuries characterized by the fact that the geography of international relations continues to expand. It goes beyond Europe, embraces the East, includes pre-Petrine Moscow Rus, extends to America, Africa, Far East, although they themselves international relationships remain Eurocentric. Everything fateful is decided in Europe.
By the middle of the 17th century, the development of international life and diplomacy in Europe is influenced by both traditional factors that we already know, such as dynastic disputes and wars, the struggle between different dynasties, the Ottoman threat from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the age-old rivalry between France and the Habsburgs , the traditional confrontation between England and Spain at sea.
New factors are also emerging, such as: the growing rivalry between European countries for control of the sea routes and supremacy in world trade.
At the beginning of the 17th century, they began to compete for world trade, for control of sea trade routes, in addition to England and Spain, England and Holland. The rivalry of countries begins, which, in the course of bourgeois revolutions, embark on the path of accelerated development, on the path of a market capitalist economy.
The establishment of dominance in the Republic of the Dutch merchant bourgeoisie falls on a period of fierce struggle with England for maritime hegemony. The period of greatest Anglo-Dutch rapprochement, which came after the bourgeoisie in England in the course of the revolution, turned out to be short-lived. Negotiations on the conclusion of a military-political alliance between the two maritime powers and the division of spheres of influence were not crowned with success. The United Provinces were the most dangerous rival of the British. Taking advantage of the weaknesses of the British in the year civil war, The Netherlands has strengthened its position in trade. The English bourgeoisie suffered the most significant losses in the Russian and Baltic markets, where, as a result of the actions of the Dutch diplomacy, the trading privileges of English merchants were canceled. The Dutch replaced the British both in the markets of the Mediterranean countries and in the colonies of Spain. Therefore, the British government advocated the most resolute policy towards the United Provinces - either a strong alliance of the two maritime powers, almost a merger of them into single state, or a struggle to force the Netherlands to recognize English hegemony at sea. The intrigues of the Orangists, who were removed from power during the period of Jan de Witt and sought to regain it with the help of the British, played a significant role in this. The efforts of French and Spanish diplomacy aimed at fomenting war between the two bourgeois republics were not in vain either.
The English Parliament was dissatisfied with the patronage that was provided in the United Provinces to Charles II, the son of the executed English King Charles I. The States General refused to extradite the prince and rejected Cromwell's proposals to conclude an alliance between the two maritime powers (the true meaning of the proposal was the voluntary subordination of the Netherlands to England, and in the contrary In this case, a rupture of relations by the United Provinces should have followed). Then the long-standing claims of the British against the Dutch ships, which refused to salute the oncoming English, resumed. In 1651 the English Parliament issued the Navigation Act. According to this act, goods imported into England were to be delivered only on English ships, which were under the command of the British, and there would be at least three-quarters of English sailors in the team.
The adoption of the Navigation Act of 1651, directed primarily against the United Provinces, and the constant attacks of English pirates on Dutch ships led to a long-awaited clash between countries. However, the States General of the Republic with great difficulty decided to declare war on England, not assuming that they were drawing the country into a deadly series of wars, later called the “Anglo-Dutch Wars” in historiography.
The First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) began with the capture of all Dutch ships and fishing vessels in English ports. The Dutch squadron under the command of Admiral Martin Tromp went to Plymouth to rescue the detained ships. But in the battle with the British, she was defeated and returned to the port of Fr. Texel. The States General removed Admiral Tromp, devoted to the Orangists, from command of the fleet and transferred control to Admirals Michiel de Reuther and Cornelius de Witt. However, during the whole of 1652, the Dutch fleet did not manage to win a single victory, and the States General were forced to reappoint Admiral Tromp to the post of commander. During this war, naval battles were distinguished by their scale. Often more than a hundred ships and tens of thousands of sailors took part in them. Despite the fact that during the hostilities of 1653 the Republic was lucky, and Admiral Tromp managed to safely bring the Dutch fleet with the richest cargo to the Dutch ports, the advantage still remained on the side of the British.
The failures of the Dutch were explained, first of all, by the superiority of the English military organization and the best equipment of the navy. From the United Provinces, the war demanded enormous tension. The basis of the economic recovery in the Republic was trade. But the dependence of the Dutch economy on foreign trade cost the country dearly. The disruption of trade relations during the war led to grave consequences. Thus, the blockade of the coast of the Republic by the English fleet in the summer of 1653 almost led to a financial and economic disaster.
Through the efforts of the great pensioner Jan de Witt, despite the protests of the Orangists and a large part of the population of the country, who advocated the continuation of the war to a victorious end, on April 15, 1654, peace was concluded. The United Provinces recognized the Navigation Act of 1651 and undertook to compensate for the damage caused to the English East India Company, starting from 1611. For its part, England recognized the removal from public office in the Republic of the princes of the Orange dynasty, who were closely related to the Sturts, and the Netherlands decided to expel the Stuarts who lived here from the country.
In 1658 Cromwell died, and in 1660 Parliament proclaimed Charles II Stuart King of England. In the same year, a new Navigation Act was adopted, which even more infringed on the interests of the Republic than the Navigation Act of 1651. The British pressed the Netherlands everywhere: they detained their ships off the coast of England and the Spanish Netherlands, occupied the Dutch colonies in Bad America, on the Lesser Antilles, on Cape Green in Africa.
Formally, the second Anglo-Dutch war (1665-1667) was declared at the beginning of 1665. During this war, the Dutch won more than once in major naval battles. The fleet of the republic in the summer of 1667 entered the mouth of the Thames several times, threatening London. On the part of the republic, they decided to take decisive action.
De Ruyter's campaign accelerated peace negotiations, and on July 31, 1667, a peace treaty was signed in Breda. The belligerents retained all the colonies, ships and property captured during the war. England retained New Amsterdam North America, The Netherlands - Pulo Run Island (Molucca Islands). The United Provinces also received Suriname, a South American colony that began to bring a good income thanks to its sugar cane plantations.
The Second Anglo-Dutch War was a turning point in the history of relations between the two maritime powers.
The third war with England (1672-1674) was complicated by the fact that the United Provinces had to fight an entire coalition led by France. When Louis XIV occupied the Spanish Netherlands in 1667, an alliance was struck between England, Sweden, and the United Provinces that forced France to renounce the great honor of her conquests. She was forced to return to Spain the territories of the Southern Netherlands.
In 1674, England entered into an agreement with France in the second half of the 17th century. was, first of all, the weakening of the military and economic power of the United Provinces, as well as the reduction of their role in world politics.
The Anglo-Dutch wars of the 1950s and 1970s thus hastened the fall of Dutch commercial power. The aggravation of internal contradictions and popular uprisings, which were also to a certain extent the result of wars, shook the dominance of the Dutch bourgeoisie. Mutual consideration of interests has already taken place in relations between the ruling property groups of Holland.
The international position of Holland in the 17th century. it was sometimes very difficult: it often had conflicts with the governments of those states that it tried to subordinate to its trade monopoly in one way or another.
True, Holland had a more or less calm rear - Germany. “Holland,” wrote Marx and Engels, “the only part of the Hansa that reached commercial importance, separated itself, cutting off Germany, with the exception of only two ports (Hamburg and Bremen), from world trade, and from then on began to dominate all German trade. The German burghers were too powerless to limit exploitation by the Dutch. The bourgeoisie of little Holland, with its developed class interests, was more powerful than the much more numerous German burghers, with their characteristic lack of common interests and their fragmented petty interests.
The Dutch claims to a foreign trade monopoly met with a rebuff in Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, but still, even here, as a rule, it did not come to open clashes. Its relations with the two largest Western European states, France and England, developed differently.
From the moment the country entered the international arena, the contradictions between the Dutch and English bourgeoisie were sharply revealed. Competition between Dutch and English merchants in European markets and their rivalry in the colonies during the first half of the 17th century. sometimes aggravated so much that both countries were on the verge of war. In Russia and in the markets of the Baltic countries, in the North American colonies and in the countries of East Asia, on the Mediterranean Sea and on the coast West Africa- everywhere the richer Dutch merchants pressed the English.
At times it came to armed clashes between trading companies at sea, as was the case in 1617-1618. in the area of the Sunda and Moluccas. During the years of the civil war in England, the Dutch bourgeoisie, observing friendly neutrality with respect to the English Parliament, while taking advantage of England's weakness, intensified their offensive against England's positions in trade. The British bourgeoisie suffered the most significant losses in the Russian and Baltic markets, as well as in the markets of the Mediterranean countries and in the colonies of Spain.
After the victory of the bourgeois revolution in England, a short period of the greatest Anglo-Dutch rapprochement began. Negotiations were underway in The Hague and London on concluding a close military-political alliance and dividing spheres of influence. However, the contradictions between Holland and England turned out to be stronger in the final analysis than the factors that brought them closer together. A significant role was played by the intrigues of the Orangists and the English royalists who fled to Holland during the revolution, as well as the efforts of French and Spanish diplomacy, which sought to kindle a war between the two bourgeois republics.
The adoption by the English Parliament of the "Navigation Act" (1651), directed against the Dutch mediation in England's trade with other countries, marked a change in the course of English policy towards Holland. The refusal of the British to repeal the act was one of the causes of the first Anglo-Dutch war (1652-1654).
This war was a series of gigantic naval battles on the scale of that time, in each of which more than 200 ships often participated on both sides with a total number of sailors of 20-30 thousand people, with 6-8 thousand guns. Despite the high fighting qualities of the Dutch sailors and the naval skill of the Dutch admirals led by Martin Tromp, the Dutch fleet still suffered a number of defeats in decisive battles in June - July 1653.
The Dutch failures are due primarily to the superiority of the British military organization and military equipment created during the civil war. The first Anglo-Dutch war was a severe test for the Dutch economy. Dutch merchant ships, scattered all over the world, often became the prey of the British, and heavy losses were also inflicted on the Dutch fishing fleet. The blockade of the Dutch coast by the English fleet in the summer of 1653 exposed the most weak side Dutch economy - its excessive dependence on foreign trade: the blockade almost led Holland to disaster.
Under the peace treaty signed at Westminster on April 15, 1654, Holland recognized the "Navigation Act" and undertook to compensate for the damage caused to the English East India Company, starting from 1611. This peace marked the beginning of the Dutch retreat from England.
The first Anglo-Dutch war did not resolve the economic contradictions between the two countries. Even during the years of the protectorate, relations escalated more than once. For a number of years, Dutch diplomacy unsuccessfully sought to conclude an agreement with England, which, according to its plans, was supposed to nullify the effect of the "Navigation Act".
The restoration of the Stuarts in England did not soften the Anglo-Dutch rivalry. The court of Charles II was financially and politically interested in military adventures against Holland and pursued an aggressive policy. The new "Navigation Act", issued by Charles II in 1660, was even less acceptable to the Dutch than the act of 1651. Collisions, especially frequent in the colonies, eventually led to a break and a second Anglo-Dutch war.
Formally, the war was declared at the beginning of 1665, but in fact it began already in 1664 with the attack of the British on the Dutch fortresses on the west coast of Africa and the capture of New Amsterdam in North America by them. The Dutch had greatly strengthened their navy since the first war and improved its organization. The Dutch fleet under the command of de Ruyter defeated the British and even, breaking into the Thames, threatened London.
In this situation, the British were forced to sign the Treaty of Breda on July 31, 1667, according to which England retained New Amsterdam, and Holland received Suriname in South America and retained the island of Pulo Run (Moluccas) taken from the British. The terms of the "Navigation Act" were somewhat relaxed.
The Second Anglo-Dutch War was a turning point in the history of relations between the two states. The departure of the British from Indonesia, and the Dutch from North America, actually meant the division of spheres of influence between the Dutch and English bourgeoisie. The third Anglo-Dutch war (1672-1674) was therefore not as fierce as the previous wars.
The main opponent of Holland this time was already France, for which the conquest of Holland was one of the conditions for establishing hegemony in Europe. England was drawn into the war by Charles I, bound by secret obligations with. The English bourgeoisie was also able to be seduced by the promise that the Dutch island of Walcheren and the cities of Bril and Cadzand would be annexed to England; The Scheldt would thus be open to English trade, and the Dutch coast under the control of the English fleet. The plans for the partition of Holland, however, were destined to come true.
In order to repel the attack of the bromine French army on land, the Dutch opened dams, and the sea, flooding part of the country, created an insurmountable obstacle in the path of the advancing French. On the sea, de Ruyter, leaving a small squadron to distract the French, directed the main attacks against the stronger English fleet and managed to completely secure the Dutch coast.
In England, the victories of the Dutch fleet, on the one hand, and the exposure of the secret intentions of the English court, on the other, aroused the discontent of the bourgeoisie. At the insistence of Parliament, the king signed in February 1674 a separate peace with Holland. Peaceful dialect did not introduce significant changes in the position of the parties. The war with France continued until 1678, when the Treaty of Nimwegen was concluded.
The overall result of the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 50-70s of the XVII century. was the weakening of the military and state power of Holland, the restriction of its trade and colonial expansion. These wars thus hastened the decline of Dutch trading power. The intensification of the class struggle and popular uprisings, which were also to a certain extent the result of wars, shook the dominance of the Dutch bourgeoisie and forced it to seek external support. The most acceptable ally for her was the English bourgeoisie, with whom Holland was further connected in the joint struggle against France.
Holland waged wars with France in 1672-1678, 1688-1697, 1702-1713. Ovya turned out to be even more ruinous for Holland than the wars with England. The hostilities that took place on the territory of the republic caused it serious damage: a large loss of livestock, the destruction of a complex irrigation system, etc. At the same time, Holland found itself increasingly subordinate to its ally England: the Dutch territory served as an outpost of England on the continent, navy played the role of an auxiliary force for the English fleet.
The only thing that Holland achieved as a result of these wars was the recognition of her right, according to the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, to maintain her garrisons in some fortresses in the territory of the Spanish Netherlands (the so-called barrier fortresses), which was supposed to guarantee her from French aggression. How illusory these guarantees were was revealed in 1747-1748, when, during the War of the Austrian Succession, French troops easily captured these fortresses, and only the intervention of England saved Holland from complete defeat. This defeat was the end of the Dutch great power.
During the war of the North American colonies for independence, Holland acted together with France and Spain against England. But her naval forces at this time were already in complete decline. The British actually blocked the republic: in 1781, only 11 Dutch ships passed through the Sound. This fourth Anglo-Dutch war (1780-1784) dealt a new blow to Holland as a colonial power.
Negapatam, an important stronghold of the Dutch in India, passed to England. The assertion of the British in Negapatam created a threat to Dutch dominance in Ceylon, which a little later (1795) also fell into the hands of the British. England, moreover, achieved freedom of navigation for its ships in the waters of the Indonesian archipelago, which undermined the Dutch monopoly in the spice trade.
As a result of the war, the debt of the Dutch East India Company increased significantly and reached in the late 70s of the XVIII century. 85 million guilders; The company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The West India Company was not in the best condition either.
Soon the state was forced to take over the debts of both these companies.
Hendrik van Minderhut "Battle of Lowestoft"
In nature, a predator has its own territory in which it lives, hunts and protects it from other predators. In a person, the line between reasonable sufficiency and irrepressible needs often becomes very conditional. The English and Dutch East India Companies were real predators, states within a state, living by their own rules and not recognizing the rules of others. Their trading interests extended to almost the entire explored territory. early XVII century peace. But, by the way, even in that vast world for the imagination and consciousness of yesterday's inhabitants of the Middle Ages, these two predators with polite smiles and gentlemanly courtesy already had little room. When it was gone, irreconcilable contradictions led England and Holland to a whole series of wars in the second half of the 17th century.
How two neighbors decided to go into big business
The path of Great Britain to the unofficial, but very caressing pride title of "Mistress of the Seas" was long and thorny. At first it was a long and persistent struggle with the Spanish hidalgos, whose galleons full of gold plowed the seas and oceans. And the maritime traditions of the stubborn islanders were born under the creaking of the masts of the Golden Hind and in the smoke of Gravelines. The Spanish Empire slowly, gradually, was losing ground. However, England was no longer satisfied with simple piracy. A well-established trade, based on a network of forts and strongholds, could bring large and, most importantly, stable incomes to the treasury, which was always gaping with a hungry mouth.
The British approached the matter on a large scale, since such were their material claims. The English East India Company was founded in 1600. She received a monopoly on trade with all the countries of the Indian basin and Pacific Oceans. The activity of the company was regulated by a special charter, which was issued for a certain period of time. Then the charter was extended, it was amended and supplemented. The company was led by a board of directors and a meeting of shareholders. Subsequently, the management acquired various committees that were responsible for the branches of activity. Already in the first quarter of the 17th century, the East India Company owned numerous trading posts in Indonesia. In the 20s. of the same century, the active penetration of the British into India begins. From there, a large assortment of scarce colonial goods was exported, which was purchased from the Indians for silver and gold. The nuance was that even during the time of Queen Elizabeth I, the export of gold and silver coins from England was prohibited. However, the East India Company repeatedly passed through Parliament permission for certain expenditures of this “strategic resource” and, thanks to the cheapness of Indian goods, received huge profits.
The main rivals of the British were, after all, not the Spaniards, who were increasingly weakening on the seas, but close neighbors. On the opposite bank of the English Channel were the Netherlands, which declared themselves independent from the Habsburg crown in 1581. Experienced sailors, bold and enterprising people, the Dutch knew how to benefit from the advantageous location of their country. On April 9, 1609, a truce was signed between Spain and its rebellious provinces. However, the Netherlands will become a state fully recognized as independent only in 1648. In a short period, the country becomes one of the largest centers of trade Western Europe- the rivers flowing through the territory of the Netherlands made it possible to transport goods from Dutch ports inland.
The Dutch East India Company, an analogue and direct competitor of the English, was founded in 1602. It was granted a 21-year monopoly on trade with overseas countries. In addition, the company was allowed to wage wars, conclude diplomatic treaties, and pursue its own policy in the colonies. She received all the necessary power attributes: fleet, army, police. In fact, it was a state within a state, the prototype of modern transnational corporations. It was governed by a council of 17 most influential and wealthy merchants, whose powers included determining the internal and foreign policy companies. The Dutch expansion was dynamic and vigorous: from 1605, the rich resources of the Moluccas began to be subjugated to trade, in 1619 Batavia was founded in Indonesia, in fact, the future center of local colonial possessions. In 1641, Malacca was taken under control, and in 1656, the island of Ceylon. In 1651, Kapstad was founded at the Cape of Good Hope. Many key points on the long journey from Asia to Europe are under the control of the Dutch.
Colonial town of New Amsterdam
America was not bypassed by their business and practical attention. In 1614, a fort was founded on Manhattan Island, and later the city - New Amsterdam. By the middle of the XVII century. in a very short period of time, the provincial Netherlands has recently emerged as one of the leading colonial powers. The income from trade was, to put it mildly, significant - spices, silk, cotton fabrics, coffee were sold at artificially inflated prices. Profit rates from the same spices reached colossal levels of 700-1000%. In 1610, Chinese tea was first brought to the Netherlands, and income from its sale soon became one of the main sources of wealth.
The Amsterdam Trade Exchange was the largest in Europe, and by the middle of the 17th century the Dutch fleet consisted of almost 20 thousand ships. Fishing developed rapidly, whaling was organized off the coast of the Arctic Svalbard, the abundance of imported raw materials stimulated the development of the manufacturing industry and manufactory. And the well-being of the ruddy inhabitants of the United Provinces would have continued to increase, if not for one small but very unfortunate circumstance. On the other side of the English Channel were no less enterprising, adventurous and, moreover, militant gentlemen, who were also weighed down by thoughts of filling their considerable chests. And sooner or later their paths had to cross and not at a good hour.
Storms over the island
Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland Oliver Cromwell
Life on the island, located opposite the vast Dutch harbors, also throbbed tensely. On June 1, 1642, Parliament submitted to King Charles I their famous "19 points", the essence of which was to limit royal power and expand the powers of Parliament. The Puritan merchant class, which expanded in breadth, and the owners of manufactories who joined them, urgently demanded their proper place in the sun. The aristocracy, which had spent its money in sprees and wars, but carefully preserved its own arrogance, naturally did not want this in any way. Conflict was inevitable, and on August 22, 1642, the king raised his standard at Nottingham. Thus began a civil war, which, like all such wars, was distinguished by its emphasized cruelty and the complete absence of compromises and dialogues. It lasted for almost five years, until in February 1647 the king, who had taken refuge in Scotland, was kindly handed over to opponents for a modest 200 thousand pounds.
On January 30, 1649, Charles I finally lost not only the crown, but also the part of the body provided for wearing it. However, peace and tranquility did not return to England. Having dispersed the royalists and their sympathizers in the corners, Oliver Cromwell, a recent zealous fighter against absolutism, concentrated almost sole power in his hands. And soon he began to fight just as zealously, with puritanical zeal, against everything that seemed objectionable to him. The Irish turned out to be objectionable with their criminal, according to Mr. Cromwell, Catholicism, and in August 1649 the parliamentary army landed on the Green Island and three years later took it under full control, without much ceremony with the local population. Then, in 1650, English troops invaded Scotland, defeating the supporters of the revenge-seeking son of Charles I, Charles II, at Dunbar. In honor of this victory, a commemorative medal was knocked out, emphasizing the importance of the event. The next similar regalia will be minted only after more than a century and a half - to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo.
During the English Civil War, the Netherlands formally remained neutral, making full use of this advantageous position to improve its commercial and economic position in the world. Many aristocrats who fled from England found shelter in the United Provinces, and the son of the executed king Charles II and his mother Henrietta Maria of France immediately settled. Of course, dissatisfaction with such an ambiguous position was ripening in England itself, and the Netherlands itself soon began to be perceived as a stronghold of an unfinished counter.
At the same time, prudent Cromwell was in no hurry to quarrel with such a profitable neighbor. In order to unravel the whole tangle of accumulated contradictions, an embassy was sent to Holland, headed by Isaac Dorislaus, a former prosecutor of the parliamentary army, who was born and lived for a long time in the Netherlands. It was he, as a connoisseur of local undercurrents, who had to probe the ground for a possible alliance between the two countries, where England tactfully kept the leading place for herself. When the ambassador had already arrived in The Hague, there was a bloody incident. May 11, 1649 Dorislaus dined in one of the taverns. A group of “activists” broke in, putting on masks out of modesty and armed with swords for persuasiveness. Accompanying their actions with cries of revenge for the execution of Charles I, they simply killed the British ambassador. The Dutch side put the brakes on everything, since one of the "activists" is supposed to be the son of the executed king, and the royalists enjoyed significant support from the local nobility.
However, Cromwell did not retreat - the idea of an alliance of Protestant states, England, the Netherlands and Sweden, under the undoubted supremacy of the former, greatly fascinated him. In such a composition, it was possible to measure strength even with the almighty Habsburgs. The British leader sends a new embassy - already led by Chief Justice St. John. Not distinguished by excessive diplomatic tact, new ambassador he laid out London's proposals in such a way that the Dutch, hardened traders, experts in finding profit and just business people, immediately fixed all the English tricks with their "manager's sight". The cunning of the islanders' proposal for a "close alliance" was so obvious that it caused embarrassment, smoothly turning into indignation. Cromwell's initiative was regarded as an unceremonious attempt to force the Netherlands to pay for British foreign policy projects, while remaining an errand boy. Such an undignified role was completely out of the hands of the respectable Amsterdam gentlemen, and they, grumbling with displeasure, agreed through the mouths of the Estates General to formalize only a trade union, but no more. The mission of the former judge failed. However, everyone knows that, in addition to diplomatic ones, there are simpler and in some cases more convincing ways to carry out foreign policy plans. And both fleets were ready to contribute to these plans.
First test of strength
By 1650, the English merchant fleet was much more modest than its Dutch competitor and numbered a little over 5 thousand units. But with regard to naval forces a completely different picture could be observed. Maritime traditions, laid down in the reign of the "Imp Queen", continued to live and grow stronger. There were five actually royal shipyards in the country, not counting many private ones. The British clearly understood the line between a commercial ship and a military ship. In 1610, the Woolwich Royal Dockyard builds the 55-gun Princess Royal, which has three artillery decks. Heavy guns were placed on the lower deck, while light guns were placed on the middle and upper decks. The original layout of four masts was soon deemed redundant and the ship became a three-masted ship. This is how the classic sailing armament of the “ship” class appeared.
In 1637, the 102-gun Sovereign of the Seas (Lord of the Seas) was built in the same Woolwich, which is considered the first real battleship in the history of shipbuilding. In 1645, the first full-fledged frigate was built - the 32-gun Constant Warwick, which, like the Sovereign of the Siz, has three masts, but only one artillery deck. The significance of the appearance of these ships was comparable and even exceeded the scale of Lord Fisher's construction of his legendary Dreadnought. The British were the first to realize the superiority of new types of ships over the outdated galleons, pinnaces and flutes. In 1651, the Royal Navy already had 21 ships of the line (then they were called ships of 1-3 ranks) and 29 frigates (ships of 4-6 ranks). A certain number of ships were under construction, and in total, together with representatives of other classes, Royal Navy could put up at least 150 warships.
The situation was different for the Dutch. Their merchant fleet was, without exaggeration, the largest in the world and consisted of almost 20 thousand ships. But there were very few truly military among them. Enterprising and thrifty, the Dutch tried to combine military and commercial components in one ship. Most of the Dutch navy were converted merchant ships, with all the ensuing consequences. The ships of the United Provinces, as a rule, had a smaller draft than the English (the abundance of shallow harbors affected), and more rounded contours due to their commercial purpose. This was not very well reflected in speed, maneuverability and, of course, weapons. By the beginning of the first Anglo-Dutch war, the Netherlands did not have a single ship comparable to the Sovereign of the Seas. Only in 1645 did the Dutch build the 53-gun Brederode, which was exclusively a warship. He also became the flagship. The administrative management of the fleet was very cumbersome - formally, the Netherlands was divided into 7 provinces, five of which had their own Admiralties and their own admirals. In the event of a war, the council of the Amsterdam Admiralty, which was considered the main one, elected a vice admiral to command the entire fleet of the country, who then himself appointed junior flag officers and senior officers. In fact, it was already archaic for the 17th century, the system of choosing a military leader.
The total number of warships of the Dutch fleet by the beginning of the first war with England did not exceed 75 units. The problem was also the dispersion of these limited forces across different regions - the Dutch had to protect their trade in the most remote corners of the then known world.
Returning to England, St. John, in order to justify the results of his “brilliant” mission, began to tell at every corner that, they say, the vile Dutch themselves are sleeping and see how to make war with the noble and meek English. These temperamental and sincere statements fell on long plowed and excellently cultivated soil. Calls to teach the "greedy merchants" a lesson were already expressed not in a whisper on the sidelines of the parliament, but from its rostrum. But the Anglo-Saxons would not have been Anglo-Saxons if they had not tried to organize an entertaining performance. To declare war on their own just because they were not taken as allies was somehow not entirely solid, but you can force the party of interest to do this. And Mr. Oliver Cromwell issued, and Parliament predictably approved on October 9, 1651, the so-called Navigation Act, according to which the importation of all colonial goods into England can be carried out only on English ships. Importation of salted fish could only be carried out if it was caught in English waters. Foreign ships were allowed to import only products made directly in these countries - that is, mainly agricultural goods and handicraft products. Violators of the court order were subject to confiscation.
It is generally accepted that the publication of the Navigation Act was a direct pretext for war between England and Holland. However, this is not quite true. According to the report of the English Parliament in 1650, the total amount of trade between the two countries did not exceed 23-24 thousand pounds - for the colossal scope of Dutch commercial operations, this was a drop in the ocean. The real reason for the armed clash was the rapidly accumulating heap of problems, conflicts and clashes between the trading interests of both "corporations" - the British and Dutch East India companies. For two dynamically developing and growing predators, there was already little room for ordinary competition. Their thirst and appetites collided with each other in Asia, India and Africa.
The conflict was inevitable. In 1652 the situation became simply explosive. The British handed out letters of marque to the right and left, and the seizures of Dutch merchant ships became more frequent. To force the situation, the ancient but very daring edict of King John of 1202 was restored, according to which in English waters all ships lowered their flags before the English one. In mid-May 1652, a convoy returning to the Netherlands was met by a small English squadron. The British demand that the Dutch salute first quickly turned into a "horn" discussion using boatswain epithets, where the Dutch verbal salvo was wider and more outrageous, as the British introduced artillery into the dialogue. After an exchange of cannon "courtesies", as a result of which there were killed on both sides, the Dutch saluted just in case, but the incident remained unfinished. The vocal cords had not yet recovered from such a tense deck briefing, as a new, larger-scale clash occurred.
The Dutch squadron under the command of Marten Tromp cruised off the coast of England in the amount of 42 pennants in order to ensure the safety of merchant ships returning from the colonies. On May 29, 1652, Tromp approached Dover, explaining his actions by adverse weather, and anchored. Further events have several interpretations. According to one, the English governor, frightened by the Dutch, ordered several warning shots to be fired from the shore, to which they responded with fire from muskets. Another tells about the continuation of the dispute, "who is in charge in the seas." The English squadron of Admiral Blake approached the Tromp's parking lot, who, in an ultimatum order, demanded a salute from the Dutch, backing up his request with warning shots. Tromp responded, and the showdown quickly escalated into what went down in history as the Battle of Dover. The battle lasted until dark, and although the Dutch outnumbered the British almost twice, the islanders managed to recapture two ships from the enemy. Both commanders then exchanged angry letters full of mutual reproaches, which, however, did not prevent the further escalation of hostilities.
On July 28, the long-awaited declaration of war between the two countries finally followed. The first Anglo-Dutch war lasted almost two years. fighting occurred not only in the waters of the Northern and mediterranean seas but also in remote colonial regions. At first, the Dutch were successful, but in 1653 their fleet suffered two serious defeats. On June 12-13, Tromp was defeated " naval general» George Monk at the Gabbard Bank. During the battle, the British, unlike the Dutch, tried to keep a clear wake column, although this did not work out for everyone. Their opponents fought the old fashioned way. The result was the loss of 6 and the capture of 11 Dutch ships with very insignificant losses in people from the British. On August 10 of the same year, a generally unsuccessful battle followed at Scheveningen, where Marten Tromp was hit by a bullet from an English ship. Maritime trade suffered enormous losses: since the beginning of the war, the Dutch have lost almost 1,600 merchant ships, and the import of fish has declined catastrophically. The Dutch merchants had already got their fingers on the knuckles of their bills with computational operations to study losses, and they were ready to put up with it. To hell with it, with this Navigation Act and the right to salute, but the business will not collapse. On May 8, 1654, the Peace of Westminster was signed between the two countries, according to which the Netherlands recognized the Navigation Act.
England's gains in the war, other than moral satisfaction, were insignificant. It is curious that already in 1657 the possibility of repealing the Navigation Act was seriously discussed in Parliament, since because of it the prices of colonial goods soared dozens of times. English maritime trade was then too weak to compete with that of the Dutch. Since the first Anglo-Dutch war did not solve a single problem between the two countries, and their mutual competition not only did not subside, but, on the contrary, escalated, the outbreak of the second war was only a matter of time.
Restoration in England and the Second Anglo-Dutch War
On September 3, 1658, Oliver Cromwell died, leaving England ruined by wars and taxes. The country, mired in debt, was on the verge of another civil war. Power was concentrated in the hands of the military, or rather, the most popular of them, George Monk. He acted resolutely: on February 6, 1660, he entered London, on February 21 he disbanded the parliament that was already boring to everyone (how often the military, coming to power, do not deny themselves the pleasure of carrying out such an exciting procedure!). And then he announced that he was restoring the monarchy in England. On May 8, 1660, Charles II, who returned from exile, was proclaimed king in the presence of the already “correct” parliament. At first, everyone was delighted - even the Dutch, because they recognized their great merit in restoring the "lawful monarchical order" in England. Yes, and Charles II did not cause concern. The new monarch began his reign with large-scale reductions and "reforms" of the army, as a result of which only 4,000 of the 80,000 Cromwellian veterans remained in the ranks. However, the contradictions in colonial policy escalated, and the openly predatory actions of the islanders in Africa became the impetus for a new war with the Dutch.
"Golden Mountain" and the British raid into Africa
In 1660, already under Charles II, the Royal African Company was founded, the shareholders of which were large London merchants and members of the royal family. The Duke of York became the head of the corporation, which earned its founders a living by the slave trade and the craft that is commonly called piracy. From his father's colleague, Rupert of the Palatinate (aka Duke of Cumberland), eager for adventures, Charles II learned entertaining story, according to which somewhere in the Gambia there is a rock consisting of pure gold. Such tales were not uncommon at that time, rich in geographical discoveries: what are only the devastating searches for Eldorado, in search of which more than one Spaniard knocked down his legs. The British decided to check the information, and in 1661 Rear Admiral Robert Holmes went with five ships to Africa, to the coast of the Gambia. The gallant admiral did not find either a golden mountain or even a golden hill, but he ruined a fort that belonged to the Duke of Courland that came along the way, and founded his own stronghold on the African coast. The Dutch ships that met were given an unequivocal hint that the English would be the masters of the local waters.
Upon his return, Robert Holmes was rewarded and in 1663 he left for the African shores already as part of 9 ships. The order issued to Holmes clearly stated: "Kill, capture and destroy anyone who dares to interfere with our actions." Of course, the Dutch were meant. During 1664, the British carried out open attacks on the Dutch colonies in Guinea, culminating in the May 1 assault on the Dutch colonial capital of Guinea, Cape Coast, where much booty was taken. All this looked like a full-fledged robbery and military operations. In September 1664 in America, the British took control of Dutch New Amsterdam. In response to this, in the autumn of 1664, the Dutch squadron of Admiral de Ruyter was sent to Guinean waters to restore the status quo. Having ruined a number of English settlements in retaliation, at the end of the winter of 1665 de Ruyter received an order to return to England - the situation was rapidly slipping into war.
New war. Battle of Lowestoft
The news of de Ruyter's activities in Africa caused a wave of indignation in the British Parliament. The lords considered it perfectly fair that only they were allowed to attack anyone, any way they wanted, as much as they wanted. The actions of the Dutch to protect their American possessions were recognized as criminal and defiant, and on March 4, 1662, Charles II declared war on the Netherlands. When the first anger dissipated, it turned out that the practical Dutch had made military alliances with Denmark, Sweden and France. But the British and the allies were tense. The islanders did not have money for the war - at least 800 thousand pounds were required for the equipment of the fleet alone. No more than 300 thousand were shaken out of the bankers of the City of London and the stingy Parliament. To top it all off, the plague hit the capital of England.
Jacob van Wassenaar, Baron Obdam
In such difficult circumstances, the British decided that war should feed the war, and they were going to improve their financial situation due to the mass capture of Dutch merchant ships. At the beginning of June 1665, a squadron of Lieutenant-Admiral (commander of the combined fleet) Jacob van Wassenaar, Baron Obdam, left Holland, consisting of 107 ships, 9 frigates and 27 ships of other classes. Among this number, 92 ships were armed with 30 guns or more. The number of crews consisted of 21 thousand people with 4800 guns. This squadron was supposed to meet merchant ships returning from the colonies and prevent the English blockade of the coast. On June 11, 1665, the Dutch discovered the English fleet of 88 ships, 12 frigates and 24 ships of other classes (4500 guns, 22 thousand crew members). The command was carried out by the younger brother of Charles II, the Duke of York. The English fleet was clearly divided into the vanguard, corps de battalion and rearguard. The English ships were better armed and equipped. There was complete confusion in the construction of the Dutch fleet, since the detachment of each province was under the command of its admiral. The calm prevented the rapprochement of the fleets, and the opponents soon anchored against each other.
On June 13, the opponents, taking advantage of the wind, began to approach. The Dutch commander of very uneven columns led the ships entrusted to him to the west, trying to win the wind and put the enemy's vanguard in two fires. The British turned to the enemy in three columns and opened fire. Exchanging fire at a fairly long distance, both sides passed through the fire and turned around. In this phase of the battle, one ship was lost from the British, which ran aground and was boarded by the Dutch. For the second passage, both commanders decided to form their fleets in wake columns, but the English formation was more precise and even with more even spacing between matelots. The Dutch column was rather an unorganized crowd - some of the ships simply prevented each other from shooting. The British, on the other hand, smashed their enemy with powerful longitudinal volleys. Under well-aimed fire, the Dutch formation was even more confused.
An attempt by Baron Obdam's flagship, the 76-gun Eendragt, to board the Duke of York's ship, the 80-gun Royal Charles, was successfully repulsed, although many of the officers standing on deck next to the English commander were killed by knippels, used in abundance by the Dutch. In the midst of the battle, a well-aimed cannonball hit the Eendragt's cruise chamber (according to another version, the Dutch handled gunpowder carelessly), and Obdam's flagship flew into the air. This became the turning point of the battle. The centralized command was lost, and now each "provincial" detachment acted at its own discretion. The formation of the Dutch squadron was completely broken, many ships simply began to leave their places and leave the battle. By 7 o'clock the Dutch fleet began a retreat, which quickly lost organization. In the unfolding pursuit, the British managed to capture or burn 17 ships (9 captured, 1 blown up, 7 captured). The British lost a total of two boarded ships. In terms of people, the losses of the Dutch were 4 thousand killed and wounded and 2 thousand prisoners. The British lost 250 killed and 340 wounded. The losses of the Dutch would have been even greater if not for the vice-admiral of the province of Zeeland, Cornelis Tromp, who managed to organize cover for the retreat with his squadron.
The second Anglo-Dutch war lasted until 1667 and, like the first, did not solve the problems between the two states. As a result of the peace concluded on July 21, 1667 in Breda, the Dutch received some indulgences in the Navigation Act: their ships could now freely transport German goods - however, they were deprived of all territories in North America. In return, they received compensation in the South - in the form of the colony of Suriname. And the Dutch city of New Amsterdam has now become the English New York. The Anglo-Dutch naval rivalry lasted almost until late XVII century, until it ended with the victory of England.
Anglo-Dutch wars, three wars at sea in 1652-54, 1665-67 and 1672-74. between the United States. Netherlands and Britain on the basis of bargaining, and pestilence. rivalry. Goll. the fleet was commanded by experienced admirals, and the English sailors used the advantages that they were given app. winds. The 1st war began when the English. Navigational acts complicated the movement of the goll. bargaining, ships and they refused to salute the English flag, passing along the English Channel. Tromp crushed Blake at Dungenes in Dec. 1652, but wiring gall. bargaining, ships across the strait proved to be difficult, and de Witt managed to agree with Cromwell in 1654 quite acceptable terms of the contract. The Dutch recognized English sovereignty in the strait, agreed to compensation for the "Amboine massacre" (Amboina) and promised not to help the exiled Charles II. A clash off the coast of Africa began the 2nd war, which ended with the surrender of New Amsterdam (later New York) to the British, who in June 1665 defeated the Dutch at Lowestoft. However, in 1666, when Charles was testing finance. difficulties, Cornelis Tromp and Reuther won the Four Days' War, and Reuther made his famous daring raid on the English docks at Chetham. In 1667, the Treaty of Breda was concluded. The navigation acts were changed in favor of the Dutch, but the territories captured during the war were not returned: the Dutch retained Suriname, and the British - Delaware and New England. In 1672, Charles II, who depended on the French. subsidies, supported Louis XIV in the war with the Dutch. Goll. the admirals managed to gain the upper hand, and the Treaty of Westminster (1674) restored the terms of the Treaty of Breda.
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ANGLO-DUTCH WARS (1652-1674)
Wars between England and the Netherlands for supremacy of the sea.
Their reason was the publication by the English Parliament in 1651 of the Navigation Act, according to which foreign goods could be imported into England only on English ships. Thus undermined the Dutch intermediary maritime trade.
The Anglo-Dutch War began in 1665. On June 11-14, 1666, the British were defeated in a naval battle in the Pas de Calais. After that, on July 19, the fleet of the Dutch Admiral de Ruyter broke through to the mouth of the Thames and blocked it, while destroying several enemy ships and warehouses.
The Dutch had 85 ships and 18 fireships. On August 1, the English fleet, which had one more fireship, left the mouth of the Thames. De Ruyter decided to meet him at Nordforeland. On the morning of August 4, the English vanguard attacked the enemy vanguard. Due to the weak wind, the main forces of the Dutch fleet were unable to join the battle. All three Dutch admirals in command of the vanguard were killed. The Dutch vanguard took to flight. But de Ruyter with the main forces withstood the blow of the enemy fleet, despite the fact that the avant-garde ships freed after the pursuit joined the main part of the English fleet.
Meanwhile, the English rearguard had pinned down the Dutch rearguard, commanded by Admiral Cornelius Tromp. When Tromp was able to move to the aid of his main forces, they were already retreating to the Dutch coast and by the evening of August 5 they had reached the port of Vilingen. Tromp's squadron also arrived there the next day. The Dutch fleet lost 10 ships. 2,000 Dutch were killed and another 1,000 were captured. The British lost 4 ships and 1.5 thousand killed and captured.
Peace was signed in 1667. The Dutch lost their colonies in North America, but achieved the repeal of some articles of the Navigation Act.
In the new Anglo-Dutch war, England's allies were France, Sweden and some German principalities. Holland's allies were Spain, German Empire, Denmark, Brandenburg and a number of other German principalities. In March 1672, the English fleet attacked the Dutch merchant ships. In April, the French army invaded Holland and approached Amsterdam. However, the Dutch opened the floodgates and, having flooded part of the territory, stopped the advance of the enemy.
The Dutch fleet failed to prevent the connection of squadrons of England and France. On August 21, 1673, the battle took place near the island of Texel. The English fleet consisted of 65 ships, the French - 30, and the Dutch - 70. The Dutch avant-garde managed to break through the formation of the French squadron, which was temporarily withdrawn from the battle. The Dutch rearguard of Admiral Tromp started a battle with the English rearguard of Admiral Sprague. As a result, the main forces of the British Admiral Rupert, numbering 30 ships, were forced to fight against the main forces and the enemy's vanguard, which numbered 40 ships.
Ruyter managed to encircle 20 British ships, but Rupert escaped from the encirclement and went to the aid of his rearguard. Now 65 English ships opposed 70 Dutch. The fight ended at nightfall. 2 English ships sank and 7 burned. The Dutch fleet had no losses in ships. The outcome of the battle was influenced by the poor shooting of the English gunners. The Dutch rearguard as a result had no losses at all in personnel even the wounded. And there were few casualties among the main forces. Shortly after the battle, de Ruyter led a caravan of ships from the East Indies into the Dutch ports without hindrance.
After the defeat at the Battle of Texel, England terminated the alliance with France and in 1674 made peace with Holland on the basis of the status quo. As a result of the Anglo-Dutch wars, Holland managed to defend its status as a leading maritime power and maintain reliable communications with its overseas colonies. However, the further strengthening of the English navy and its accelerated industrial development forced the Dutch to abandon competition with it by the beginning of the 18th century.
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were caused by trade and colonial rivalry between the two economically most developed states of the 17th century. - the bourgeois republic of the United Provinces (the Dutch Republic), which occupied a dominant position in intermediary maritime trade and in the international colonial expansion of the first half of the 17th century, and England, whose bourgeoisie, with the victory of the revolution (see English bourgeois revolution 17th century) took the path of active struggle with its main commercial and colonial rival. The interests of both countries clashed in Yu.-V. Asia, America, Africa, in the European (in particular, Russian) market.
The first A. - g. century. (1652-54) was declared a Dutch Republic in response to the passage by the English Parliament of the Navigation Act (See Navigation Acts) 1651, directed against Dutch intermediary trade. Military operations took place not only in sea waters washing England and Holland, but also in the Mediterranean Sea, in the straits connecting the Baltic and North Seas, in the Indian Ocean. Naval battles(the largest - Plymouth in 1652, the Newport battles of 1652 and 1653, the Battle of Portland in 1653) went with varying degrees of success. Gradually, the preponderance of forces leaned towards England, which had a strong navy and established a blockade of the Dutch coast. Great damage to Holland was caused by the actions of the British on trade routes. Under the Treaty of Westminster (April 14, 1654), Holland had to actually come to terms with the Navigation Act.
Second A.-g. in. (1665-67) was declared by Holland in January 1665, but actually began as early as 1664 with the capture of the Dutch colony in North America - New Amsterdam by an English naval expedition. The Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Reuter won at Dunkirk (June 1666), but was defeated at Cape North Foreland (August 1666). In June 1667 the Dutch squadron blocked the mouth of the Thames. By peace in Breda (July 31, 1667), New Amsterdam passed to England, which returned Suriname, which it had captured during the war, to the Dutch.
Third A.-g. in. (1672-74) closely intertwined with the so-called. Dutch War 1672 - 78 (See. Dutch war 1672-78), in which the main opponent of the Dutch Republic was France; Charles II of England entered this war under secret obligations to Louis XIV. Reuter's victory over the Anglo-French fleet at Texel (August 1673), the formation of an anti-French coalition, the unpopularity of the war among the English bourgeoisie (under conditions when crucial acquired no longer Anglo-Dutch, but Anglo-French contradictions) prompted England to withdraw from the war. The Treaty of Westminster (February 19, 1674) upheld the Treaty of Breda of 1667. A.-g. in. 17th century accelerated the fall of the power of Holland and the transition of commercial and colonial hegemony to the more industrially advanced England.
A.-g. century, which were conducted mainly at sea, played a significant role in the development of fleets and naval art. Based on their experience, a new classification of ships was developed (their division into battleships, frigates, etc.), a permanent organization of fleets was created, which began to be divided into squadrons, and the latter into the so-called. divisions (vanguard, center and rearguard). Tactics have also changed significantly. sea battle. For the 1st A.-g. in. the absence of certain battle formations is characteristic: the battle began with an artillery skirmish and turned into single combat of individual ships, in which the outcome was decided by artillery fire and Boarding , the use of Branders was of some importance. In the 2nd and especially the 3rd A.-g. in. the main battle formation was the wake column, and the basis of the battle was artillery fire, although boarding and fire-ship attacks continue to retain some importance.
Lit.: English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century, vol. 1 (pp. 457-467), vol. 2 (pp. 47-51, 133-136), M., 1954; Ballhausen, C., Die drei Englisch-Hollandische Seekriege, Haag, 1923.
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