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The Anglo-Dutch Wars were fought in the 17th and 18th centuries between Britain and the United Provinces for control over the seas and trade routes. They are known as the Dutch Wars in England and as the English Wars in the Netherlands.
The collapse of Spanish power at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 meant that the colonial possessions of the Portuguese and Spanish Empires were effectively up for grabs. This brought the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, former allies in the Eighty Years' War, into conflict. The Dutch had the largest mercantile fleet of Europe, and a dominant position in European trade. They had annexed most of Portugal's territory in the East Indies giving them control over the enormously profitable trade in spices. They were even gaining significant influence over England's maritime trade with her North American colonies, profiting from the turmoil that resulted from the English Civil War.
Main article: First Anglo-Dutch WarBattle of Scheveningen, 10 August 1653 by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten, painted c. 1654, depicts the final battle of the First Anglo-Dutch-War . The First Anglo-Dutch War ( 1652- 54) (called the First Dutch War in England, and the First English War in the N
In order to protect its position in North America, in 1651Events January 1 Charles II crowned King of Scotland in Scone. This is his first crowning. June 28 June 30: The biggest battle of the 17th century, Battle of Beresteczko, between Poles and Ukrainians, won by Poles. September 3 English Civil War: Battle of the ParliamentAlternative meanings: Parliamentary system, Parliament (band), Parliament (cigarette). A parliament is a legislative body, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system derived from that of the United Kingdom. of the Commonwealth of England passed the first of the Navigation ActsThe English Navigation Acts were a series of laws which, beginning in 1651, restricted foreign shipping. Resentment against the Navigation Acts was a cause of the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the American Revolutionary War. The 1651 Act The first Navigation Act w, which mandated that all goods from her American colonies must be carried by English ships. In a period of growing mercantilism this was the spark that ignited the first Anglo-Dutch war and led to sporadic naval engagements across the globe.
The English were initially successful, Admiral Robert Blake defeating the Dutch Admiral Witte de With in the Battle of the Kentish Knock in 1652. Believing that the war was all but over, the English divided their forces and in 1653 were routed by the fleet of Dutch Admiral Maarten Tromp at the Battle of Dungeness in the North Sea. The Dutch were also victorious at the Battle of Leghorn and had effective control of both the Mediterranean and the English Channel. Blake, recovering from an injury, rethought the whole system of naval tactics, and in mid 1653 used the line of battle to drive the Dutch navy back to its ports in the battles of Portland and the Gabbard. In the final Battle of Scheveningen on 10 August 1653 Tromp was killed, a blow to Dutch morale which led to peace negotiations.
The war ended on 1654- 04-05 with the signing of the Treaty of Westminster, but the commercial rivalry was not resolved.