Michiel de Ruyter - Second Anglo-Dutch War

Second Anglo-Dutch War

In 1664, a year before the Second Anglo-Dutch War officially began, he clashed with the English off the West African coast, where both the English and Dutch had significant slave stations, retaking the Dutch possessions occupied by Robert Holmes and then crossing the Atlantic to raid the English colonies in North America.

Arriving off Barbados in the Caribbean at the end of April 1665 aboard his flagship Spiegel, he led his fleet of thirteen vessels into Carlisle Bay, exchanging fire with the English batteries and destroying many of the vessels anchored there. Unable to silence the English guns and having sustained considerable damage to his own vessels, he retired to French Martinique for repairs.

Sailing north from Martinique, de Ruyter captured several English vessels and delivered supplies to the Dutch colony at Sint Eustatius. Given the damage he had sustained, he decided against an assault on New York (the former New Amsterdam) to retake New Netherland. He then took off to Newfoundland, capturing some English merchant ships and temporarily taking St. John's before proceeding to Europe.

On his return to The Netherlands he learned that Van Wassenaer had been killed in the disastrous Battle of Lowestoft. Many expected that Tromp's son Cornelis would now take command of the confederate fleet, especially Cornelis Tromp himself, who had already been given a temporary commission. Tromp however was not acceptable to the regent regime of Johan de Witt because of his support of the Prince of Orange's cause. De Ruyter's popularity had grown after his heroic return and, most importantly, his affiliation lay with the States-General and Johan de Witt in particular. He therefore was made commander of the Dutch fleet on 11 August 1665, as Lieutenant-Admiral (a rank he at the time shared with six others) of the Amsterdam admiralty.

In this Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) he won a hard-fought victory in the Four Days Battle (June 1666) but narrowly escaped disaster in the St James's Day Battle (August 1666) which brought him into conflict with Cornelis Tromp, eventually leading to Tromp's dismissal. He then became seriously ill, recovering just in time to take nominal command of the fleet executing the Raid on the Medway in 1667. The Medway raid was a costly and embarrassing defeat for the English, resulting in the loss of the English flagship HMS Royal Charles and bringing the Dutch close to London and the war to its end. Between 1667 and 1671 he was forbidden by De Witt to sail, in order not to endanger his life. In 1669 a failed attempt on his life was made by a Tromp supporter, trying to stab him with a bread knife in the entrance-hall of his house.