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The battle was a clear English victory, though the separate clash of the two rears was a victory for Tromp. Dutch casualties were enormous, estimated immediately after the battle at about 5,000 men, compared with 300 English killed; later, more precise information showed that only about 1,200 of these had been killed or seriously wounded. However, the Dutch only lost two ships: De Ruyter had been successful at saving almost the complete van, only Sneek and Tholen struck their flag, and they could quickly repair the damage. The twin disasters of the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London, however, combined with his financial mismanagement, left Charles II without the funds to continue the war. In fact, he had had only enough reserves for this one last battle. The Dutch soon recovered; within a month, they again took sea, but only a minor skirmish resulted. During this later fight, De Ruyter inhaled a burning fuse filament that burnt a fistula in his throat; he would recover just in time to inflict a severe blow on the English navy in the Raid on the Medway in 1667, when, at last, he could carry out the plan he was prevented from executing in 1666.
During the weeks that the Dutch fleet was in repair, Admiral Robert Holmes, aided by the Dutch traitor Laurens van Heemskerck, penetrated the Vlie estuary, burnt a fleet of 150 merchants (Holmes's Bonfire) and sacked the town of Ter Schelling (the present West-Terschelling) on the Frisian island of Terschelling. Fan-Fan was again present.
In the Republic, the defeat also had far-reaching political effect. Tromp was the champion of the Orangist party; now that he was accused of severe negligence, the country split over this issue. To defend himself, Tromp let his brother-in-law Johan Kievit publish an account of his conduct. Shortly afterwards, Kievit was discovered to have planned a coup, secretly negotiating a peace treaty with the English king. He fled to England and was condemned to death in absentia; Tromp's family was fined and he himself forbidden to serve on the fleet. In November 1669 a supporter of Tromp tried to stab De Ruyter in the entrance hall of his house. Only in 1672 Tromp would have his revenge, when Johan de Witt was murdered; some claim Tromp has had a hand in this. The new ruler, William III of Orange, succeeded, with great difficulty, in reconciling De Ruyter with Tromp in 1673.
Read more about this topic: St. James's Day Battle
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