Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War | |||||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||||
The Battle of Dogger Bank, Thomas Luny | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Great Britain |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (
Although the Dutch Republic did not enter into a formal alliance with the rebelling American colonies and their allies, American ambassador (and future president) John Adams managed to establish diplomatic relations with the Dutch Republic, making it the second European country to diplomatically recognise the Continental Congress in April 1782. In October 1782, a treaty of amity and commerce was concluded as well.
Most of the war consisted of a series of British operations against Dutch colonial economic interests, although British and Dutch naval forces also met once off the Dutch coast. The war ended disastrously for the Dutch and exposed the weakness of the political and economic foundations of the republic.[1][2][3]
The war settled the decline of the
Background
Although Great Britain and the Dutch Republic had been allies since the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Dutch had become very much the junior partner in the alliance and had slowly lost their former dominance of world trade to the British. During the Second Stadtholderless Period, the Dutch Republic had more or less abdicated its pretences as a major power and this became painfully evident to the rest of Europe during the War of the Austrian Succession. Near the end of that war in 1747, an Orangist revolution restored the stadtholderate with vastly increased powers for the stadtholder and made the stadtholderate hereditary. This did not lead to a resurgence of the republic as a major power because of what many in the republic saw as the mismanagement of the stadtholderian regency during the minority of stadtholder William V, and subsequently during his own reign. Instead, the republic remained stubbornly neutral during the Seven Years' War, which enabled it to greatly neglect both its army and navy. The stadtholderian regime was pro-British, with the stadtholder being a grandson of King George II of Great Britain, but his opponents for this reason favoured France, and those opponents were strong enough in the States General of the Netherlands (the governing body of the Republic whose "first servant" the stadtholder was) to keep Dutch foreign policy neutral.[4]
Initially, the British considered the Dutch allies in their attempt to stamp out the rebellion in their North American
More importantly, Dutch merchants, especially those from Amsterdam, became involved in the supply of arms and munitions to the American rebels soon after the outbreak of American Revolutionary War. This trade was mainly conducted via the Caribbean
After the French declared war on Britain, Amsterdam merchants also became heavily involved in the trade in naval stores with France. The French needed those supplies for their naval construction, but were prevented from obtaining those themselves, due to the blockade by the
This led to strong protests by the affected Dutch merchants, who demanded institution of convoys escorted by the Dutch States Navy, to protect them against the Royal Navy and British privateers. According to customary international law, such convoys were (and still are) exempt from the right of Visit and Search by belligerents. Initially, the stadtholder managed to prevent this, but strong diplomatic pressure by France, that selectively applied economic sanctions to Dutch cities supporting the stadtholder in this policy, forced his hand in November 1779. The States General now ordered him to provide the escorts and the first convoy, under command of Rear Admiral Lodewijk van Bylandt, sailed in December. This led to the humiliating Affair of Fielding and Bylandt on 31 December, which enraged Dutch public opinion and further undermined the position of the stadtholder. The incident motivated the Dutch to seek admission to the First League of Armed Neutrality, which espoused the principle of "free ship, free goods", especially after Britain formally abrogated the Commercial Treaty of 1668. The Dutch hoped to gain the armed support of the other members of the league to maintain their neutral status.[7]
War
Declaration of war
The British government saw the danger of this move (it might embroil Great Britain in war with Russia and the Nordic powers Sweden and Denmark–Norway also), so declared war on the republic shortly after it announced its intentions in December 1780.[8] To forestall Russia from coming to the aid of the Dutch (something Empress
Progress of the war
Dutch naval power had been in decline since 1712. The fleet had been long neglected, and the Dutch navy, having only 20 ships of the line at the start of the conflict, was no match for the British Royal Navy. Although the States General had decided on a substantial expansion of the fleet in 1779, just before the fateful decision to offer limited convoys, and had even voted the funds for such a naval-construction program, it progressed but slowly. Another reason for the slow expansion of the Dutch fleet was a lack of suitable recruits—the Dutch navy paid lower wages than the merchant marine and did not use impressment like the Royal Navy.[11] The number of available ships was diminished even more at the start of the war when several ships were captured by the British in the West Indies because they were unaware the war had started. A convoy under Rear Admiral Willem Krul was lost this way near St. Eustatius in February 1781, and the admiral was killed in the short action;[12] in a different action, Captain Bylandt (a nephew of the admiral of the same name) surrendered his ship.[citation needed]
The pronounced inferiority of the Dutch fleet, and its state of "unreadiness" was a frequently reiterated excuse for the Dutch naval commanders, especially Vice Admiral Andries Hartsinck, who commanded the Texel squadron, to keep the fleet at anchor, thereby ceding dominance of the North Sea to the blockading British fleet. Within a few weeks of the beginning of the war, more than 200 Dutch merchantmen, with cargo to the amount of 15 million guilders, had been captured by the British and 300 more were locked up in foreign ports.[13]
Another reason for the lack of activity of the Dutch navy was the fact that diplomatic activity never ceased and gave the Dutch government the illusion that the war would be of only short duration. Empress Catharine, though she refused to come to the aid of the Dutch, was very active in offering her services to mediate the dispute. Both the British and the Dutch, with varying amounts of sincerity, cooperated in these diplomatic manoeuvres, which came to nothing, but helped to keep military activities at a low level while they lasted.[14]
The British government also made overtures to the Dutch to come to a speedy conclusion of hostilities, especially after the cabinet of Lord North had been replaced by that of Rockingham and Fox in March 1782. Fox immediately proposed a separate peace on favourable conditions to the Dutch government. Unfortunately for the Dutch, they had just bound themselves closer to France by agreeing to act "in concert" with France in naval actions, so a separate peace was no longer an option. A real military alliance with France was, however, still blocked by the stadtholder, despite the fact that many in the republic favoured it.[15]
The war, as far as it went, was fought in three main theatres. Britain blockaded Dutch ports in Europe, and embarked on expeditions to seize Dutch colonial properties throughout the world. These were almost entirely successful; only an attempt to capture the Dutch Elmina Castle on the Africa's Gold Coast (modern Ghana) failed. While many Dutch territories in the West Indies were taken by the British, some, like Curaçao, were not attacked due to their defensive strength.
West Indies
As far as the Dutch were concerned, the war in the
Though an attempt was made to likewise capture the Dutch Leeward Antilles, these remained in Dutch hands, as did Suriname, though neighbouring Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo were rapidly taken by the British early in 1781.[18] These were retaken by the French captain Armand de Kersaint in 1782, and restored to the Dutch after the war.
European waters
Admiral Hartsinck at first proved himself highly reluctant to risk his fleet. However, political pressure to venture outside the safety of the
Another promising venture seemed to be what has become known as the Brest Affair. In September 1782, after the Dutch politicians had hesitantly agreed to coordinate their actions with the French, acting "in concert", an opportunity seemed to exist to combine a Dutch squadron of 10 ships of the line with the French squadron at Brest, as the British fleet in the channel had suddenly sailed south. However, Hartsinck, as usual, made objections, based on intelligence that British ships lay in ambush. When this proved false, the stadtholder ordered him to send the squadron, under command of Vice Admiral Count Lodewijk van Bylandt to Brest. However, as had happened countless times before, Bylandt, after having inspected the ships, declared them "unready" to put out to sea. In this refusal, he was supported by the other flag officers. The incident caused a political storm that threatened to engulf the stadtholder himself, as he was responsible as commander-in-chief for both the state of readiness of the fleet and its strategic decisions (though the officers were tactically and operationally responsible, and could not decline responsibility for the alleged state of "unreadiness" themselves). The opponents of the stadtholder demanded an investigation that was, however, very long drawn out, and quietly terminated after the stadtholder was restored in his full powers after 1787, long after the end of the war.[20]
Though, except for the Dogger-Bank skirmish, no major battles were fought in European waters, and the British blockade encountered little opposition from the Dutch fleet, the blockade itself exacted its toll on the British seamen, who were at sea for long times at a stretch (which even exposed them to the danger of scurvy) and the ships that suffered from severe wear and tear. Also, because an appreciable number of ships had to be detached to maintain naval superiority in the North Sea, the already overstretched Royal Navy was even more strained after 1781. Ships that were needed to blockade the Dutch coast could not be used against the French, Americans, and Spaniards in other theatres of war. This may have contributed to a number of the naval defeats the British suffered after 1781.[21]
Asian waters
The Dutch East India Company (VOC) had been responsible for defending its own colonies east of the Cape Colony, but for the first time, had to request assistance from the Dutch navy. However, ships were lacking at first and what naval forces were available were unable to prevent Britain from taking full control of Dutch India. In early 1782 British Admiral Sir Edward Hughes captured Trincomalee on the eastern coast of Dutch Ceylon, considered to be the finest harbour in the Bay of Bengal.[22]
In March 1781, British Admiral
Suffren had continued on to
in 1783, but news of preliminary peace between France and Britain ended hostilities in India.In August 1781, word of the war reached Sumatra, where both the Dutch and British companies had trading outposts. The directors of the British company at
Ceasefire and Treaty of Paris
The republic did not form a formal military alliance with France and her allies before the end of the war. A treaty of amity and commerce was, however, concluded with the Americans in October 1782, after John Adams, who succeeded Henry Laurens, had managed to obtain diplomatic recognition of the American republic from the States General in April 1782. The republic was the second European power (after France, but before Spain) to recognise the United States. Adams also succeeded in raising a substantial loan for the Americans on the still-significant Dutch capital market.
The republic involved itself in the peace congress that the French foreign minister,
Aftermath
The war proved a disaster for the Netherlands, particularly economically. It also proved to be confirmation of the weakening of Dutch power in the 18th century. In the immediate aftermath of the war, the bad result was blamed on the stadholder's mismanagement (if not worse) by his opponents, who coalesced into the
See also
- Anglo-Dutch Wars
- History of England
- History of the Netherlands
- British military history
- Dutch military history
Notes
- ^ Edler 2001, p. 88
- ^ Clodfelter 2017, p. 133–134
- ^ Dirks, J. J. B. (1871), De Nederlandsche Zeemagt in Hare verschillende Tijdperken Geschetst. Part 3 (in Dutch), Rotterdam: H. Nijgh, p. 291
- ^ Israel 1995, pp. 985–998, 1067–1087, 1090–1097
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 28–32
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 42–62
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 95–138
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 163–166
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 62–69
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 88–91, 151–152, 164
- ^ Dirks 1871, p. 294
- ^ Dirks 1871, p. 292
- ^ Dirks 1871, p. 291
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 178–179, 193–198
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 200–203
- ^ Edler 2001, p. 184
- ^ Dirks 1871, p. 293
- ^ Edler 2001, p. 185
- ^ Dirks 1871, pp. 306–309
- ^ Dirks 1871, pp. 330–353
- ^ Syrett, passim
- ^ Rodger 2006, p. 356
- ^ Boswell, p. 157
- ^ Meinsma, p. 203
- ^ Edler 2001, pp. 181–189
- ^ "The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, 1780-1784".
Sources
- Clodfelter, M. (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 (4th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland.
- Boswell, James (1782), The Scots Magazine, Volume 44, Edinburgh: Sands, Brymer, Murray and Cochran, OCLC 1765266
- Dirks, J. J. B. (1871), De Nederlandsche Zeemagt in Hare verschillende Tijdperken Geschetst. Deel 3 (in Dutch), Rotterdam: H. Nijgh
- Hobson, Rolf; Kristianson, Tom, eds. (2004), Navies in Northern Waters, Portland: Frank Cass, ISBN 0-7146-5541-4
- ISBN 0-19-873072-1
- Edler, F. (2001) [1911], The Dutch Republic and The American Revolution, Honolulu, Hawaii: University Press of the Pacific, ISBN 0-89875-269-8
- Adams, Julia (2005), The Familial State: Ruling Families And Merchant Capitalism In Early Modern Europe, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, ISBN 0-8014-3308-8
- Meinsma, Johannes Jacobus (1872), Geschiedenis van de Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Bezittingen (in Dutch), Delft: J. IJkema, OCLC 23421932
- Moore, Bob, ed. (2003), Colonial Empires Compared: Britain and the Netherlands, 1750–1850, Aldershot: Ashgate, ISBN 0-7546-0492-6
- ISBN 0-14-102690-1
- ISBN 0-394-48516-5
- Scott, Hamish M. "Sir Joseph Yorke, Dutch politics and the origins of the fourth Anglo-Dutch war." The Historical Journal 31#3 (1988): 571–589.
- ISBN 978-0-465-01332-6
- ISBN 978-94-6249325-4