When we talk about great European naval strategists and
tacticians, English admirals of the fleet like Blake, Drake, Nelson
and Rodney are the first to come to mind. However I read somewhere
that during the mid-seventeenth century, the Dutch were able to
somewhat challenge Anglo hegemony on the high seas and at certain
battles bested the English. Further searches from the the internet
yielded the following names;
1) Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter
2) Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp
3) Cornelius Martenszoon Tromp
All three achieved the rank of Lieutenant Admiral (which I suspect
is the highest rank in the Dutch Navy), won brilliant battles
against their English counterparts, but were ultimately
defeated.
Can anyone tell me more on the above three Dutchmen or any other
brilliant Dutch Admiral I left out? Any detailed accounts of their
exploits and perhaps the general state of the Dutch Navy then and
during the eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries? Links would be
appreciated.
