Editing Anglo–Dutch wars (section)

== Background ==
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The English and the Dutch were both participants in the 16th century European religious conflicts during the [[Reformation]] period between the Roman Catholic [[House of Habsburg]] and the opposing Protestant states. At the same time, as the [[Age of Exploration]] dawned in the West, the Dutch and English both sought profits overseas in the [[New World]] of the recently discovered continents of the Americas.

=== Dutch Republic ===
In the early 1600s, the Dutch, while continuing to fight the [[Eighty Years' War]] (1566/68-1648),  with the Habsburgs, also began to carry out long-distance exploration by sea. The Dutch innovation in the trading of shares in a [[joint-stock company]] allowed them to finance expeditions with stock subscriptions sold in the [[United Provinces of the Netherlands]] and in London. They founded colonies in North America, India, and the East Indies. They also enjoyed continued success in [[privateer]]ing – in 1628 Admiral [[Piet Heyn]] became the only commander to successfully capture a large [[Spanish treasure fleet]]. With the many long voyages by Dutch [[East Indiamen]] cargo vessels, their society built an officer class and institutional knowledge that would later be replicated in England, principally by the British [[East India Company]].

By the middle of the 17th century, the Dutch joined the [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portuguese]] and their [[Portuguese Empire]] as the main European traders in [[Asia]]. This coincided with the enormous growth of the Dutch merchant fleet, made possible by the cheap mass production of the [[fluyt]] sailing ship types. Soon the Dutch had one of Europe's largest [[Merchant navy|mercantile fleets]], with more merchant ships than all other nations combined, and possessed a dominant position in the [[Baltic maritime trade (c. 1400–1800)|Baltic maritime trade]] of 1400-1800 in the [[Baltic Sea]] to the northeast.

[[File:Amboina. 17th century print, most likely English..jpg|thumb|Dutch factory at [[Ambon Island]], early to mid-17th century]]

In 1648 the Dutch concluded the [[Peace of Münster]] with the Kingdom of Spain. Due to the division of powers in the [[Dutch Republic]], the army and navy were the main base of power of the [[Stadtholder]], although the budget allocated to them was set by the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]]. With the arrival of peace, the States General decided to decommission most of the Dutch military. This led to conflict between the major Dutch cities and the new Stadtholder, [[William II of Orange]], bringing the internal controversies in the Republic to the brink of [[civil war]]. The Stadtholder's unexpected death in 1650 only added to the political tensions.

=== England ===

==== Tudor dynasty====
In the 16th century, Queen [[Elizabeth I]] (a.k.a. Elizabeth the Great, 1533-1603, reigned 1558-1603), commissioned several [[privateer]]s to carry out long-range attacks against the [[Spanish Empire]]'s global interests, exemplified by the attacks by Sir [[Francis Drake]] (c.1540-1596), [[William Parker (privateer)|William Parker]], and other [[Elizabethan Sea Dogs|Elizabethan sea dogs]] on Spanish merchant shipping and colonial possessions. Partly to provide a pretext for ongoing hostilities against Spain, Queen Elizabeth assisted the [[Dutch Revolt]] (1581) against the Kingdom of Spain by signing the [[Treaty of Nonsuch]] in 1585 with the newly-established Dutch state / [[republic]]  of the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]].

==== Stuart ====
[[File:Reinier Nooms - Before the Battle of the Downs - c.1639.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|''Before the [[Battle of the Downs]]'' by [[Reinier Nooms]], ''circa'' 1639, depicting the Dutch blockade off the English coast, the vessel shown is the ''[[Dutch ship Aemilia (1632)|Aemilia]]'', Tromp's flagship.]]
After the death of Elizabeth I, Anglo-Spanish relations began to improve under the new monarch of  [[James the First]], and the peace of the [[Treaty of London (1604)|Treaty of London]] in 1604 ended most privateering actions, (until the outbreak of the next [[Anglo-Spanish War (1625–1630)|Anglo-Spanish War]] (1625-1630) during the larger continental [[Thirty Years' War]] of 1618-1648). Underfunding then led to neglect of the [[Royal Navy]].

Later, Roman Catholic sympathiser King [[Charles I of England]] made a number of secret agreements with Spain, directed against Dutch sea power. He also embarked on a major programme of naval reconstruction, enforcing [[ship money]] to rebuild and expand the Royal Navy with financing the building of such prestige battle vessels as the {{ship|English ship|Sovereign of the Seas||2}}. But fearful of endangering his relations with the powerful Dutch [[stadtholder]] [[Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange]], his assistance to Spain was limited in practice to allowing Spanish troops on their way to [[Dunkirk]] to make use of English shipping. However, in 1639, when a large Spanish transport fleet sought refuge in [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|The Downs]] anchorage off the town of [[Deal, Kent]], King Charles chose not to protect it against a Dutch attack; the resulting [[Battle of the Downs]] undermined both Spanish sea power and Charles's reputation in Spain.

Meanwhile, in the New World of the [[Americas]], forces from the Dutch [[New Netherlands]] colony and the English [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] contested over much of North America's [[East Coast of the United States|north-eastern seaboard]].

==== Cromwell ====

The outbreak of the [[English Civil War]] in 1642 (to 1651), began a period in which the [[Kingdom of England]]'s naval position was severely weakened. Its navy was internally divided, though its officers tended to favour the parliamentary side; after the execution by public beheading of King Charles I in 1649, however, Lord Protector  [[Oliver Cromwell]] (1599-1658, served 1653-1658), was able to unite his country into the [[republic]]an [[Commonwealth of England]]. He then revamped the English navy by expanding the number of ships, promoting officers on merit rather than family connections, and cracking down on embezzlement by suppliers and dockyard staff, thereby positioning England to mount a global challenge to Dutch mercantile dominance.

The mood in England grew increasingly belligerent towards the Dutch. This partly stemmed from old perceived slights: the Dutch were considered to have shown themselves ungrateful for the aid they had received against the Spanish by growing stronger than their former English protectors; Dutch fishermen caught most of the herring off the English east coast in the [[North Sea]]; the Dutch East India Company had driven English traders out of the East Indies; and Dutch merchants vociferously appealed to the principle of free trade to circumvent taxation in English colonies. There were also new points of conflict: with the decline of Spanish power at the end of the [[Thirty Years' War]] in 1648, the colonial possessions of the [[Portuguese Empire]] (already in the midst of the [[Portuguese Restoration War]], 1640-1668) and perhaps even those of the greater [[Spanish Empire]] itself were up for grabs.

Cromwell feared the influence of both the [[Orangism (Dutch Republic)|Orangist]] faction at home and English royalists exiled to the Republic; the Stadtholders had supported the Stuart monarchs—William II of Orange had married the daughter of Charles I of England in 1641—and they abhorred the trial and execution of Charles I.

Early in 1651 Cromwell tried to ease tensions by sending a delegation to [[The Hague]] proposing that the Dutch Republic join the Commonwealth and assist the English in conquering most of [[Spanish America]] for its extremely valuable resources. This attempt to draw the Dutch into a lopsided alliance with England in fact led to war: the ruling faction in the [[States of Holland]] was unable to formulate an answer to this unexpected offer and the pro-Stuart Orangists incited mobs to harass Cromwell's envoys. When the delegation returned home, the [[Parliament of England]] decided to pursue a policy of confrontation.