Editing Michiel de Ruyter (section)

== Early life ==
De Ruyter was born on 24 March 1607 in [[Vlissingen]] (Flushing), in the province of Zealand, the son of a seaman who eventually became a member of the [[guild]] of beer porters, Adriaen Michielszoon, and Aagje Jansdochter.{{sfn|Prud'homme van Reine|1996|p=19}} Many anecdotes were told of De Ruyter's early life, but of dubious historical value. For a time he worked at a [[ropewalk]]. He was sent to sea as a [[boatswain]]'s apprentice at the age of 11, the usual age for [[Zeeland]] boys to begin seafaring.{{sfn|Fox|2018|p=133}}

In 1622, during the [[Eighty Years' War]] against Spain, he fought as a cannoneer in the new [[Dutch army]] under [[Maurice of Nassau]] against the Spanish during the [[Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1622)|relief of Bergen-op-Zoom]]. That same year he rejoined the Dutch merchant fleet and steadily worked his way up through the posts of boatswain and chief mate before becoming a merchant ship's [[Sea captain|master]] at the age of thirty. Although having had little formal education, he spoke tolerable French and fluent English.{{sfn|Bruijn|2011|p=11}}{{sfn|Fox|2018|pp=133–134}}

Bruijn notes that an anonymous English biographer of de Ruyter claims that he was active in [[Dublin]] between 1623 and 1631 as a [[Factor (agent)|factor]] for the [[Vlissingen]]-based merchant house of the [[Cornelius Lampsins|Lampsins]] brothers and had become fluent in English when living there. The source claimed that de Ruyter had a slight knowledge of the [[Irish language]] and at least one Irish friend who played a leading role in the capture of {{HMS|Royal Charles|1660|6}} in 1667.{{sfn|Bruijn|2011|p=122}}

De Ruyter occasionally travelled as [[supercargo]] to the [[Mediterranean]] or to the [[Barbary Coast]]. In those years, he usually referred to himself as "Machgyel Adriensoon", his name in the [[Zeelandic]] dialect he spoke, as he had not yet adopted the surname "De Ruyter". "De Ruyter" was most probably a nickname given to him: one explanation might be found in the older Dutch verb ''ruyten'' or ''ruiten'', which means "to raid", something de Ruyter was known to do as a [[privateer]] with the Lampsins ship ''Den Graeuwen Heynst''. Another suggestion is that the name "Ruyter", meaning "horseman" commemorates one of his grandfathers, who was a cavalry trooper.{{sfn|Fox|2018|p=133}}

On 16 March in 1631, he married Maayke Velders, a farmer's daughter. On 31 December that year, Maayke died after giving birth to a daughter; who also died just three weeks later.{{sfn|Prud'homme van Reine|1996|p=23}} In 1633 and 1635, de Ruyter sailed as a navigating officer aboard the ship ''Groene Leeuw'' ("Green Lion") on [[whaling]] expeditions to [[Jan Mayen]]. Until 1637, he did not yet have a command of his own. In the summer of 1636 he remarried, this time to a daughter of a wealthy [[burgher (title)|burgher]] named Neeltje Engels, who gave him four children&nbsp;– one of whom died shortly after birth. The others were named Adriaen (b. 1637), Neeltje (b. 1639) and Aelken (b. 1642).{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In the midst of this, in 1637, de Ruyter became captain of a private ship meant to hunt for the [[Dunkirkers]], raiders operating from [[Dunkirk]] who were preying on Dutch merchant shipping. He fulfilled this task until 1640. After this, he sailed for a while as skipper of a merchant vessel named ''De Vlissinge''. In 1641, de Ruyter was nominated by the [[Admiralty of Zeeland]] to become the captain of the ''Haze'', a merchant ship converted man-of-war carrying 26 guns, in a fleet under admiral Gijsels formed to assist the Portuguese in the [[Portuguese Restoration War]] against [[Philip IV of Spain]], who was also Philip III of Portugal. The Dutch fleet was to join a Portuguese squadron fighting Spain at sea, and de Ruyter was appointed to be its [[Rear admiral|''Schout-bij-nacht'']] or third in command.{{sfn|Bruijn|2011|p=11}} Although this expedition had little success, de Ruyter distinguished himself in combat against a Spanish fleet in the inconclusive [[Action of 4 November 1641|action on 4 November 1641]], off [[Cape St. Vincent]]. However, as a result of the loss of two ships and damage to others in this action, and the withdrawal of the Portuguese squadron after the action, the Dutch fleet returned home without completing its mission.{{sfn|Fox|2018|p=133}}{{sfn|Prud'homme van Reine|1996|p=49}}

After the fleet was disbanded, de Ruyter returned to merchant service, which he undertook either as master of a Lampsins ship,{{sfn|Fox|2018|p=133}} or after buying his own ship, the ''Salamander''.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Between 1642 and 1651, he made a number of profitable trading sailings to [[Morocco]], [[Brazil]] and the [[West Indies]],{{sfn|Bruijn|2011|p=11}}{{sfn|Kloster|2016|p=165}} and by 1651, he had saved enough money to retire. In 1650, de Ruyter's second wife, who in 1649 had given him a second son,  [[Engel de Ruyter|Engel]], unexpectedly died. On 8 January 1652, he married a widow, Anna van Gelder, and bought a house in [[Vlissingen|Flushing]] for his proposed retirement, which lasted less than a year.{{sfn|Fox|2018|pp=133–134}}