Editing Michiel de Ruyter (section)

== Northern Wars ==
[[File:De Ruyter and the Dutch fleet before Algiers, 1662.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|De Ruyter and the Dutch fleet before [[Algiers]], 1662]]
In July 1655, De Ruyter took command of a squadron of eight ships, of which the ''Tijdverdrijf'' ("Pastime") was his flagship, and set out for the Mediterranean with 55 merchantmen in convoy. His orders were to protect Dutch trade interests in that region and to ransom [[Barbary slave trade|enslaved Christians]] in Algiers.{{sfn|Kloster|2016|p=102}} Meeting an English fleet under [[Robert Blake (admiral)|Robert Blake]] along the way, he managed to avoid an incident. Operating off the [[Barbary Coast]], he captured several infamous corsairs and, after negotiating a peace agreement with [[Salé]], De Ruyter returned home in May 1656.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

The same month, the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]], becoming ever more concerned by the expansionary plans of the Swedish king, [[Charles X Gustav of Sweden|Charles X]], decided to intervene in the [[Second Northern War]] by sending a fleet to the [[Baltic Sea]].{{sfn|Warnsinck|1941|pp=246–247}} The Swedes had controlled this area since Charles had [[Deluge (history)|invaded Poland]] and claimed the Polish throne. De Ruyter once again embarked aboard the ''Tijdverdrijf'', arriving at the [[Øresund]], where he waited for Obdam to arrive on 8 June. After Obdam had assumed command, De Ruyter and the Dutch fleet sailed to relieve the besieged city of [[Danzig]] on 27 July, which they did without any bloodshed. Peace was signed a month later.{{sfn|Warnsinck|1941|p=247}} Before leaving the Baltic, De Ruyter and other flag officers were granted an audience by [[Frederick III of Denmark]]. De Ruyter took a liking to the Danish king, who later became a friend.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

In 1658, the States General, on the advice of a leading member, [[Cornelis de Graeff]], one of the mayors of Amsterdam, decided to once again send a fleet to the Baltic Sea to protect the important [[Baltic region|Baltic]] trade and to aid the Danes against Swedish aggression, which had continued despite a peace settlement. In accordance with the States' balance-of-power political approach, a fleet under Lieutenant-Admiral [[Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam]] was sent without De Ruyter, who at the time was blockading [[Lisbon]]. On 8 November, a bloody melee took place, the [[Battle of the Sound]], which resulted in a Dutch victory, relieving [[Copenhagen]]. Still the Swedes were far from defeated and the States decided to continue their support for the Danes. De Ruyter took command of a new expeditionary fleet and managed to liberate [[Nyborg]] in 1659. For this, he was knighted by King Frederick III of Denmark.{{sfn|Prud'homme van Reine|1996|p=114}} From 1661 to 1663, De Ruyter did convoy duty in the Mediterranean.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}