Editing Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (section)

===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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dirks|1871|p=294}}</ref> 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;<ref>{{Harvnb|Dirks|1871|p=292}}</ref> in a different action, Captain Bylandt (a nephew of the admiral of the same name) surrendered his ship.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dirks|1871|p=291}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Edler|2001|pp=178–179, 193–198}}</ref>

The British government also made overtures to the Dutch to come to a speedy conclusion of hostilities, especially after the cabinet of [[Frederick North, Lord North|Lord North]] had been replaced by that of [[Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham|Rockingham]] and [[Charles James Fox|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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Edler|2001|pp=200–203}}</ref>

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 [[Shirley's Gold Coast expedition|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====
[[File:Île de Saint Eustache en 1781 (haute résolution).jpg|thumb|240px|left|The capture of [[St Eustatius]] by the British fleet in February 1781. The island is sacked by the British.]]
[[File:Prise de Saint Eustache par les troupes de Bouille sept 1781.jpg|thumb|240px|left|The same year, the island is issued by a French landing troops.]]

As far as the Dutch were concerned, the war in the [[West Indies]] was over almost before it had begun. Admiral [[George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney|Rodney]], the commander of the [[Leeward Islands]] station of the Royal Navy, attacked the Dutch colonies in that part of the [[Caribbean]]: St. Eustatius, [[Saba (island)|Saba]], and [[Sint Maarten|Saint Martin]], as soon as he had received word of the declaration of war, in the process surprising a number of Dutch naval and merchant ships, which were still unaware of the start of hostilities. St. Eustatius ([[Capture of Sint Eustatius|captured on 3 February 1781]]), that had played such a large role in the supply of the American rebels with arms, was completely devastated by him. He proved himself especially vengeful against the Jewish merchants on the island.<ref>{{Harvnb|Edler|2001|p=184}}</ref> All goods on the island were confiscated and all merchants, Dutch, American, French, even British, deported. Part of the loot was auctioned off on the spot, but an appreciable amount was put on a convoy destined for Britain. However, much of the convoy was captured in the English Channel by a French squadron under Admiral [[Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte|Picquet de la Motte]]. The French did not return the goods to the Dutch, however.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dirks|1871|p=293}}</ref>

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 (colony)|Essequibo]] were rapidly taken by the British early in 1781.<ref>{{Harvnb|Edler|2001|p=185}}</ref>  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 [[Texel roadstead]] mounted and several cautious attempts were made to capture British convoys, or escort Dutch convoys. In one of those forays, an unusually strong squadron, under Admiral [[Johan Zoutman]] and his second-in-command, Rear Admiral [[Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen]], encountered in August 1781 a British squadron of about equal strength under Admiral [[Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet|Hyde Parker]] in the [[Battle of Dogger Bank (1781)|Battle of Dogger Bank]], which ended in a tactical draw.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dirks|1871|pp=306–309}}</ref>

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 [[ship of the line|ships of the line]] with the French squadron at [[Brest, France|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.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dirks|1871|pp=330–353}}</ref>

Though, except for the Battle of Dogger-Bank, no major engagements 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.<ref>Syrett, ''passim''</ref>

====Asian waters====
[[File:Battaille Gondelour 1783 gravure hollandaise imaginaire 1783.jpg|thumb|320px|right|''Glorious action of the French Admiral Suffren against the British Admiral Hughes in the seas of Ceylon.'' The intervention of the French navy attempted to rescue the Dutch colonies in Asia.]]

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 (Royal Navy officer)|Edward Hughes]] [[Capture of Trincomalee|captured Trincomalee]] on the eastern coast of [[Dutch Ceylon]], considered to be the finest harbour in the [[Bay of Bengal]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Rodger|2006|p=356}}</ref>

In March 1781, British Admiral [[George Johnstone (Royal Navy officer)|George Johnstone]] was sent to capture the Cape Colony. France, which had already planned to send a fleet to India, received intelligence of this, and directed its commander, the [[Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez|Bailli de Suffren]], to try to reach the Cape before Johnstone. After Johnstone and Suffren met in a happenstance [[Battle of Porto Praya|battle in the Cape Verde Islands]], Suffren was able to arrive before Johnstone, and the strength of French troops he left dissuaded Johnstone from attacking the colony. After capturing a number of VOC ships in the nearby [[Saldanha Bay]], he returned to North Atlantic waters.

Suffren had continued on to [[Isle de France (Mauritius)|Isle de France]] (now [[Mauritius]]) and then India. There, he arrived and fought a number of actions against Hughes. Suffren attempted to take the Dutch port of [[Negapatam]] ([[Siege of Negapatam|taken by the British in 1781]]), but was [[Battle of Negapatam (1782)|frustrated by Hughes]]. In August, the French [[Battle of Trincomalee|recaptured Trincomalee]], and Suffren fought Hughes to a standstill in a naval battle several days later. The two fleets withdrew and the British repaired in [[Bombay]] while the French refitted in the Dutch colony of [[Sumatra]].  Hughes and Suffren [[Battle of Cuddalore (1783)|met again]] 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 [[Fort Marlborough]] received instructions from Bombay to destroy all of the Dutch outposts on the west coast of Sumatra.  Quite fortuitously, a fleet of five East Indiamen arrived not long after, and the directors seized the opportunity for action. Henry Botham, one of the directors, commandeered the fleet, and with 100 company soldiers sailed for [[Padang, Indonesia|Padang]].<ref>Boswell, p. 157</ref>  On 18 August, Jacob van Heemskerk, the VOC chief resident at Padang, [[Raid on Sumatra|surrendered all of the west coast outposts]] without a fight, unaware that Botham's force was relatively weak.  The capture netted the British 500,000 [[Dutch guilder|florins]] in goods and money.<ref>Meinsma, p. 203</ref>  The fortress at Padang was destroyed before the town was returned to VOC control in 1784.