Editing Dutch Republic (section)

===First and Second Anglo-Dutch wars===
[[File:Battle_of_Scheveningen_(Slag_bij_Ter_Heijde)(Jan_Abrahamsz._Beerstraten).jpg|thumb|The Battle of Scheveningen, 10 August 1653]]
{{Main|Anglo-Dutch wars|First Anglo-Dutch War|Second Anglo-Dutch War}}

The Dutch and English were major rivals in world trade and naval power. Halfway through the 17th century the [[Dutch States Navy]] was the rival of the English [[Royal Navy]] as the most powerful navy in the world. The Republic fought a series of three [[Anglo-Dutch wars|naval wars against England]] from 1652 to 1674.<ref>{{Cite book |last=John Richard Hill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bzrya4r-2n8C&pg=PA73 |title=The Oxford Illustrated History of the Royal Navy |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2002 |isbn=9780198605270 |pages=68–75}}</ref>

In 1651, the [[Parliament of England]] introduced the [[Navigation Act 1651|Navigation Act]], which restricted Dutch trade with English colonies. An incident at sea concerning the Act resulted in the First Anglo-Dutch War, which lasted from 1652 to 1654, ending in the [[Treaty of Westminster (1654)]], which left the Navigation Act in effect.

After the [[Stuart Restoration]] in 1660, [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] tried to serve his dynastic interests by attempting to make [[William III of England|Prince William III of Orange]], his nephew, [[stadtholder]] of the Republic, using some military pressure. King Charles thought a naval war would weaken the Dutch traders and strengthen the English economy and empire, so the Second Anglo-Dutch War was launched in 1665. At first many Dutch ships were captured and the English scored great victories. However, the [[Raid on the Medway]], in June 1667, ended the war with a Dutch victory. The Dutch recovered their trade, while the English economy was seriously hurt and its treasury nearly bankrupt.<ref>Gijs Rommelse, "Prizes and Profits: Dutch Maritime Trade during the Second Anglo-Dutch War", ''International Journal of Maritime History'' (2007) 19#2 pp. 139–159.</ref> The greatly expanded Dutch navy was for years after the world's strongest. The Dutch Republic was at the zenith of its power.<ref>D. R. Hainsworth, et al. ''The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars 1652–1674'' (1998)</ref>