From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Anglo-Dutch Wars
(
Dutch
:
Engels?Nederlandse Oorlogen
or
Engelse Zeeoorlogen
) were a series of
wars
fought between the
Dutch Republic
and the
Kingdom of England
and later the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
during the 17th and 18th centuries. They fought for control over
trade routes
on the seas. All of the wars were mostly fought by
naval warfare
.
The First War (1652?1654) took place during the
Interregnum
in England, the period after the
English Civil War
when England did not have a king or a queen. The war was fought between the navies of England and the Dutch Republic (also known as the United Provinces). It mainly took place in the
English Channel
and the
North Sea
. It ended with the
Royal Navy
of England gaining control of those seas and a
monopoly
over trade with the English
colonies
.
[1]
The
Second
(1665?1667) and the
Third
(1672?1674) Wars happened after the
English Restoration
of the
monarchy
. England tried to end the Dutch monopoly over world trade. Most of the fighting in both wars was done in the
North Sea
. In the Third War, England fought alongside
France
. Both wars ended in strong victories for the Dutch and confirmed their position as the leading maritime power of the 17th century. The English took
New Netherland
, and the Dutch let them keep it in return for
Suriname
.
The
Fourth War
(1780?1784) took place after the
Acts of Union 1707
in
Great Britain
and involved the Dutch Republic and Great Britain. The main cause was that Britain disagreed with the Dutch trading with the
United States
during the
American Revolutionary War
. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris (1784) and ended with a very big defeat for the Dutch,
[2]
who lost parts of the
Dutch Empire
.