This definitive study presents a complete account of the Dutch Republic’s naval fleet during its golden age as a world power. The Netherlands was by far the most important maritime power of the seventeenth century. It dominated seaborne trade with the largest merchant fleet in the world. Born out of an 80-year struggle against Spain for independence, the Dutch republic relied on naval power to protect its freedom, promote its trade and defend its overseas colonies. Yet the ships that made up its fleets are among the least studied of any in the age of sail. This is partly because a decentralized administration of five separate admiralties, often producing ships of the same name at the same time, as well as competing systems of measuring ships, all lead to confusion and error. In this comprehensive volume, James Bander delivers the first definitive listing of all Dutch fighting ships—whether purpose-built, purchased, hired or captured—from the heyday of the United Provinces. Each entry is complete with technical details and summaries of the ship’s career. It also provides administrative, economic and technical background, and outlines the many campaigns fought by one of the most successful navies in history.

“The first comprehensive listing of these ships in English. . . . Profusely illustrated [and] impressively informative.” —Midwest Book Review The origins of a permanent French sailing navy can be traced to the work of Cardinal Richelieu in the 1620s, but this naval force declined rapidly in the 1650s and a virtually new Marine Royale had to be re-created by Colbert from 1661. Thereafter, Louis XIV’s navy grew rapidly to become the largest and most powerful in the world, at the same time establishing a reputation for the quality of its ship design that lasted until the end of sail. The eighteenth century was to see defeat and decline, revival and victory, but by 1786 the French Navy had emerged from its most successful naval war having frequently outfought or outmaneuvred the British Navy in battle, and in the process making a major contribution to American independence. This book provides significant technical and building data as well as highlights of the careers of each ship in every class. For the first time, it is possible to form a clear picture of the overall development of French warships throughout the whole of the sailing era. “A handy and quick reference to a variety of vessels . . . [A] top notch reference book.” —British Tars, 1740-1790

A reassessment of the Anglo-Dutch wars of the second half of the seventeenth century, demonstrating that the conflict was primarily about trade.

This book has been nominated for The Mountbatten Award for Best Book in the Maritime Media Awards 2021. The Routledge Companion to Marine and Maritime Worlds, 1400‒1800 explores early modern maritime history, culture, and the current state of the research and approaches taken by experts in the field. Ranging from cartography to poetry and decorative design to naval warfare, the book shows how once-traditional and often Euro-chauvinistic depictions of oceanic ‘mastery’ during the early modern period have been replaced by newer global ideas. This comprehensive volume challenges underlying assumptions by balancing its assessment of the consequences and accomplishments of European navigators in the era of Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan, with an awareness of the sophistication and maritime expertise in Asia, the Arab world, and the Americas. By imparting riveting new stories and global perceptions of maritime history and culture, the contributors provide readers with fresh insights concerning early modern entanglements between humans and the vast, unpredictable ocean. With maritime studies growing and the ocean’s health in decline, this volume is essential reading for academics and students interested in the historicization of the ocean and the ways early modern cultures both conceptualized and utilized seas.

The tiny new state of the United Provinces of the Netherlands won its independence from the mighty Spanish empire by fighting and winning the Eighty Years' War, from 1568 and 1648. In this long conflict, warfare on water played a much bigger role in determining the ultimate victor. On the high seas the fleet carved out a new empire, growing national income to such levels that it could continue the costly war for independence. Yet it was in coastal and inland waters that the most decisive battles were fought. Arguably the most decisive Spanish siege (Leiden, 1574) was broken by a fleet sailing to the rescue across flooded polders, and the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600, the largest successful invasion fleet before World War II, was one of the most decisive battle in western history. Using detailed full colour artwork, this book shows how the Dutch navies fought worldwide in their war of independence, from Brazil to Indonesia, and from the Low Countries to Angola.

The 'Defenestration of Prague', the coup d'etat staged by Protestant Bohemian nobles against officials of the Hapsburg Emperor triggered the Thirty Years War. When Habsburg Spain intervened in support of their Holy Roman Emperor relative, what had started as a localised political and religious dispute in Germany, transformed into a European and global conflict. In seeking to exploit the Bohemian revolt, Spanish Habsburg revanchist ambitions directed by the Spanish Count of Olivarez at the economically powerful Dutch Republic were allied with the Habsburg Emperor’s counter-reformation ambitions. After the Bohemian defeat at the White Mountain in 1620 the war widened as the Dutch Republic, England, Transylvania, Denmark, Sweden, and Richelieu’s France all intervened to roll back Habsburg hegemony and restore the balance power. There was extensive fighting across the globe, as the Dutch and English sought to challenge the Spanish Habsburg global monopoly. These colonial wars were a major factor in the Iberian revolutions with brought down the Habsburg Imperium. Professor Charles Boxer called it: “the first world war”. It was a tragic war of attrition but also an epic story of remarkable individuals including the 'titans’ of the era,' Imperial General Wallenstein, warrior King Gustavus, sinister Count Olivarez, and the masters of international intrigue, realpolitik and diplomacy- Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. Above all there were the decisive victories of the under-sung military genius of the era, Lennart Torstensson. The Treaties of Westphalia followed a war which not only changed the global balance of power, but accelerated over thirty years the transformation of the European continent from a world characterized by dynasties and the medieval concept of United Christendom to a European order that was recognisably modern.

This critically-commented source edition contains the commercial directions, merchant diary and naval log of four East India Company ships, which sailed from London to Canton, China in 1723, as well as the travelogue of another contemporary trader who sailed from Ostend. It highlights the roles of cooperation and competition in shaping the relations between these and other European companies as well as the everyday lives of European merchants and mariners. The edition thus sheds new light on the history of the East Indies trade during the eighteenth century and its role in encouraging early modern globalization.

One of the most eminent historians of our age investigates the extraordinary success of five small maritime states Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812--winner of the prestigious Anderson Medal--turns his attention to Athens, Carthage, Venice, the Dutch Republic, and Britain, examining how their identities as "seapowers" informed their actions and enabled them to achieve success disproportionate to their size. Lambert demonstrates how creating maritime identities made these states more dynamic, open, and inclusive than their lumbering continental rivals. Only when they forgot this aspect of their identity did these nations begin to decline. Recognizing that the United States and China are modern naval powers--rather than seapowers--is essential to understanding current affairs, as well as the long-term trends in world history. This volume is a highly original "big think" analysis of five states whose success--and eventual failure--is a subject of enduring interest, by a scholar at the top of his game.

Broadsides, divided loyalties and revenge on the high seas 1671: Matthew Quinton is on a mission into the heart of enemy waters, bent on revenge for England's crushing defeat of 1667. The Dutch not only destroyed English ships and slaughtered their men, but stole the jewel of the fleet, the flagship Royal Charles. As the mission starts to unravel, Quinton is faced with a dilemma. He may need to sail into battle not with his men, but on an enemy man-of-war, against his own side... Fans of Julian Stockwin and John Drake will love The Devil Upon the Wave, book eight in the Matthew Quinton Journals. ‘Finely shaded characters, excellent plotting, gut-clenching action and immaculate attention to period naval detail... these are superb books’ Angus Donald, author of The Outlaw Chronicles ‘A splendid addition to nautical adventure, and a grand story, to boot!’ Dewey Lambdin, author of the Alan Lewrie series. The Matthew Quinton Journals 1. Gentleman Captain 2. The Mountain of Gold 3. The Blast that Tears the Skies 4. The Lion of Midnight 5. The Battle of the Ages 6. The Rage of Fortune 7. Death's Bright Angel 8. The Devil Upon the Wave

This book explores the careers of Dutch colonial governors in the 17th century with a focus on two case-studies: Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, governor of Dutch Brazil (1636-1644) and Rijckloff Volckertsz van Goens, Governor-General in Batavia in the 1670s.