Third Anglo-Dutch War

Third Anglo-Dutch War
Part of the Anglo-Dutch Wars and Franco-Dutch War
The Battle of Texel, by Van de Velde the Younger
Date 27 March 1672 – 19 February 1674 (1672-03-27 – 1674-02-19) (1 year, 10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days) Location North Sea, New York, Saint Helena, East Indies, India Result Treaty of Westminster
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	England  France
Commanders and leaders
Johan de Witt X William III of Orange Michiel de Ruyter Adriaen Banckert Willem van Ghent † Rijckloff van Goens	Charles II Duke of York Prince Rupert Earl of Sandwich † Jean II d'Estrées

The Third Anglo-Dutch War ^[a], began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch War.^[1]

In the 1670 Secret Treaty of Dover, Charles II of England agreed to support an attack by Louis XIV of France on the Dutch Republic. By doing so, Louis hoped to gain control of the Spanish Netherlands, while Charles sought to restore the damage to his prestige caused by the 1667 Raid on the Medway. Under the treaty, Charles also received secret payments which he hoped would make him financially independent of Parliament.

The French offensive in May and June 1672 quickly overran most of the Republic, with the exception of the core province of Holland, where they were halted by water defences. In early June, the Anglo-French fleet was badly damaged by the Dutch under Michiel de Ruyter at the Battle of Solebay. Shortly thereafter, Johan de Witt resigned as Grand Pensionary, and Charles' nephew William III of Orange was appointed Stadtholder. William rebuffed attempts by Charles to make peace, knowing the French alliance was unpopular in England, while French success brought him support from Emperor Leopold and Spain.

By the end of 1672, the Dutch had regained much of the territory lost in May, and with hopes of a quick victory gone, Parliament refused to continue funding the war. Between June to July 1673, the Dutch and Anglo-French fleets fought three separate battles, which were largely inconclusive but ended any prospect of an English landing. The English merchant fleet meanwhile suffered heavy losses to Dutch privateers. In addition, Louis now focused on taking the Spanish Netherlands, an objective as harmful to English interests as it was to Dutch. The resulting increase in domestic opposition forced Charles to agree the Second Peace of Westminster in February 1674.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).