The Third Anglo Dutch war is viewed by some historians as the final Anglo-Dutch war because it was the last War between England and the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century. The Third Anglo Dutch war was more a naval conflict between England and the Dutch Republic in a larger war between the Dutch Republic and France. The third Anglo-Dutch war was caused by Charles II secretly signing the Treaty of Dover. The Treaty of Dover stated that Charles II would help the French king, Louis, to prepare and execute an invasion on the Southern Netherlands and that Charles II had to abandon the Triple Alliance. The French tried to invade the Dutch Republic in 1672. However, they were soon halted by the Dutch troops who had flooded the path that the French were expected to take, extending the time it took for the French to reach the Republic. At the same time, The Anglo-French fleet was surprised by the Dutch fleet under Michael de Ruyter. The Dutch fleet chose an aggressive defense and attacked the Anglo-French fleet at the English coast, destroying almost the entire Anglo-French Fleet, only to be stopped by an unfortunate change in the wind. Although the French and the English fleet tried a second attempt at an invasion they never succeeded in defeating the Dutch Republic. The French also tried to cross the water line over the winter ice, yet this attack was averted by a special part of the Dutch army on ice skates, and the partial thawing of the ice. The third Anglo-Dutch war ended in 1674 by the second Treaty of Westminster (1674). The Treaty stated that the Dutch had to pay 2 million guldens, that the saluting of English ships was to be affirmed and that Suriname was to become a Dutch colony in trade for the colony of New Netherlands. The trading of Suriname for the New Netherlands was a good deal for the Dutch Republic at the time because Suriname was ideal for making coffee plantations and other tropic spice plantations, unlike New Netherlands which was where modern day Manhattan lies. The only reason why England agreed to trade Suriname for the New Netherlands was because this would give England possession of the entire North American coast. The Dutch trade was once again almost completely stopped because of the third Anglo- Dutch war. Although the Dutch trade was almost completely shut down, the Dutch Republic did gain a large and very profitable colony.
The fourth Anglo-Dutch war was caused by the stop of economic growth in the Dutch republic as well as the regime change in England. With the Third Anglo- Dutch war over Willem III had become stadholder in 1673 and due to religious turmoil in England, Mary became the new Queen of England under the circumstances that her husband, Willem III, would become king. Willem III soon started to shift the economic headquarters from Amsterdam to London, and put a large part of the Dutch fleet under English command. Because of these changes the economic growth of the Dutch republic came to a standstill, whereas the England soon surpassed the Dutch Republic in profits from trades making them the new master traders of Europe. The English surpassing the Dutch trade in the fourth Anglo- Dutch war signified the decline of the Golden Age. When Willem III died in 1703, England ceased to be ruled by a Dutch king and the Dutch Republic became a separate country. The Dutch economy continued to work poorly, and with the Dutch supporting the American War of Independence, England declared war on the Dutch Republic again in 1780. The Dutch navy, which was significantly weaker that its former self in the Third Anglo-Dutch war, was incapable of protecting the Dutch trading fleet and was easily defeated by the English and the Fourth Anglo-Dutch war ended in 1784. The Colonies that the English had taken over during the war were all given back to the Dutch republic after the war ended. The fourth Anglo- Dutch war shows how weak the Dutch fleet and trade had become at the beginning of the eighteenth century and the Dutch Republic was lucky to get back there colonies after the war.
The Fifth Anglo-Dutch war occurred from 1795 to 1801. In 1789 the French Revolution broke out and by 1795 the Dutch republic had become part of the French empire and was from then on to be called the Batavian Republic. Because the French were at war with England, the Batavian republic was dragged into the war. The English once again took over all of the Dutch Colonies. The English defeated the Batavian fleet in 1797, and in 1799, the English and the Russians tried to invade the Batavian Republic yet this invasion was stopped by the French-Batavian army. Meanwhile in 1791 the West Indian Company was repealed, and in 1798 the East Indian Company suffered the same faith. The West and East Indian Companies were the companies which owned all the trading fleets that traveled to the Americas and the Easter colonies such as Java. The East Indian Trading Company was the Larger of the two companies and was set up in 1602. The companies depended on the Republic for their charters so they had to honor any treaties made by the Dutch and Batavian Republics which made them a direct reflection of how well the Dutch trade was doing. The repealing of the companies signified the definite end of the Golden Age as well as the time period in which the Dutch Republic was the most powerful nation in the World. In 1801 the Batavian Republic made peace with England and the Batavian Republic got its colonies back. The Fifth Anglo Dutch War basically confirmed that the Batavian Republic was not the powerful naval nation which it used to be and that the Dutch trade and the power that the Batavian and Dutch Republic once had was past its peak.
The causes of the Anglo-Dutch wars were mainly caused by conflicts in the trading industries. The Navigation act, which stated that for any herring caught within a 30 mile distance of the English coast a tribute had to be paid to the English government. Herring fishing was one of the Dutch Republics’ largest industries and almost all of the herring caught by Dutch fishermen was caught in the North Sea; 30 miles is about a third of the distance between England and the Netherlands, making it almost impossible for Dutch fishers to catch a significant amount of herring. Also the striking of the flag was by many Dutch sailors seen as an insult and a sign of submission and to an, at the time, inferior naval nation. The causes of the second and third Anglo- Dutch wars had little effect on the Dutch trade; however by the start of the fourth Anglo-Dutch war the Dutch economy had stopped growing. The regime change in England was a major setback to the Dutch trade because Willem III put the Dutch fleet in English command leaving only a few ships to protect the Dutch trading fleets. The causes of the fifth Anglo-Dutch war like the second and third, had little effect on the Dutch Trade because the Dutch Republic had now become a province of France as the Batavian Republic.
The Anglo- Dutch wars were overall a major setback to the Dutch trade. The Dutch trading ships usually sailed in fleets and under the protection of multiple battle ships. When war broke out with England the battle ships protecting the trading fleets were all sent away to fight the English navy leaving the Dutch trade in a vulnerable position for pirates, mutineers and the English naval fleet. When War broke out the Dutch Republic’s main route to its colonies and its other trading posts was cut off because of the geographic location of England and the Dutch republic. When a Dutch trading fleet would ship sail for its destination, no matter where in the world, it would sail through the English Channel because going past the North Pole was too dangerous. During the Anglo- Dutch wars the English Channel would be completely flooded with English naval ships making it nearly impossible for the Dutch trade to persist. With Ships unable to sail out the Dutch trade would come to almost a complete standstill. Although the Dutch navy dominated in the second and the third Anglo- Dutch war the trade was still affected by the difficulty of sailing through the English Channel. The fourth and Fifth Anglo Dutch wars were even a stronger punch to the Dutch Trade because of the enormous decrease in size of the Dutch fleet as well as the increase in strength of the English navy. The Dutch Republic and later Batavian republic were simply incapable of protecting their trading fleets, making it impossible for the Dutch trading and fishing fleets to sail out of there harbor and the Dutch colonies were easily taken over by the English. The title of the most profitable and strongest naval nation was basically handed to England on a silver platter.
The treaties of the Anglo Dutch wars impacted the Dutch trade the most throughout the wars. Because the East and West Indian companies had to honor the Treaties made by the Dutch and Batavian Republics, the treaties affected the Trade even more directly that the causes of the Anglo- Dutch wars and the wars themselves. The Treaty of Westminster (1654) never solved the problems that caused the first Anglo- Dutch war, the Navigation act still had to be obeyed and the Treaty also stated that the title of Stadholder had to be abolished making the Dutch Republic weaker that before the start of the war. Because the Navigation act was still supposed to be obeyed the East and West trading companies were still unable to trade with England and still had to strike their flags. The Treaty of Breda had a better influence on the Dutch trade, although England was allowed to keep its conquered territories England was forced to join the Triple alliance and the Navigation Act was modified making it easier for the Dutch Republic to trade good which it obtained in its colonies with England. The second Treaty of Westminster (1674) was the most productive Treaty of the Anglo- Dutch wars. Although the Dutch Republic had to pay two million guldens, they traded Suriname for the New Netherlands, a territory which technically was not in Dutch possession anymore. The profits gained from the plantations in Suriname also easily made up for the two million guldens lost because of the Treaty. The Treaties of the fourth and fifth Anglo- Dutch wars did not greatly benefit the Dutch and Batavian republics but were more a damage control to get back the colonies that were so easily taken over during the wars so that the Dutch and Batavian republics could still keep up some of the little trade that was left after the repealing of the East and West Indian trading Companies. The treaties of the Anglo- Dutch wars benefited the Dutch and Batavian republic overall, although the first treaty of Westminster and the treaties of the fourth and fifth Anglo- Dutch wars did not have a great impact on the Dutch trade, the Treaty of Breda and the second Treaty of Westminster helped the Dutch trade to flourish even more.
The Anglo- Dutch wars impacted the Dutch trade immensely. The causes of the Anglo- Dutch wars had little effect on the Dutch trade, and it was mainly the trading rivalry between England and the Dutch and Batavian republics that caused the Anglo- Dutch wars. The wars themselves caused the Dutch trade to come to an almost complete standstill every time there was a war, the risk of the trading fleets to be taken over by mutineers even if the fleet managed to get through the English Channel was even greater because most of the war ships were fighting the English navy. The Treaties of the Anglo- Dutch wars had the greatest impact on the Dutch trade simply because the East and West Indian companies had to obey the Treaties and even an entire new colony was obtained for trough a very favorable deal. The Dutch trade mainly flourished during the second and third Anglo- Dutch wars because of the strength that the Dutch naval fleet had at the time as well as having a brilliant Admiral commanding the war fleet. The fourth and Fifth Anglo- Dutch wars signified the decline of the Dutch trade and this was mainly because Willem III had put a large portion of the Dutch fleet under English command and when He died and England and the Dutch Republic split again the Dutch Republic never got back its fleet. Throughout the Anglo- Dutch wars the Dutch trade prospered but eventually collapsed because of the causes of the wars, the wars themselves and the Treaties.
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