![]() ![]() In the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch war, the Dutch managed to gain great victories on the British and the French, mostly lead by the legendary admiral De Ruyter. Nevertheless, the 17th century saw the Dutch navy being at the zenith of its power, ushering in the Dutch golden age and being the only European power that was allowed to trade with Japan during her period of isolation (or “ sakoku”). Despite being one of the earliest European colonial empires, the Dutch Empire that followed after was far more interested in commerce rather than territorial expansion - a holdover from its mercantile origins - and as such rarely bothered themselves with taking inland territories, and their standing navy was small compared to that of other empires’. Originally a series of private charters defending the interests of the various merchants, trading guilds and local authorities, it would eventually coalesce into a unified fighting force in the Eighty Years’ War, fighting for their independence from Spanish rule. The colorful beginnings of the first independent Dutch navy are as unique as the empire it would eventually be tasked to protect. HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën, Tier VIII cruiser ![]()
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