Battle of Vågen
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Vågen was a naval battle
between a Dutch
merchant and treasure fleet and an English
flotilla of warships in August 1665 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
. The battle took place in Vågen
(meaning "the bay, voe" in Norwegian
), the main port area of neutral Bergen
, Norway
. Due to a delay in orders the Norwegian commanders took the side of the Dutch, contrary to the secret intentions of the Danish king. The battle ended with the defeat of the English fleet, which retreated, much damaged but without losing any ships. The treasure fleet was relieved by the Dutch home fleet seventeen days later.
vessels under command of Commodore Pieter de Bitter
which were returning from the East Indies
. Twice each year the Dutch East India Company sent a Return Fleet back to the Netherlands. This one had departed on Christmas Day
1664 and had at that time the richest cargo ever. It was laden with many luxury goods, typical for the "rich trade": spices, among which 4 million catty
of pepper, 440,000 pounds of clove
, 314,000 pounds of nutmeg
, 121,600 pounds of mace and about half a million pounds of cinnamon
; 18,000 pounds of ebony
; 8690 catty of silk
and about 200,000 other pieces of cloth; 22,000 pounds of indigo
; 18,151 pearl
s; 2,933 rubies
, 3,084 raw diamond
s and 16,580 pieces of porcelain
, with a total European market value of about eleven million guilder
s or three million rigsdaler
, more than the total annual revenues of the Danish crown. The Dutch had paid the equivalence of 36 tons of gold, or 3,648,490 guilders, to buy this cargo.
In order to avoid the English fleet controlling the English Channel
after its victory in the Battle of Lowestoft
, the merchant fleet had sailed north of Scotland
in order to reach the Dutch Republic
from the north over the North Sea
. After having been dispersed by a storm on 29 June, most ships gathered in neutral Bergen harbor for shelter during July to wait for the repair of the Dutch home fleet after its defeat. The first three VOC-vessels, the yacht Kogge (cargo purchase value: 67,972 guilders), the fluyt
Diemermeer (cargo value 272,087 guilders) and the Jonge Prins (cargo value: 438,407 guilders) arrived on 19 July (Julian calendar
). On 29 July another seven vessels entered the harbour: the Walcheren (cargo value 346,964 guilders), Phoenix (cargo value 297,326 guilders), Slot Hooningen (cargo value 386,122 guilders), Brederode (cargo value 296,773 guilders), the yacht Rijzende Zon (cargo value 288,400 guilders) and the fluyts Wapen van Hoorn (cargo value 300,464 guilders) and Amstelland (cargo value 282,785 guilders). Not all of the VOC-fleet was present: the Muskaatboom (cargo value: 293,688 guilders) had disappeared in a storm near Madagascar and the yacht Nieuwenhoven (cargo value: 77,251 guilders) and the fluyt Ooievaar (cargo value: 300,246 guilders) had found refuge in Trondheim
. Except for the Diemermeer and Amstelland, the Dutch ships were heavily armed; many were specially built company vessels with the dual function of warship and merchantman.
The English battle fleet was from 4 July present in the North Sea to intercept the squadron of Vice-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter
of which it was known that it was about to arrive from America, having raided the English possessions there. The English fleet learned about the arrival the first ships of the VOC-fleet, already announced by the English ambassador in the Republic, George Downing, from a merchantman from Rostock
on 22 July. This caused a heated discussion about which target should have priority. The fleet commander, Lord Sandwich
, against the advice of most of his flag officers decided to split the fleet. On 30 July, after a merchantman from Ostend
had reported the other VOC-ships had also arrived, a small task force was dispatched to Bergen to capture or at least block the convoy. The flotilla under Rear-Admiral Thomas Teddiman
first consisted of 22 warships but it was reduced to fourteen when eight ships sailed too westerly, were swept beyond Bergen and could not beat up the wind to the south. Besides the gunships, the fireships Bryar, Greyhound and Martin Gally were present. Teddiman reached Bergen at six in the evening of 1 August, and blocked the entry to the bay. The beginning of the English action was inauspicious: Teddiman's flagship the Revenge ran aground that same evening at Cape Nordnes and only with much effort managed to work itself free. The entrance of the bay being only about 400 metres wide, the English could position but seven ships, from north to south: the Prudent Mary, Breda, Foresight, Bendish, Happy Return, Sapphire and the Pembroke. The others pointed their guns at the coastal batteries.
and Sverresborg
. Representatives from both fleets sought counsel with the Norwegian fortress commandant, Johan Caspar von Cicignon
and the commander of the Norwegian forces Claus von Ahlefeldt, who for now decided to remain out of the dispute. He had heard rumors of a secret deal between the English King Charles II
of England and King Frederick III
of Denmark-Norway, but no concrete orders had arrived. By treaty a force of five warships of any nation might enter the harbour; Von Ahlefeldt indicated he wouldn't allow anything else.
In fact a secret, purely oral, agreement had been made a week earlier between the English envoy, Sir Gilbert Talbot and the king of Denmark that Denmark-Norway would allow the English fleet to assault the Dutch convoy and that the loot would be shared in equal parts. This despite the fact that the Danish king was officially the ally of the Dutch. The king sent an order to von Ahlefeldt that he should protest the English attack, but take no action against it. This order did not reach Bergen in time. The English sent an order to their fleet to postpone their attack until Ahlefeldt had received his orders, but the messenger was intercepted en route by the Dutch. Teddiman had, however, been told that a deal was in the making. Both the English and the Danish king hoped to get a personal hold on much of the bounty, without the money flowing into their official national treasuries. Charles had instructed Lord Sandwich in a personal secret meeting to arrange for this. Lord Sandwich therefore sent his nephew, his namesake the courtier and adventurer Edward Montagu
(1635–1665), with Teddiman to ensure everything would proceed according to plan. Teddiman had been ordered to act as quickly and forcefully as possible to avoid an involvement of the main English fleet which would compromise secrecy.
in exchange for compliance. When he was again refused, Montagu made a little detour and let his boat row alongside the Dutch fleet to inspect their preparations. The Dutch respected the neutrality of the port, played the Wilhelmus
and saluted Montagu three times with white smoke. His vessel saluted back.
Meanwhile the city was in an uproar as English sailors had entered it to intimidate the population. Many citizens fled. De Bitter hastily called back the Dutch crews, most of them on shore leave in Bergen, by ringing the church bells. As few of them had much fighting experience — and many even weren't really Dutch — he raised their spirits by promising three months of extra wages in case of a victory. Such promises were legally binding under Dutch law and the news was met with great enthusiasm. When he ended his speech by asking: "Do you have the courage to stand up to the enemy or not?", the men according to the Dutch reports cheered: "Yes, sir! We'll remain firm until we'll have defeated the enemy and rather die than surrender such rich treasure or ourselves to the English!"
Most Dutch ships were very deep in the bay; at about 300 metres from the English line De Bitter positioned from north to south the Slot Hooningen, Catherina, his flagship the Walcheren, the Gulden Phenix and the Rijzende Zon. Thousands of sailors from the lighter ships were sent to reinforce the fortresses.
Early in the morning the English beat their drums and sounded their trumpets and the Dutch knew hostilities would soon begin. Their crews bared their heads for a short prayer and then hastily manned the guns.
When violence erupted at six in the morning of August 2 Old Style, both fleets engaged at merely some hundreds of metres distance of each other. Teddiman decided against using fireships in order not to endanger the precious cargo. Besides he didn't have the weather gage
and simply couldn't execute a direct attack. The Dutch had positioned their eight heaviest ships so that they could give broadsides at the English; most smaller guns had been moved to point at the enemy as manoeuvring would be impossible anyway. The English fleet was in a leeward position and thus had a better range, but the English gunners overcompensated for this, and so their shots mostly fell short. Fierce southern winds and rain blew the smoke from the English guns back to the ships, blinding them, and they were unaware the Dutch ships were rarely hit. As Bergen protrudes somewhat into the bay from the north, the most northern English vessels had to shoot just along it to reach the Dutch. An English shot landed in the fortress, killing four people. The commandant responded by firing back at the English fleet. The English fleet which in total possessed about 600 cannon
and 2000 men was in itself far superior to the Norwegian arsenal which had only 125 guns and 200-300 men. However the ships facing the Dutch were poorly positioned to answer the Norwegian fire. Besides most English vessels were frigates and unable to take as much damage as the large Dutch merchantmen, while the Dutch actually had some superiority in firepower. Teddiman had hoped Dutch morale would quickly break and made the mistake not to break off action when this didn't happen. After three hours of being mercilessly pounded, the English blocking ships were routed. Their panicked crews cut the anchor ropes, but some ships remained entangled and threatened to capsize because of the weight of the broken masts, so they had to anchor again under fire to cut them off. The English were forced to retreat, to Herdla
, at around ten in the morning.
The English had 421 casualties: 112 dead (among them most of the captains of the blocking ships) and 309 wounded. Andrew Marvell
wrote in his long ironic poem about the "Dutch War":
The "reached" was a typical sneer from Marvell, alluding to the fact Teddiman hadn't placed his flagship in the blocking line, though it was by far the most powerful ship he could employ.
In the biography of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
the story is told that Rochester, Montagu and George Windham, three young noblemen, had had a strong premonition of their death. They made a pact that whoever should perish first would appear to the other in spirit form. Late in the battle, George suddenly began to shake with fear. Edward embraced him for consolation and then both were slain by the same cannonball.
The Dutch convoy suffered some damage to their ships, especially the Catherina, a Mediterranean fleet vessel, and about 25 dead and seventy wounded. Eight men died in the fortress, and another ten died in the city.
The orders from Denmark reached Ahlefeldt six days later, on 8 August. With the Dutch merchant vessels still in Bergen, Ahlefeldt travelled to the English fleet at Herdla the next day to try to repair the damage, offering them a chance to attack again without interference from the fortress. The offer was rejected however as Teddiman knew he couldn't be ready in time before the actions of the main fleets had decided the outcome of the entire enterprise. Also Von Ahlefeldt refused to attack the Dutch himself. In the days after the battle the Dutch had strongly fortified their position: a chain was positioned in the entry of the bay and their sailors improved the fortifications, adding another hundred guns. As the wind turned north they expected a direct attack from Teddiman, but the British Rear-Admiral, though now rejoined with the eight vessels that had got separated, limited himself to observing the harbour; on 10 August he left to join the main fleet, that however had already been forced by lack of supplies to depart for England on 6 August, ignorant that it had failed to intercept De Ruyter.
On 13 August Sandwich, learning that De Ruyter had reached the Republic on 27 July, took sea again, sailing to the east, but failed to meet Teddiman's flotilla though it was but thirty miles to the north of him; both English forces were unaware of each other and of the fact that not fifty miles east of them, De Ruyter was heading north, having on arrival been appointed Lieutenant-Admiral and supreme commander of the rebuilt combined Dutch fleet, that was now out in force with 93 warships, 20 yachts, 12 fireships, 15,051 sailors, 4583 marines and 4337 cannons. Again returning to England, Sandwich joined Teddiman near Flamborough Head
on 18 August, anchoring at Solebay
on the 22nd to resupply and departing on the 28th.
Meanwhile on 19 August De Ruyter's relief fleet had arrived at Bergen; on 23 August he left again to shield a planned escape by the merchant fleet, but adverse gales forced him to return two days later. Only on 29 August did the Dutch merchant fleet leave the harbour. The very next day the convoy of 184 ships was struck by a hurricane, lasting till the afternoon of 1 September, that completely dispersed it. When the storm subsided De Ruyter had only 37 warships and eight merchantmen with him. Sandwich, now to the east of De Ruyter, on 3 September managed to intercept and take a straggling group of four warships, the Zevenwolden, Westvriesland, Groningen and Hoop and, much more important, two VOC-vessels: the Slot Hooningen and Gulden Phenix, that would again be lost by them during the Raid on the Medway
. Receiving the false news that De Ruyter was east of him with the mass of the Dutch fleet, Lord Sandwich retreated to the west to bring his prizes to safety, again narrowly missing De Ruyter, moving to the east. Montague would afterwards be severely criticised for this as he thus forwent an excellent opportunity to destroy the Dutch in detail or at least capture more of the treasure ships. He on 9 September managed however to intercept and capture a second group with two WIC
-vessels, four warships and seven fluyt
naval supply ships. After breaking off a chase of another thirty vessels, for fear of the shoals of the Frisian Isles
, he finally returned to Solebay on 11 September. The other Dutch vessels returned to the Dutch Republic safely, mostly reassembled by De Ruyter.
For the English the escape of the Dutch Return Fleet from the Indies was an enormous blow: they could only finance the war by capturing it. But the blow was somewhat softened by the later capture of the two VOC-merchantmen. Lord Sandwich was blamed for the failure and fell into disgrace. After his arrival in the Thames he illegally, but perhaps with connivance of Charles, took goods of considerable value from the hulls of the Slot Hooningen and Gulden Phenix, sold these in secret and divided the gain among his nine flag officers, reserving for himself ₤4000. When this came to light, Charles had no choice but to cashier him, though Sandwich defended his conduct by pointing out he took only a small part of the booty, the value of which was estimated by him at ₤500,000. Samuel Pepys
thus describes the impression of wealth when visiting one of the captured ships, in his diary entry of 16 November: "So I on board my Lord Bruncker; and there he and Sir Edmund Pooly carried me down into the hold of the India shipp, and there did show me the greatest wealth lie in confusion that a man can see in the world. Pepper scattered through every chink, you trod upon it; and in cloves and nutmegs, I walked above the knees; whole rooms full. And silk in bales, and boxes of copper-plate, one of which I saw opened (...)which was as noble a sight as ever I saw in my life(...)".
Lord Sandwich also thought he had been tricked by the Danish king, as Pepys recounts in his diary entry of 18 September: "But the main thing my Lord wonders at, and blames the Dane for, is, that the blockhead, who is so much in debt to the Hollander, having now a treasure more than much than all his Crowne was worth, and that which would for ever have begarred the Hollander, should not take this time to break with the Hollander, and thereby pay his debt that must have been forgiven him and have got the greatest treasure into his hands that ever was together in the world". In February 1666 the Danish king would declare war against England, after receiving large Dutch subsidies. Pieter de Bitter received an honorary golden chain from the States-General
.
Today, the Bergen Cathedral
has a cannonball
from the battle imbedded in the wall of its tower . Two wooden figures, depicting the head of a lion and the head of a unicorn, which were part of the decoration on the English vessels are kept in the Bergen Maritime Museum.
Naval battle
A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...
between a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
merchant and treasure fleet and an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
flotilla of warships in August 1665 as part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo–Dutch War was part of a series of four Anglo–Dutch Wars fought between the English and the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries for control over the seas and trade routes....
. The battle took place in Vågen
Vågen, Bergen
Vågen is a bay in the city centre of Bergen, Norway. It is the central harbour of the city centre, and is the center of the historical core of the city, which originated on the east shore of the bay. From there, it expanded to the southern and western shores over a few centuries.-References:...
(meaning "the bay, voe" in Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
), the main port area of neutral Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Due to a delay in orders the Norwegian commanders took the side of the Dutch, contrary to the secret intentions of the Danish king. The battle ended with the defeat of the English fleet, which retreated, much damaged but without losing any ships. The treasure fleet was relieved by the Dutch home fleet seventeen days later.
Arrival in Bergen
The Dutch merchant fleet consisted of about sixty vessels. Ten of them were Dutch East India Company (VOC)Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
vessels under command of Commodore Pieter de Bitter
Pieter de Bitter
Pieter de Bitter was a 17th century Dutch officer of the Dutch East India Company. On 12 August 1665 he won the Battle of Vågen against an English flotilla commanded by Thomas Teddiman....
which were returning from the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. Twice each year the Dutch East India Company sent a Return Fleet back to the Netherlands. This one had departed on Christmas Day
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
1664 and had at that time the richest cargo ever. It was laden with many luxury goods, typical for the "rich trade": spices, among which 4 million catty
Catty
The catty , symbol 斤, is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries in some wet markets, street markets, and shops. Related units include the picul, equal to 100 catties, and the tael, which is of a catty. A stone is a...
of pepper, 440,000 pounds of clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
, 314,000 pounds of nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
, 121,600 pounds of mace and about half a million pounds of cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
; 18,000 pounds of ebony
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
; 8690 catty of silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
and about 200,000 other pieces of cloth; 22,000 pounds of indigo
Indigo dye
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color . Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare. Nearly all indigo dye produced today — several thousand tons each year — is synthetic...
; 18,151 pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s; 2,933 rubies
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
, 3,084 raw diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s and 16,580 pieces of porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
, with a total European market value of about eleven million guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
s or three million rigsdaler
Danish rigsdaler
The rigsdaler was the name of several currencies used in Denmark until 1873. The similarly named Reichsthaler, riksdaler and rijksdaalder were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively....
, more than the total annual revenues of the Danish crown. The Dutch had paid the equivalence of 36 tons of gold, or 3,648,490 guilders, to buy this cargo.
In order to avoid the English fleet controlling the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
after its victory in the Battle of Lowestoft
Battle of Lowestoft
The naval Battle of Lowestoft took place on 13 June 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size commanded by James Stuart, Duke of York forty...
, the merchant fleet had sailed north of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in order to reach the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
from the north over the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. After having been dispersed by a storm on 29 June, most ships gathered in neutral Bergen harbor for shelter during July to wait for the repair of the Dutch home fleet after its defeat. The first three VOC-vessels, the yacht Kogge (cargo purchase value: 67,972 guilders), the fluyt
Fluyt
A fluyt, fluit, or flute is a Dutch type of sailing vessel originally designed as a dedicated cargo vessel. Originating from the Netherlands in the 16th century, the vessel was designed to facilitate transoceanic delivery with the maximum of space and crew efficiency...
Diemermeer (cargo value 272,087 guilders) and the Jonge Prins (cargo value: 438,407 guilders) arrived on 19 July (Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
). On 29 July another seven vessels entered the harbour: the Walcheren (cargo value 346,964 guilders), Phoenix (cargo value 297,326 guilders), Slot Hooningen (cargo value 386,122 guilders), Brederode (cargo value 296,773 guilders), the yacht Rijzende Zon (cargo value 288,400 guilders) and the fluyts Wapen van Hoorn (cargo value 300,464 guilders) and Amstelland (cargo value 282,785 guilders). Not all of the VOC-fleet was present: the Muskaatboom (cargo value: 293,688 guilders) had disappeared in a storm near Madagascar and the yacht Nieuwenhoven (cargo value: 77,251 guilders) and the fluyt Ooievaar (cargo value: 300,246 guilders) had found refuge in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
. Except for the Diemermeer and Amstelland, the Dutch ships were heavily armed; many were specially built company vessels with the dual function of warship and merchantman.
The English battle fleet was from 4 July present in the North Sea to intercept the squadron of Vice-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel de Ruyter
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably...
of which it was known that it was about to arrive from America, having raided the English possessions there. The English fleet learned about the arrival the first ships of the VOC-fleet, already announced by the English ambassador in the Republic, George Downing, from a merchantman from Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
on 22 July. This caused a heated discussion about which target should have priority. The fleet commander, Lord Sandwich
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG was an English Infantry officer who later became a naval officer. He was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montagu, and was brought up at Hinchingbrooke House....
, against the advice of most of his flag officers decided to split the fleet. On 30 July, after a merchantman from Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
had reported the other VOC-ships had also arrived, a small task force was dispatched to Bergen to capture or at least block the convoy. The flotilla under Rear-Admiral Thomas Teddiman
Thomas Teddiman
Thomas Teddeman was an English admiral of the 17th century. His name was also written as Teddiman or Teddyman....
first consisted of 22 warships but it was reduced to fourteen when eight ships sailed too westerly, were swept beyond Bergen and could not beat up the wind to the south. Besides the gunships, the fireships Bryar, Greyhound and Martin Gally were present. Teddiman reached Bergen at six in the evening of 1 August, and blocked the entry to the bay. The beginning of the English action was inauspicious: Teddiman's flagship the Revenge ran aground that same evening at Cape Nordnes and only with much effort managed to work itself free. The entrance of the bay being only about 400 metres wide, the English could position but seven ships, from north to south: the Prudent Mary, Breda, Foresight, Bendish, Happy Return, Sapphire and the Pembroke. The others pointed their guns at the coastal batteries.
Missed orders
At Vågen were the fortresses of BergenhusBergenhus Fortress
Bergenhus fortress is a fortress located in Bergen, Norway. Bergenhus fortress is located in the entrance to the harbor in Bergen. This is one of the oldest and best preserved castles in Norway.-History:...
and Sverresborg
Sverresborg (Bergen)
Sverresborg is a fortress and former castle situated in the Norwegian city of Bergen.-History:It was built by king Sverre Sigurdsson in the mid 1180's, 250 meters northeast of Bergenhus fortress. King Sverre Sigurdsson also had a Sverresborg built in Trondheim...
. Representatives from both fleets sought counsel with the Norwegian fortress commandant, Johan Caspar von Cicignon
Johan Caspar von Cicignon
Johan Caspar von Cicignon was a Luxembourg born soldier and military engineer who spent most of his career in the service of Denmark–Norway...
and the commander of the Norwegian forces Claus von Ahlefeldt, who for now decided to remain out of the dispute. He had heard rumors of a secret deal between the English King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
of England and King Frederick III
Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...
of Denmark-Norway, but no concrete orders had arrived. By treaty a force of five warships of any nation might enter the harbour; Von Ahlefeldt indicated he wouldn't allow anything else.
In fact a secret, purely oral, agreement had been made a week earlier between the English envoy, Sir Gilbert Talbot and the king of Denmark that Denmark-Norway would allow the English fleet to assault the Dutch convoy and that the loot would be shared in equal parts. This despite the fact that the Danish king was officially the ally of the Dutch. The king sent an order to von Ahlefeldt that he should protest the English attack, but take no action against it. This order did not reach Bergen in time. The English sent an order to their fleet to postpone their attack until Ahlefeldt had received his orders, but the messenger was intercepted en route by the Dutch. Teddiman had, however, been told that a deal was in the making. Both the English and the Danish king hoped to get a personal hold on much of the bounty, without the money flowing into their official national treasuries. Charles had instructed Lord Sandwich in a personal secret meeting to arrange for this. Lord Sandwich therefore sent his nephew, his namesake the courtier and adventurer Edward Montagu
Edward Montagu (died 1665)
Edward Montagu , was an English politician, courtier and naval officer. He was the MP for Sandwich, Kent.-Life:He was the eldest son of the second Baron Montagu. He was educated at Westminster School, matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on 5 June 1651, and was admitted at Sidney Sussex College,...
(1635–1665), with Teddiman to ensure everything would proceed according to plan. Teddiman had been ordered to act as quickly and forcefully as possible to avoid an involvement of the main English fleet which would compromise secrecy.
Eve of the battle
When Teddiman sent Montagu to Bergen to coordinate the attack, to his great disappointment the Danish commanders refused to cooperate. At 4:00 AM Montagu returned but was immediately sent back by Teddiman, now to threaten the fortresses with violence should they remain obstinate. Montagu claimed the English fleet had 2000 cannon and 6000 men, a claim which made little impression, as it was obvious he was exaggerating the true size by about three times. He was taken even less seriously when he offered the Order of the GarterOrder of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
in exchange for compliance. When he was again refused, Montagu made a little detour and let his boat row alongside the Dutch fleet to inspect their preparations. The Dutch respected the neutrality of the port, played the Wilhelmus
Wilhelmus
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe, usually known just as the Wilhelmus , , is the national anthem of the Netherlands and is the oldest national anthem in the world though the words of the Japanese national anthem date back to the ninth century...
and saluted Montagu three times with white smoke. His vessel saluted back.
Meanwhile the city was in an uproar as English sailors had entered it to intimidate the population. Many citizens fled. De Bitter hastily called back the Dutch crews, most of them on shore leave in Bergen, by ringing the church bells. As few of them had much fighting experience — and many even weren't really Dutch — he raised their spirits by promising three months of extra wages in case of a victory. Such promises were legally binding under Dutch law and the news was met with great enthusiasm. When he ended his speech by asking: "Do you have the courage to stand up to the enemy or not?", the men according to the Dutch reports cheered: "Yes, sir! We'll remain firm until we'll have defeated the enemy and rather die than surrender such rich treasure or ourselves to the English!"
Most Dutch ships were very deep in the bay; at about 300 metres from the English line De Bitter positioned from north to south the Slot Hooningen, Catherina, his flagship the Walcheren, the Gulden Phenix and the Rijzende Zon. Thousands of sailors from the lighter ships were sent to reinforce the fortresses.
Battle
When violence erupted at six in the morning of August 2 Old Style, both fleets engaged at merely some hundreds of metres distance of each other. Teddiman decided against using fireships in order not to endanger the precious cargo. Besides he didn't have the weather gage
Weather gage
The weather gage is a nautical term used to describe the advantageous position of a fighting sailing vessel, relative to another. The term is from the Age of Sail, and is now antiquated. A ship is said to possess the weather gage if it is in any position, at sea, upwind of the other vessel...
and simply couldn't execute a direct attack. The Dutch had positioned their eight heaviest ships so that they could give broadsides at the English; most smaller guns had been moved to point at the enemy as manoeuvring would be impossible anyway. The English fleet was in a leeward position and thus had a better range, but the English gunners overcompensated for this, and so their shots mostly fell short. Fierce southern winds and rain blew the smoke from the English guns back to the ships, blinding them, and they were unaware the Dutch ships were rarely hit. As Bergen protrudes somewhat into the bay from the north, the most northern English vessels had to shoot just along it to reach the Dutch. An English shot landed in the fortress, killing four people. The commandant responded by firing back at the English fleet. The English fleet which in total possessed about 600 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and 2000 men was in itself far superior to the Norwegian arsenal which had only 125 guns and 200-300 men. However the ships facing the Dutch were poorly positioned to answer the Norwegian fire. Besides most English vessels were frigates and unable to take as much damage as the large Dutch merchantmen, while the Dutch actually had some superiority in firepower. Teddiman had hoped Dutch morale would quickly break and made the mistake not to break off action when this didn't happen. After three hours of being mercilessly pounded, the English blocking ships were routed. Their panicked crews cut the anchor ropes, but some ships remained entangled and threatened to capsize because of the weight of the broken masts, so they had to anchor again under fire to cut them off. The English were forced to retreat, to Herdla
Herdla
Herdla is an island in Askøy, Norway, at the north end of the island of Askøy. The island was part of the municipality of Herdla until 1 January 1964. The island has a nature reserve with 220 registered species of birds...
, at around ten in the morning.
The English had 421 casualties: 112 dead (among them most of the captains of the blocking ships) and 309 wounded. Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...
wrote in his long ironic poem about the "Dutch War":
- Six Captains bravely were shot,
- And Mountagu, though drest like any bride,
- Aboard the Admiral, was reacht, and died
The "reached" was a typical sneer from Marvell, alluding to the fact Teddiman hadn't placed his flagship in the blocking line, though it was by far the most powerful ship he could employ.
In the biography of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts...
the story is told that Rochester, Montagu and George Windham, three young noblemen, had had a strong premonition of their death. They made a pact that whoever should perish first would appear to the other in spirit form. Late in the battle, George suddenly began to shake with fear. Edward embraced him for consolation and then both were slain by the same cannonball.
The Dutch convoy suffered some damage to their ships, especially the Catherina, a Mediterranean fleet vessel, and about 25 dead and seventy wounded. Eight men died in the fortress, and another ten died in the city.
Ships involved
United Provinces |
|||
| Ship name | Commander | Guns | Notes |
| Slot Hooningen | Herman de Ruyter | 60 | |
| Catharina | Ruth Maximilian | 40 | Ran aground |
| Walcheren | Pieter de Bitter | 60 - 70 | |
| Jonge Prins | Jacob Jochemszoon | 60 - 66 | |
| Gulden Phenix | Jacob Burckhorst | 65 | |
| Rijzende Zon | Unknown | 50 | |
| Kogge | Luyt Pieterszoon | 45 | |
| Wapen van Hoorn | Pieter Willemszoon van Weesp | 60 - 66 | |
England |
|||
| Ship name | Commander | Guns | Notes |
| Prudent Mary | Thomas Haward | 28 | |
| Breda | Thomas Seale | 40 - 48 | |
| Foresight | Packington Brooks | 34 - 48 | |
| Bendish | Robert Taylor | 42 | |
| Happy Return | James Lambert | 52 | |
| Sapphire | Thomas Elliot | 36 - 40 | |
| Pembroke | Richard Cotton | 22 - 34 | |
| Guernsey | John Utber | 22 - 30 | |
| Revenge | Thomas Teddiman | 60 | |
| Golden Lion HMS Lion (1557) Golden Lion The 'HMS' prefix was not used until the middle of the Eighteenth Century, but is sometimes applied retrospectively was a ship of the English Royal Navy, launched in 1557. She was rebuilt for the first time in 1582.By the time of her second rebuild, in 1609, she was known as Lion... |
William Dale | 42 | |
| Society | Ralph Lascelles | 44 | |
| Norwich | John Wetwang | 24 - 30 | |
| Guinea | Thomas Room Coyle | 34 - 40 | |
Aftermath
On 13 August Sandwich, learning that De Ruyter had reached the Republic on 27 July, took sea again, sailing to the east, but failed to meet Teddiman's flotilla though it was but thirty miles to the north of him; both English forces were unaware of each other and of the fact that not fifty miles east of them, De Ruyter was heading north, having on arrival been appointed Lieutenant-Admiral and supreme commander of the rebuilt combined Dutch fleet, that was now out in force with 93 warships, 20 yachts, 12 fireships, 15,051 sailors, 4583 marines and 4337 cannons. Again returning to England, Sandwich joined Teddiman near Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head is a promontory of on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, and the resistance it offers to coastal erosion may be contrasted with the low coast of Holderness to the south...
on 18 August, anchoring at Solebay
Solebay
Solebay may refer to:* Battle of Solebay* HMS Solebay* Southwold...
on the 22nd to resupply and departing on the 28th.
Meanwhile on 19 August De Ruyter's relief fleet had arrived at Bergen; on 23 August he left again to shield a planned escape by the merchant fleet, but adverse gales forced him to return two days later. Only on 29 August did the Dutch merchant fleet leave the harbour. The very next day the convoy of 184 ships was struck by a hurricane, lasting till the afternoon of 1 September, that completely dispersed it. When the storm subsided De Ruyter had only 37 warships and eight merchantmen with him. Sandwich, now to the east of De Ruyter, on 3 September managed to intercept and take a straggling group of four warships, the Zevenwolden, Westvriesland, Groningen and Hoop and, much more important, two VOC-vessels: the Slot Hooningen and Gulden Phenix, that would again be lost by them during the Raid on the Medway
Raid on the Medway
The Raid on the Medway, sometimes called the Battle of the Medway, Raid on Chatham or the Battle of Chatham, was a successful Dutch attack on the largest English naval ships, laid up in the dockyards of their main naval base Chatham, that took place in June 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War...
. Receiving the false news that De Ruyter was east of him with the mass of the Dutch fleet, Lord Sandwich retreated to the west to bring his prizes to safety, again narrowly missing De Ruyter, moving to the east. Montague would afterwards be severely criticised for this as he thus forwent an excellent opportunity to destroy the Dutch in detail or at least capture more of the treasure ships. He on 9 September managed however to intercept and capture a second group with two WIC
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
-vessels, four warships and seven fluyt
Fluyt
A fluyt, fluit, or flute is a Dutch type of sailing vessel originally designed as a dedicated cargo vessel. Originating from the Netherlands in the 16th century, the vessel was designed to facilitate transoceanic delivery with the maximum of space and crew efficiency...
naval supply ships. After breaking off a chase of another thirty vessels, for fear of the shoals of the Frisian Isles
Frisian Islands
The Frisian Islands, also known as the Wadden Islands or Wadden Sea Islands, form an archipelago at the eastern edge of the North Sea in northwestern Europe, stretching from the north-west of the Netherlands through Germany to the west of Denmark...
, he finally returned to Solebay on 11 September. The other Dutch vessels returned to the Dutch Republic safely, mostly reassembled by De Ruyter.
For the English the escape of the Dutch Return Fleet from the Indies was an enormous blow: they could only finance the war by capturing it. But the blow was somewhat softened by the later capture of the two VOC-merchantmen. Lord Sandwich was blamed for the failure and fell into disgrace. After his arrival in the Thames he illegally, but perhaps with connivance of Charles, took goods of considerable value from the hulls of the Slot Hooningen and Gulden Phenix, sold these in secret and divided the gain among his nine flag officers, reserving for himself ₤4000. When this came to light, Charles had no choice but to cashier him, though Sandwich defended his conduct by pointing out he took only a small part of the booty, the value of which was estimated by him at ₤500,000. Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
thus describes the impression of wealth when visiting one of the captured ships, in his diary entry of 16 November: "So I on board my Lord Bruncker; and there he and Sir Edmund Pooly carried me down into the hold of the India shipp, and there did show me the greatest wealth lie in confusion that a man can see in the world. Pepper scattered through every chink, you trod upon it; and in cloves and nutmegs, I walked above the knees; whole rooms full. And silk in bales, and boxes of copper-plate, one of which I saw opened (...)which was as noble a sight as ever I saw in my life(...)".
Lord Sandwich also thought he had been tricked by the Danish king, as Pepys recounts in his diary entry of 18 September: "But the main thing my Lord wonders at, and blames the Dane for, is, that the blockhead, who is so much in debt to the Hollander, having now a treasure more than much than all his Crowne was worth, and that which would for ever have begarred the Hollander, should not take this time to break with the Hollander, and thereby pay his debt that must have been forgiven him and have got the greatest treasure into his hands that ever was together in the world". In February 1666 the Danish king would declare war against England, after receiving large Dutch subsidies. Pieter de Bitter received an honorary golden chain from the States-General
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
.
Today, the Bergen Cathedral
Bergen Cathedral
Bergen Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Bjørgvin. Located in the city centre of Bergen, Norway, the first recorded reference to it is dated 1181. It retains its ancient dedication to St Olaf ....
has a cannonball
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
from the battle imbedded in the wall of its tower . Two wooden figures, depicting the head of a lion and the head of a unicorn, which were part of the decoration on the English vessels are kept in the Bergen Maritime Museum.
Sources
Bergen Cathedral- Vrakrestene etter slaget på Vågen (Wreckage after the battle of Vågen) Article in Bergens TidendeBergens TidendeBergens Tidende is Norway's fourth largest newspaper and largest newspaper outside Oslo, with a circulation of about 87,000 copies . Founded in 1868, it is a Norwegian-language newspaper published daily in Bergen. It reaches approximately 260,000 readers every day , mainly in the counties of...
, January 7, 2005. (in Norwegian) - Slag in de Baai van Bergen, 12 augustus 1665 (in Dutch)
- Warnsinck, JCM, Van Vlootvoogden en Zeeslagen, PN van Kampen & Zoon, 1940
- List of sailing warships