HMS Merlin (1666)
Encyclopedia
In 1671 the Royal Yacht Merlin played an important role in provoking the Third Anglo-Dutch War
. While carrying the wife of the British ambassador Sir William Temple, Dorothy Osborne
through the Dutch fleet anchored near Den Briel, the Dutch warships fired 'white smoke' as a salute, as was mandatory under treaty, but did not lower their flags. The 8-gun royal yacht started firing live rounds.
The Dutch commander Van Ghent
, who knew both Sir William and his wife very well, had himself rowed over to the small vessel to enquire what the problem was. The answer was that the yacht expected to be greeted as a full warship, as a 1662 treaty prescribed. Van Ghent answered that he was doubtful as to whether the Merlin was in that category and did not want to create a precedent.
Charles now ordered the intriguer George Downing
, the new ambassador in The Hague
, to demand that the admiral would be severely punished, which the States-General of the Netherlands
refused.
The yacht Merlin is again noted as the vessel that Captain Greenville Collins
commanded in the seven years between 1681 and 1693 when he created a complete survey of the coastline of the British coast. The work was published by Freeman Collins and sold by Richard Mount of London as the Great Britain's Coasting Pilot. It may have been based to some extent on Dutch maps but the speed and breadth of the work was identified as a laudable act of hydrography.
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo–Dutch War or Third Dutch War was a military conflict between England and the Dutch Republic lasting from 1672 to 1674. It was part of the larger Franco-Dutch War...
. While carrying the wife of the British ambassador Sir William Temple, Dorothy Osborne
Dorothy Osborne
Dorothy Osborne, Lady Temple was a British writer of letters and wife of Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet.-Life:Osborne was born at Chicksands Priory, Bedfordshire, England, the youngest of ten children born to a staunchly Royalist family. Her father was the nobleman Sir Peter Osborne, who was the...
through the Dutch fleet anchored near Den Briel, the Dutch warships fired 'white smoke' as a salute, as was mandatory under treaty, but did not lower their flags. The 8-gun royal yacht started firing live rounds.
The Dutch commander Van Ghent
Willem Joseph van Ghent
Willem Joseph baron van Ghent tot Drakenburgh was a 17th-century Dutch admiral. His surname is also sometimes rendered Gendt or Gent.-Early career:...
, who knew both Sir William and his wife very well, had himself rowed over to the small vessel to enquire what the problem was. The answer was that the yacht expected to be greeted as a full warship, as a 1662 treaty prescribed. Van Ghent answered that he was doubtful as to whether the Merlin was in that category and did not want to create a precedent.
Charles now ordered the intriguer George Downing
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet
Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish soldier, statesman, and diplomat. Downing Street in London is named after him. As Treasury Secretary he is credited with instituting major reforms in public finance. His influence was substantial on the passage and substance of the mercantilist...
, the new ambassador in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, to demand that the admiral would be severely punished, which the States-General of the Netherlands
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...
refused.
The yacht Merlin is again noted as the vessel that Captain Greenville Collins
Greenville Collins
Greenville Collins , was an English captain in the royal navy and hydrographer.Collins was in 1679 appointed commander of the Lark, a small frigate, apparently in some connection with the duties of the Trinity House, of which Collins was a younger brother...
commanded in the seven years between 1681 and 1693 when he created a complete survey of the coastline of the British coast. The work was published by Freeman Collins and sold by Richard Mount of London as the Great Britain's Coasting Pilot. It may have been based to some extent on Dutch maps but the speed and breadth of the work was identified as a laudable act of hydrography.