Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
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| Anglo-Dutch Wars |
|---|
| First – Second – Third – Fourth |
At the end of the 18th century, unrest was growing in the Netherlands. Fights were starting between the Orangists, wanting stadtholder William V of Orange to exercise more power, and the patriots, who under influence of the American Revolution and the Enlightenment wanted a more democratic government. The government tried to resolve internal conflict by uniting the people against a common enemy. Though Great Britain and the Republic had been allies since the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Dutch had become very much the junior partner in the alliance, losing their erstwhile world trade dominance to the British. This led to resentment and so Britain was the ideal candidate for the enemy role, especially as the patriots were pro-French.
The United Provinces were the first country to salute the American flag, and Great Britain was ever after suspicious of the Dutch attitude. These suspicions seemed to be confirmed when the Dutch refused to take its side in the war against France even though the Republic was obliged by treaty (1678) to do so. Also the Dutch claimed the British had no right searching their ships for weapons for the rebels, as "contraband" should be interpreted in the narrow sense of goods belonging to the enemy. The Republic then officially adopted a policy of armed neutrality. This would allow the French to use Dutch colonies - that is, in effect all the key positions in the trade to Asia - as supply stations. Britain declared war before the Dutch could join a group of neutral countries sworn to mutual assistance. The direct incident that caused the declaration of war was the discovery of a secret trade treaty proposed by the city of Amsterdam to the Americans. The Dutch had not at all expected such a severe reaction; they had in their folly given the British a perfect pretext to diminish Dutch power even more. This Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (Dutch: Vierde Engelse oorlog) (1780-1784) proved a disaster for the Netherlands, particularly economically.
The Dutch navy seemed no match for the British navy, now having only twenty ships of the line. Dutch naval power had been in decline ever since 1712. Britain had already gained supremacy (against France) on the high seas long before, in the Seven Years' War. The Dutch fought a minor skirmish with the British at the Battle of Dogger Bank, but had to avoid any other fighting. The Dutch had already embarked on a major, rushed, shipbuilding project, 84 warships between 1777 and 1789. Due to all kind of mishap (storms, collisions, strandings) about a third of the Dutch fleet sank between 1782 and 1784. Coordination with the allies in the war, France and Spain, was poor. The new ships weren't ready in time to prevent Britain from taking factual control of the Dutch colonies and making William a puppet, only able to rule with Prussian military assistance (Triple Alliance (1788)). The Republic joined a cease fire between Britain and France in January 1783. The Peace of Paris made Negapatnam, in India, a British colony. Ceylon, though taken was nominally given back. The British gained the right of free trade with part of the Dutch East Indies.
