Dunkirkers
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During the Dutch Revolt (1568 - 1648) the Dunkirkers, Dunkirk Privateers or Flemish Warfleet, were warships in the service of the Spanish Empire operating from the ports of the Flemish coast: Nieuwpoort, Ostend, and in particular Dunkirk. Throughout the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch Republican fleet tried to destroy the Flemish fleet, but barely succeeded. The Dunkirk Privateers started as a group of warships outfitted by the Spanish government, but soon came to include mostly privately-owned and outfitted warships.
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[edit] Origins and Function
Dunkirk was in the hands of the Dutch rebels from 1577 until 1583, when Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, re-established the sovereignty of Philip II of Spain as count of Flanders. Dunkirk was, at the time, an important, strategically positioned town with its approaches shielded by sandbanks. In 1583, Parma assembled a small royal squadron of warships to destroy Dutch naval trade and fisheries. However, it did not take long before the Habsburg authorities in the Low Countries began issuing letters of Marque, and privately-owned warships filled the ranks of the Flemish Warfleet. These privately-owned warships were known in Dutch as the "particulieren", to distinguish them from the royal warships that were also part of the fleet. At its peak, the Flemish Warfleet numbered about a hundred warships. Apart from targeting trade and fishing, the royal squadron was often used to transport troops between Spain and the Spanish Netherlands.
[edit] Effectiveness
Despite a near constant blocking of the port of Dunkirk by Dutch warships, the privateers often managed to evade the blockade and inflict damage on Dutch shipping. Though the blockade was successful at times and prevented the Dunkirkers from reaching open sea, during the winter months the blockade was extremely difficult to maintain for the Dutch and permitted virtually free passage. Sometimes small naval battles ensued when privateers tried to break out or when Dutch warships tried to destroy the privateers in their harbours. During one of these Dutch attacks, the famous Dutch folk hero Piet Pieterszoon Hein, known from capturing the Spanish treasure fleet, was killed. The Dutch declared the Dunkirk privateers pirates in 1587; captains of Dutch naval vessels had to swear an oath that they would throw or beat all prisoners from Dunkirk warships into the sea. This harsh standing order was very unpopular with Dutch crews, however, as Dunkirkers were also mainly Netherlanders, although many other nationalities were among them. The order was often evaded by putting Dunkirk seamen off on one of the many shallow shoals off the Flemish coast from which they could wade to dry land.
The Dunkirkers had an extremely wide range for their era. Although mainly operating in and around the Channel, they also sailed near the Danish and German coastal areas to intercept Dutch ships returning from the Baltic, and operated in Spanish and Mediterranean waters. They cooperated closely with the Spanish navy, e.g. in the Battle of the Downs. This combined effort reached a peak of effectiveness during the time the Eighty Years War merged with the Thirty Years' War. To evade the Dutch navy the Dunkirk admiralty had a special type of small and very manoeuvrable warship constructed, the frigate. Frigate-like shiptypes were soon adopted by many professional navies and still have their modern-day counterparts.
In 1600 the Dutch sent an army to conquer the city of Dunkirk and stop the privateering once and for all. The Dutch invasion force clashed with a Spanish army and although the Dutch won the resulting Battle of Nieuwpoort the Dutch commander, stadtholder Maurits of Nassau, decided to turn back to the Republic. The Flemish Fleet continued to be especially damaging to Hollandish and Zeelandish fishing on herring, almost completely wiping out the sector on several occasions. However, Dutch merchantmen proved far more valuable targets, sometimes vessels on their way back from Russia or as far as the Indies were captured, along with their valuable cargoes.
After 1621, when the Twelve Years' Truce ended, the Dunkirkers became a real plague for Dutch shipping, capturing on average 229 merchantmen and fishing vessels per year. During this period they took about sixty British vessels each year, as neutral shipping carrying munitions and victuals to the enemy were also considered 'good prize'. This was one of the major concerns of Charles I of England's diplomatic representative in Brussels, Sir Balthasar Gerbier, who eventually managed to have tobacco taken off the list of 'victuals'. One of the most successful raiders of this period was Jacob Collaert. It was not until October 1646, when the French captured Dunkirk with Dutch naval support, that the privateers were no longer a threat. However, when after 1672 France and the Dutch Republic became enemies, privateering activities were resumed and would last intermittently until 1712. A famous Dunkirk privateer from this period was Jean Bart.
[edit] References
- R.A. Stradling, The Armada of Flanders: Spanish Maritime Policy and European War, 1568-1668 (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History; Cambridge University Press, 1992) ISBN 978-0521405348 (issued in paperback 2004, ISBN 978-0521525121).
- J.R. Bruijn, C.B. Wels et al., Met Man en Macht, De Militaire Geschiedenis van Nederland 1550-2000, (Balans 2003), p. 59-61: "Bestrijding van de Vlaamse Oorlogsvloot"
