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Michiel De RuyterMichiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (March 24, 1607 – April 29, 1676) is the most famous admiral in Dutch history. De Ruyter fought the English in the first three Anglo-Dutch Wars and scored several huge victories. De Ruyter was born in Vlissingen and became a sailor at the age of 11 in 1618. At the age of 22 he was perhaps already captain of a merchant ship. In 1641 he was captain of the Haze in a fleet fighting the Spanish, teaming up with the Portuguese during their rebellion. Between 1642 and 1652 he became a wealthy merchant. In the First Anglo-Dutch War(1652–1654), asked to join the expanding fleet as a subcommander, De Ruyter proved his worth under Admiral Maarten Tromp, winning the Battle of Plymouth. When the war ended after Tromp had been killed at the Battle of Scheveningen De Ruyter, now Vice-Admiral, declined supreme command but remained in the service of the Dutch navy. In 1659 he fought the Swedes under Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, teaming up with the Danish against the aggression of Charles X of Sweden and liberating Nyborg. For this he was knighted by the Danish king Frederick III of Denmark who would become a personal friend. A year before the Second Anglo-Dutch War officially started he fought in 1664 the English at the African coast, near Guinea, retaking the Dutch possessions occupied by Robert Holmes and then crossing the Atlantic to raid the British colonies in America. On his return in 1665 he learned that Van Wassenaer had been killed in the disastrous Battle of Lowestoft. Many had expected that command of the fleet now go to Tromp's son Cornelis Tromp (not least Tromp himself), but De Ruyter was so popular after his heroic return, he instead was made commander of the Dutch fleet, as Lieutenant-Admiral (a rank he shared with four others). In this Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667) he won a hard-fought victory in the Four Days Battle but narrowly escaped disaster in the St James's Day Battle (both in1666). He then became seriously ill, recovering just in time to take nominal command of the fleet executing the Raid on the Medway 1667. The Medway raid was a costly and embarrassing defeat for the English, bringing the Dutch close to London and the war to its end. De Ruyter saved the situation for the Dutch in the Third Anglo-Dutch War. His strategic victories over larger Anglo-French fleets at the Battles of Solebay (1672), Schooneveld and Texel (Kijkduin) (1673) warded off invasion. The new rank of Lieutenant-Admiral-General was made especially for him. De Ruyter was highly respected by his sailor soldiers, because of his dislike of hierarchy (himself being of humble origin), while at the same time not shying away from bold decisions, though he was a very cautious man by nature. De Ruyter was fatally wounded in a battle against the French fleet near Messina in Sicily in 1676, when a cannon ball hit both his legs. His body was buried in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in Amsterdam. External links Ruyter, Michiel de Ruyter, Michiel de Ruyter, Michiel de Ruyter, Michiel de
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