In that article we dedicated to the tragic end of the Dutch Prime Minister and his brother in 1672, we explained that the Treaty of Dover, signed between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France, led to the so-called Third Anglo-Dutch War. In this conflict, the French army was halted by the floods caused by the opening of sluices along the so-called Water Line, and the masterful actions of the Dutch fleet prevented the invasion of their country. Today, we will see how two of their squadrons also carried out a daring naval raid against French and English colonies in America, briefly reclaiming the New Netherlands.

The Nieuw-Nederland, as they were called in their language, formed the colonial province in North America of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, the state that emerged in 1579 after gaining independence from Spain during the Eighty Years’ War (although it was not officially recognized until 1648). Comprising the union of Friesland, Groningen, Gelderland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, and Holland—which ultimately lent its name to the whole for a long time—it prospered economically and culturally during its Golden Age, thanks to maritime trade developed through the Dutch East India Company.

The VOC—an acronym for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie—was one of those typical enterprises of its time, historically categorized as privileged. It operated under a state monopoly and was authorized not only to trade but also to function practically as a state itself, minting currency, administering justice, negotiating treaties, declaring war, waging it (it had its own army and fleet), and founding colonies. Although its name suggests otherwise, it carried out this last activity not only in Asia but also in America, although it later handed over the reins to the newly established West India Company.

Dutch reclaim New york
The United Provinces in the 18th century, when they had already wrested the States of the Generality from Spain and annexed Drenthe. Credit: Joostik / Wikimedia Commons

The territory it governed was situated between those belonging to France and England on the east coast of what is now the United States. Henry Hudson, the sailor they hired for the task, discovered the mouth of the river that bears his name—although the Tuscan Giovanni da Verrazano had already done so in 1524 for the French king Francis I—and established a trading post on Manhattan Island, purchasing furs from the Lenape natives. In 1626, Peter Minuit purchased the land from them, built a fort, and founded the colony of Nieuw Haarlem—or, more commonly, Nieuw Holland, New Holland—a territory much larger than its metropolitan counterpart.

Over time, it expanded from the Delmarva Peninsula (situated between the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays) to Cape Cod, encompassing the modern states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, as well as smaller areas of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. In 1664, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Royal Navy sailed to the region, and Governor Peter Stuyvesant had no choice but to surrender the colony to the British. Its capital, New Amsterdam, was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II of England.

Three years later, through the Treaty of Breda, the Republic of the Seven United Provinces relinquished its claims to New Holland in exchange for possession of what the Spanish called Suriname in South America (named after the Surinen tribe that inhabited it), which they renamed Dutch Guiana, a territory until then contested with His Gracious Majesty. Neither side imagined that there would be a third confrontation in which the Dutch would reclaim New Holland, especially given the course of the conflict, with the allied France and England on the brink of invading the Republic’s homeland.

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The purchase of Manhattan, in an illustration by Alfred Fredericks. Credit: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

The Dutch were not alone in the conflict, this time enjoying the unofficial support of Spain under Charles II and the Holy Roman Empire under Leopold I. Additionally, the war was unpopular in England, as it forced an alliance with Louis XIV, a Catholic monarch. The French king was so convinced of his troops’ invincibility that he proposed deliberately unacceptable terms during negotiations. He was taken aback when the enemy opened the sluices and flooded the polders (land reclaimed from the sea for cultivation), halting his advance. However, the Republic faced severe economic difficulties that hindered its supply chain, which relied primarily on maritime routes.

Since raising taxes was risky—the fiscal revenue was allocated to military expenses—two potential solutions were considered: raiding the merchant ships of the British East India Company or launching a naval raid against the enemy’s colonies. The Admiralty chose the latter option and began preparing the mission, entrusting it to one of the brilliant sailors produced by a generation that included Michiel de Ruyter, Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp, Jacob Van Wassenaer Obdam, Witte de With, Cornelis Tromp, Aert Jansse van Nes, and others.

His name was Cornelis Evertsen the Younger. Only thirty years old, he came from a family of navigators in which both his father and uncle had become admirals. A native of Zeeland, he was of Protestant faith and had embarked on a maritime career from a young age, serving as a privateer and always demonstrating a gruff temperament that earned him the nickname Keesje den Duvel (“Little Devil Cornelis”) and inspired some anecdotes: on one occasion, he was captured by the English and had to be prevented from blowing up his own ship; when the enemy captain asked about a bullet hole in his hat, he replied that he would have preferred a shot a bit lower to spare him the humiliation.

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Situation of the United Provinces in 1672: lands of the republic (yellow); of the Holy Empire (gold); of Spain and the Bishopric of Liège (red); invaded by France (dark blue); claimed by France (light blue); and claimed by England (green). Credit: JMvanDijk / Wikimedia Commons

In 1666, after gaining experience in numerous battles with the Zeeland navy (and witnessing the horrific death of his father, torn in two by a cannon shot), he was appointed Admiral of Zeeland—the youngest to date—and at the outbreak of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, he was sent to Africa to successfully expel the British expedition led by Sir Robert Holmes, whose objective was to seize the Republic’s settlements on the Atlantic coast. Now, in 1672, Evertsen’s mission was to attack the enemy’s holdings in America, for which he was given command of a squadron of six ships and half a thousand men, including sailors and marines.

They set sail from Vlissingen in November, entered the Atlantic, captured some English ships, and, as the weather worsened, took refuge in the Canary Islands, proceeding afterward to Cape Verde. There, a larger English fleet appeared unexpectedly, forcing them to hastily escape by lightening their ships’ holds to increase speed. However, without any gains, Evertsen’s future in the Republic looked bleak, so despite his precarious situation, he decided not to return and set course for America. Although the plan was to attack the French colony of Cayenne, a prior reconnaissance of the area advised against it, so he continued toward Suriname.

There, he was finally able to resupply and continue to Martinique, where he encountered another Dutch squadron, this one from Amsterdam, commanded by Jacob Binckes. This sailor, five years older than Evertsen, had previously commanded a frigate during the famous 1667 raid that surprised the English by sailing up the Thames and was now in the Caribbean seeking spoils after escorting the Spanish Treasure Fleet from the Azores to Cádiz. The two captains agreed to combine their forces against English and French colonies, alternating command weekly.

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Portrait of Cornelis Evertsen the Younger painted by Nicolaes Maes. Credit: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

First, they attacked Guadeloupe, capturing several merchant ships. They then failed at Nevis, prompting them to move on to the nearby island of Saint Kitts, where they seized more ships and subsequently recaptured Sint Eustatius, which England had recently taken from them; Saba fell with it. They remained there for a time, resting and confiscating slaves from Dutch owners who had collaborated with the enemy. These slaves were taken with them when they re-embarked to sell in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, the Spanish authorities did not allow them to dock, so they conducted the sale in Suriname.

After completing this operation, they set their next target: continental North America. Virginia was the first step, but its governor was warned and hastily began building fortifications while gathering as many troops as he could. The real danger lay in Evertsen and Binckes’s plan to capture the Virginian fleet, which, along with Maryland’s, was preparing to sail to England with its tobacco cargoes. The metropolis sent two 50-gun frigates as escorts: the HMS Barnaby, commanded by Thomas Gardiner, and the HMS Augustine, under Edward Cotterell. Thus began a curious game of cat and mouse.

The two English warships approached the Dutch, who were lying in wait for the convoy at Cape Henry, to distract them and buy time for the convoy, which was unwittingly descending Chesapeake Bay, to escape. But the ruse was futile, as the Dutch were facing a fleet of twenty ships, and after days of fighting, several English ships ran aground on the shoals of Hampton Roads, while the rest fled toward Jamestown. Four were burned, and the remaining two were plundered, with the value of their precious cargoes amounting to approximately 240,000 florins.

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Jacob Binckes also portrayed by Nicolaes Maes. Credit: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

This action, which took place in July 1673, has gone down in history as the Battle of the James River. Days later, they captured an English ketch carrying important passengers: James Carteret, his French fiancée (surname Delavall), and Samuel Hopkins. These two men had conspired against John Berkeley, governor of New Jersey, a colony owned by him and James’s father, the baronet George Carteret (of whom James was, in fact, the illegitimate son); it is worth noting that in the early British colonial period, American settlements were granted by the Crown to lords as personal concessions.

James Carteret and his fiancée were released in exchange for organizing a prisoner exchange with the governor. Meanwhile, the Dutch also extracted valuable information from Hopkins: the governor of New York, John Lovelace, was absent, and the colony’s defenses were reduced to Fort James, a small fort built on Manhattan when it was still New Amsterdam, with no subsequent improvements. Its garrison consisted of only sixty soldiers and about thirty small-caliber cannons. Evertsen and Binckes, commanding twenty-three ships and 1,600 men, saw a golden opportunity; they had another objective for their mission and set sail.

On July 30, they anchored at Staten Island, where they were joined by several Dutch colonists dissatisfied with English rule, who confirmed the information they had. The two captains drafted a proclamation to the British population announcing the retaking of New Amsterdam and promising fair treatment if they surrendered.

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Map of the Battle of the James River. Credit: maps.bpl.org / Wikimedia Commons / Flickr

A delegation sent by the commander of the fort demanded to see the order issued by the Staten-Generaal (States General) regarding the matter; obviously, there was none, and Evertsen, in one of his characteristic fits of fury, replied that the commission was stuck in the mouth of his cannon, and they would have the chance to see it up close if they did not surrender.

But the fort’s commander, John Manning, refused, initiating an exchange of volleys that ended when six hundred Dutch marines, led by another young officer, Anthonij Colve, disembarked and were joined by many Dutch settlers, forcing the surrender of the position. On August 12, a krijgsraad (war council) was established, in which New York was renamed New Orange, and Colve was appointed provisional governor general. From there, a naval force of four ships, under the command of Nicholas Boes, was dispatched northward to attack the fishing fleet operating off Newfoundland. Once again, they were successful: they destroyed a fort, sank many ships, and captured large shipments of fish.

Evertsen and Binckes were so laden with loot that they decided it was time to return to their country to deliver it. They set sail in mid-September, reached the Azores by late October, lost some of the thirty-four ships they had captured due to a storm, and arrived in Cádiz in December, staying for a time to resupply and carry out necessary repairs. While there, an unusual episode occurred: the HMS Tyger, an English frigate of thirty-eight guns, entered the port, and its captain, John Harman, challenged the Dutch. It was to be the final battle of that journey.

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Map made by Hugo Allard in 1674 to commemorate the reconquest of New Amsterdam, shown below. Credit: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

Evertsen accepted the duel and sent Passchier de Witte, captain of the Schaeckerloo, a twenty-eight-gun ship, to fight it. It was February 13, 1674, and a large crowd of spectators gathered in the bay to witness the combat. For several hours, the Schaeckerloo repeatedly attempted to board the Tyger but failed; the English managed to defend themselves and ultimately succeeded in subduing and capturing the enemy ship. They suffered only twenty-four casualties compared to the Dutch’s fifty (plus seventy wounded). Harman and De Witte were also wounded. Later, the Englishman was received and rewarded by King Charles II, while a popular sea shanty dedicated to him, Farewell to Digby, became widely sung.

In contrast, when Evertsen returned to Zeeland in June, he was accused of disobedience: he had been tasked with devastating enemy colonies, not reconquering them, as doing so implied an investment in those territories that the government was not in a position to sustain. Ironically, the only two locations he was ordered to occupy, Saint Helena and Cayenne, remained in enemy hands. Despite everything, he continued in active service, participated in more battles, and eventually became an admiral before dying in 1706. Jacob Binckes was less fortunate: he achieved the rank of commodore, but in 1677, a French cannonball struck the powder magazine of the fort he was defending in Tobago, and the resulting explosion killed him and his officers.

The final victory of the HMS Tyger in Cádiz served as a way to offset the disaster England had suffered in its American colonies. The irony—and tragedy for those who perished—was that it was unnecessary: the war had ended days earlier, though the combatants were unaware. The Second Treaty of Westminster would be signed on the 17th of that same month, and its clauses not only restored New York and Surinam to English control but also stipulated the payment of two million florins in compensation (although Charles II owed significant debts to the House of Orange, so he received very little of the agreed sum).

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on January 27, 2025: Cuando los holandeses atacaron las colonias inglesas y francesas en América y recuperaron Nueva York

SOURCES

Peter Douglas, The man who took back New Netherland. Cornelis Evertsen the Younger, 1642-1706

Donald G. Shomette, Robert D. Haslach, Raid on America: the Dutch naval campaign of 1672-1674

Michael G. Kammen, Colonial New York. A history

J.R. Jones, The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the Seventeenth Century

Jonathan I. Israel, Dutch Primacy in World Trade, 1585–1740

Wikipedia, Dutch Raid on North America

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