It was signed on 9 February 1674 Old Style (19 February 1674 New Style) by Charles II of England and ratified by the States General of the Netherlands on 5 March 1674. England was forced to sign the treaty since Parliament would not allow more money to be spent on the war and had become aware of the secret Treaty of Dover in which Charles had promised Louis XIV of France to convert to Catholicism at an opportune moment. The English were dismayed by the unexpected fact that Dutch raiders had managed to capture more English ships than vice versa and that New Amsterdam had been retaken by the Dutch in 1673.
Background
In 1672, England and France had jointly attacked the Dutch Republic. France had occupied a large part of the Republic, but the Anglo-French fleet had been heavily damaged by Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. In 1673, sustained efforts by the Royal Navy to defeat the Dutch fleet and to land an army on the Dutch coast had failed. Repairs of the English warships proved to be very costly. English mercantile shipping suffered from frequent attacks by Dutch privateers. Meanwhile, France, the English ally in the war, was forced to a gradual withdrawal of its troops from most of the territory of the United Provinces. France threatened to conquer the Spanish Netherlands, which would harm English strategic interests. The war, more or less a private project of Charles and never popular among the English people, now seemed to most to have become a hopeless undertaking.[citation needed]
The English had also been convinced by Dutch propaganda that the war was part of a plot to make their country Roman Catholic again. The commander of the Royal Navy, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a devout Protestant, had begun to lead a vociferous movement aimed at breaking the French alliance. In late October, Charles asked Parliament for a sufficient war budget for 1674. Its members were extremely critical and denied that it was still necessary to eliminate the Dutch as commercial rivals because English trade had satisfyingly grown between 1667 and 1672. The proposed marriage of the King's brother, the Duke of York, with the Catholic Mary of Modena was lamented. Parliament demanded securities for the defence of the Anglican Church against papism, the disbanding of the standing army (commanded by York) and the removal of pro-French ministers.[1]
When the situation threatened to escalate, Charles, on the advice of the French envoy but against the opinion of the Privy Council, prorogued Parliament. Charles made a last effort to continue the war, even without a war budget. He was promised increased subsidies by King Louis XIV of France. He made plans to capture the regular treasure fleet sailing from the Dutch East Indies. He removed his enemies from office, among them Chancellor Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, the main opponent of York's marriage. At the same time, Charles tried to lessen fears by reaffirming anti-Catholic measures such as the suspension of the Royal Declaration of Indulgence and by publicising many of his secret treaties with France.[2]
To his dismay, Parliament became more adversarial, now strongly incited by Shaftesbury. Some called for William III of Orange, the stadtholder of Holland and grandson of Charles I of England, to become king if Charles died by excluding the Duke of York. That came as no surprise to William, who had secret dealings with Shaftesbury and many other English politicians. William had agents working for him in England, such as his secretary, Van Rhede.[2] Spain assisted him by threatening to declare war and meanwhile bribing parliamentarians.[3] The States-General had supported the pro-Dutch peace party of Lord Arlington in a more formal manner by making a peace proposal in October and by regularly distributing manifests and declarations in England that explained the official Dutch position and policy.[2] In 1672, England and France had agreed never to conclude a separate peace, but the States now revealed to Charles that they had recently received a peace offer from Louis.[3]
Charles felt that continuing the alliance with France had become a grave threat to his personal position and expected that Parliament would no longer fund the war.[4] He informed the French ambassador, Colbert de Croissy, that to his regret, he had to terminate the English war effort.[4] He told the Dutch via the Spanish consul in London, the Marquess del Fresno,[4] that his main war aim, to install his noble nephew as stadtholder, having been attained, he no longer objected to concluding a lasting peace between the two Protestant brother nations if only some minor "indemnities" could be paid. At first, the States of Holland were disinclined to grant Charles's demands. As England had accomplished nothing in the war, it was in their opinion not entitled to any reward. Many members admitted their personal satisfaction in the thought that the British might be kept suffering a bit longer. However, stadtholderWilliam III of Orange convinced them that there was some chance of bringing Charles into the war against France eventually, which this had to take precedence over petty considerations of retribution that were unworthy of their high office. Furthermore, Spain had not yet declared war on France and was willing to do so only if England made peace because it feared English attacks on its American colonies.[5]
On 4 January 1674, the States General of the Netherlands drafted a final peace proposal. On 7 January, a Dutch trumpeter arrived in Harwich carrying with him two letters for the Spanish consul.[5] Though the herald was promptly arrested by the town mayor, the letters were sent to Lord Arlington, who hurriedly brought them in person to del Fresno.[5] Arlington was, in turn, on 15 January, impeached by Sir Gilbert Gerard for high treason, as the very act showed him to have had secret dealings with the enemy.[6] On 24 January, the consul handed the letters, containing the peace proposal, to Charles,[6] who pretended to be greatly surprised. That posing was marred somewhat by the fact that he had especially recalled Parliament, prorogued by him in November, for that occasion the very same day.[7] While addressing both Houses, Charles first emphatically denied the existence of any secret provisions of the Treaty of Dover[7] and then produced the peace proposal, to the great satisfaction of the members,[7] who, in turn, had to pretend surprise although Parliament had been informed by the Dutch beforehand of its full content.[5] After some days of debate, the treaty was approved by Parliament.[7]
This news was met with open joy by the populace.[7] Charles sent his own trumpeter to Holland, who was received by the States General on 1 February.[7] In his message, Charles announced the absolute agreement of himself and Parliament on the matter to which institution Charles gladly deferred.[7] On 5 February, a Dutch trumpeter arrived in London, carrying the response of the States General.[7] The very day, Parliament advised the King to conclude a "speedy peace".[7] A Royal Commission was appointed to make a final draft. The Treaty of Westminster was signed in 1674 by the King on 9 February Old Style (19 February New Style).[8] It was ratified by the Lord Keeper on 10 February by placement of the Great Seal.[8] On 17 February at 10:00a.m., it was publicly proclaimed at Whitehall.[8] It was approved by the States of Holland and West Friesland on 4 March,[8] (New Style) and ratified by the States General on 5 March.[8] It was proclaimed in The Hague on 6 March. Due to the different calendars in use in the two countries and the complex procedure, when a single date is given the literature is not in agreement.[citation needed]
Terms
Most of the initial peace conditions demanded by the English in the Accord of Heeswijk of 1672 were not met, but the Dutch paid two million guilders, from an original demand of ten million, to be paid over a period of three years, basically to compensate for the loss of French subsidies, and again affirmed the English right of salute, their Dominium Marium, now extended from "Lands End", at the Bay of Biscay, northward to "Staten Land", on the Norwegian coast.[6] Also, it was made explicit that the Dutch had to salute any Royal ship carrying the English flag, no matter how small it was or how numerous the Dutch fleet was in encountering it, a point that had proven to be very contentious: the so-called Merlin Incident had been a pretext for the war. It was qualified by the condition that Dutch fishery would in no way be impeded by that right.[citation needed]
The treaty conditions of 1668 regulating trade and shipping were reconfirmed. Within three months an Anglo-Dutch commission would meet to solve trade conflicts concerning the East Indies.[3] As for territorial disputes, the treaty was a typical status quo ante arrangement:
That whatsoever countries, islands, towns, ports, castles, or forts have or shall be taken on both sides, since the time the late unhappy war broke out, either in Europe or elsewhere, shall be restored to the former lord or proprietor, in the same condition they shall be in when the peace itself shall be proclaimed.
The condition implied that New Netherland, which had been retaken by Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest in 1673, would again be an English possession and that Suriname, which had been captured by the Dutch in 1667, would remain their colony, legalising the status quo of 1667. These issues had been left undecided by the Peace of Breda of that year, an uti possidetis agreement. Also, the islands of Tobago, Saba, St Eustatius and Tortola, which had been taken by the English in 1672, were to be returned.[citation needed]
Despite the peace, the brigade of British troops under Charles's bastard son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, supporting the French, would not be withdrawn from the French Army and would be allowed to recruit in Britain until the end of the Franco-Dutch War.[9] Charles continued to receive secret subsidies from Louis as long as the brigade fought on the French side.[10]
Implementation
As the peace could not be communicated quickly to all parts of the world, different dates had been determined upon which legal hostilities would end. From the Soundings of England, i.e. its southwestern continental shelf edge, to the coast of Norway, fighting should end by 8 March; south to Tangier by 7 April; from there to the Equator, by 5 May; and in the rest of the world, after 24 October 1674.[11]
Due to the slow proliferation of information at the time, conflicts could still occur after the declaration of peace. The Battle of Ronas Voe took place on 14 March 1674,[12] when the VOCEast IndiamanWapen van Rotterdam was captured in Ronas Voe, Shetland, by HMS Newcastle.[13] It, along with HMS Cambridge and HMS Crown, were sent instructions to capture the vessel,[14] which had become stranded in Shetland because of poor weather that had caused the ship to lose its masts and rudder.[15]Wapen van Rotterdam was taken back to England as a prize of war.[16] A contemporary Dutch newspaper reported that four hundred crew were originally on board Wapen van Rotterdam, but only a hundred prisoners were later being transported by Crown,[12] which suggested that up to three hundred crew may have been killed although additional prisoners might have been transported on the other English ships.
William III, also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the 1670s, and King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II. He ruled Britain and Ireland alongside his wife, Queen Mary II, and their joint reign is known as that of William and Mary.
The Anglo–Dutch Wars were a series of conflicts mainly fought between the Dutch Republic and England in the mid-17th and late 18th century. The first three wars occurred in the second half of the 17th century over trade and overseas colonies, while the fourth was fought a century later. Almost all the battles were naval engagements.
The Second Anglo-Dutch War, or Second Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. One in a series of naval conflicts between England and the Dutch Republic, its causes were a combination of political differences and commercial disputes.
The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch War.
The Treaty of Dover, also known as the Secret Treaty of Dover, was a treaty between England and France signed at Dover on 1 June 1670. It required that Charles II of England would convert to the Roman Catholic Church at some future date and that he would assist Louis XIV with 60 warships and 4,000 soldiers to help in France's war of conquest against the Dutch Republic. In exchange, Charles would secretly receive a yearly pension of £230,000, as well as an extra sum of money when Charles informed the English people of his conversion, and France would send 6,000 French troops if there was ever a rebellion against Charles in England. The secret treaty was signed by the earl of Arlington, Baron Arundell, Baron Clifford, and Sir Richard Bellings for England and the marquis of Croissy for France. The two kings exchanged letters of ratification and kept secret the existence of the treaty. A public treaty of Dover was also negotiated, but it was a screen designed for propaganda purposes and to hide the religious dimension of the secret treaty. The Third Anglo-Dutch War was a direct consequence of this treaty. The actual treaty was published by historians a century later.
The naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place off the western coast of the island of Texel on 21 August 1673 between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets. It was the last major battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, which was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), during which Louis XIV of France invaded the Republic and sought to establish control over the Spanish Netherlands. English involvement came about because of the Treaty of Dover, secretly concluded by Charles II of England, and which was highly unpopular with the English Parliament.
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War, was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Norway. In its early stages, France was allied with Münster and Cologne, as well as England. The 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and 1675 to 1679 Scanian War are considered related conflicts.
The Peace of Breda, or Treaty of Breda was signed in the Dutch city of Breda, on 31 July 1667. It consisted of three separate treaties between England and each of its opponents in the Second Anglo-Dutch War: the Dutch Republic, France, and Denmark–Norway. It also included a separate Anglo-Dutch commercial agreement.
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, 27 July 1625 to 28 May 1672, was an English military officer, politician and diplomat from Barnwell, Northamptonshire. During the First English Civil War, he served with the Parliamentarian army, and was an Member of Parliament at various times between 1645 and 1660. Under The Protectorate, he was also a member of the English Council of State and General at sea.
In Dutch history, the year 1672 is referred to as the Rampjaar. In May 1672, following the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War and its peripheral conflict the Third Anglo-Dutch War, France, supported by Münster and Cologne, invaded and nearly overran the Dutch Republic. At the same time, it faced the threat of an English naval blockade in support of the French endeavor, though that attempt was abandoned following the Battle of Solebay. A Dutch saying coined that year describes the Dutch people as redeloos ("irrational"), its government as radeloos ("distraught"), and the country as reddeloos. The cities of the coastal provinces of Holland, Zealand and Frisia underwent a political transition: the city governments were taken over by Orangists, opposed to the republican regime of the Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt, ending the First Stadtholderless Period.
This is a list of Directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director General. As the colony grew, citizens advisory boards – known as the Twelve Men, Eight Men, and Nine Men – exerted more influence on the director and thus affairs of province.
Anthony or Anthonij Colve was a Dutch captain of Marines and the Governor-General of New Netherland during a brief restoration of Dutch rule in New Netherland during the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest was a Dutch naval officer from Vlissingen who served as Lieutenant Admiral of Zeeland and Supreme Commander of the Confederated Dutch Navy. Of a family that included several other naval admirals, including his father, Evertsen is noted for his distinguished service during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Franco-Dutch War, the Glorious Revolution invasion, and the Battle of Beachy Head during the Nine Years' War.
Cornelis Evertsen the Elder was a Dutch admiral.
Events from the year 1674 in England.
The Battle of Ronas Voe was a naval engagement between the English Royal Navy and the Dutch East India ship Wapen van Rotterdam on 14 March 1674 in Ronas Voe, Shetland as part of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Having occurred 23 days after the signing of the Treaty of Westminster, it is likely to have been the final battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
The Dutch Raid on North America took place from December 1672 to February 1674 during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, a related conflict of the Franco-Dutch War. A naval expedition led by Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and Jacob Binckes attacked English and French possessions in North America.
The Second Battle of the James River, also known as the Battle of Lynnhaven Bay was a naval battle between a Dutch fleet under joint command of admirals Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest and Jacob Binckes and an improvised English squadron on 12 and 13 July 1673 in the Hampton Roads near the James River, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
On 9 August 1673, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War a combined Dutch fleet commanded by Cornelis Evertsen the Youngest of the Admiralty of Zeeland and Jacob Binckes of the Admiralty of Amsterdam recaptured New York, which had been English since the Peace of Breda of 1667. The town of New York was re-christened "New Orange" and New Netherland was re-established as a Dutch colony under governor-general Anthony Colve. The Dutch Republic, however, returned the colony to English rule under the Treaty of Westminster (1674), in exchange for the colony of Suriname, which eventually led to the replacement of governor Colve by governor Edmund Andros on 10 November 1674 (N.S.)
Shomette, Donald G.; Haslach, Robert D. (2002). Raid on America: The Dutch Naval Campaign of 1672–1674. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN0788422456.
Troost, W. (2001). Stadhouder-koning Willem III: Een politieke biografie. Hilversum: Uitgeverij Verloren. ISBN90-6550-639-X.
Troost, Wouter (2005). William III the Stadholder-king: A Political Biography. Routledge. ISBN978-0754650713.
Zwitzer, H. L. (1990). "British and Netherlands Armies in Relation to the Anglo-Dutch Alliance". Navies and Armies. Donald. ISBN9780859762922.
Bruce, R. Stuart (1914). Johnston, Alfred W.; Johnston, Amy (eds.). "Part III – Replies – Naval Engagement, Rønis Vo, Shetland"(PDF). Old-Lore Miscellany of Orkney Shetland Caithness and Sutherland. VII (Old-Lore Series Vol. VIII). London: Viking Society for Northern Research: 101–103 – via Viking Society Web Publications.
Pepys, Samuel (1904) [1674]. Tanner, J. R. (ed.). "Admiralty Letters". Publications of the Navy Records Society. A Descriptive Catalogue of The Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge. 27 (2). The Navy Record Society: 247–285. OCLC848547357. OL24226048M. Retrieved 26 March 2019– via archive.org.
Pepys, Samuel (1923) [1674]. Tanner, J. R. (ed.). "Admiralty Journal". Publications of the Navy Records Society. A Descriptive Catalogue of The Naval Manuscripts in the Pepysian Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge. 57 (4). The Navy Record Society: 30. OCLC827219323. OL14003544M. Retrieved 26 March 2019– via archive.org.
"Harwich, March 27"(PDF). The London Gazette. No.872. The Savoy: The Newcomb (published 30 March 1674). 27 March 1674. p.2. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
"Londen den 3 April"[London 3 April]. Engelandt. Amsterdamsche Courant (in Dutch). No.15. Amsterdam: Mattheus Cousart (published 10 April 1674). 3 April 1674. p.1. Retrieved 23 March 2019– via Delpher.
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