Raid on Newfoundland (1665)

Raid on Newfoundland (1665)
Part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War

Present day St. John's
DateJune 1665
Location
St. John's
Result

Dutch Victory

  • St. John's captured[1]
Belligerents
 Dutch Republic

England England

Commanders and leaders
Dutch Republic Michiel de Ruyter England Christopher Martin
Strength
20 ships[2] Fortifications and defences of St. John's, and a coalition of planters and migratory fishermen[3]
Casualties and losses
None All ships taken, fort and houses destroyed,[4] and goods, canons, and guns taken

In June 1665, after the Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out, a fleet under Michiel de Ruyter sailed to Newfoundland, and raided the place, and damaged the colony severely.

Background

De Ruyter first set sail to the Barbary coast to capture Barbary pirates, then he went to Algiers to free Christian slaves. He continued patrolling in the Mediterranean Sea until he got secret orders from the States-General to recapture forts in West Africa, and harm the English colonies in the Americas.[5]

The Raid

After recapturing the colonies in West Africa,[6] he set sail for Newfoundland. He divided his fleet in three, and sent one part to Bay Bulls, while he himself went to St. John's (where he first had to break a massive cable across The Narrows[2]), and he sent the third part of his fleet to Petty Harbour.

In Petty Harbour they captured two English ships completely filled with salt, oil, and wine, on the other hand, De Ruyter captured one frigate and a fluyt. They stayed there for a bit capturing other numerous English ships and vessels, filled with bread, meat, peas, and lots of fish. After De Ruyter had captured all these ships, he had around 300 prisoners. He thought it was too dangerous because maybe they would rebel, so he freed some on the island.[7] However, this was not the only port he raided. He sailed around the coast and attacked numerous ports in the colony causing significant damage.[8]

References

  1. ^ Woodley Prowse, Daniel (1895). A History of Newfoundland from the English, Colonial, and Foreign Records. Macmillan. p. 197. ISBN 9780919302440.
  2. ^ a b Gilbert, William (7 July 2010). "Gilbers". Newfoundland & Labrador Studies. 25 (2): 198.
  3. ^ Gilbert, William (7 July 2010). "St. John's Narrows". Newfoundland & Labrador Studies. 25 (2): 199.
  4. ^ Calendar of the State Papers, Colonial Series, 1574-1660, preserved in the state paper department of Her Majesty's public record office Edited by W. Noël Sainsbury. II. H.M. Stationery Office. 1880. p. 558.
  5. ^ Barreveld, Drs Dirk J. "De Reis Van De Ruyter Naar West Afrika En De West 1664-1665" (PDF) (in Dutch). p. 2-4.
  6. ^ West African Sketches. Tinsley. 1881. ISBN 9780598527912.
  7. ^ ten Cate, S.H (1877). Neêrland's roem ter zee de geschiedenis van ons zeewezen, van zijn ontstaan tot den vrede van Utrecht (1713) : geschetst in tafereelen · Volume 2 (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Van Kesteren. pp. 465–466.
  8. ^ Schneider, Stephen (2009). Iced The Story of Organized Crime in Canada (Paperback ed.). Wiley. p. 16. ISBN 9780470835005.