The Dutch Fleet and the Raid on the Medway

Two of the world's greatest sea powers compete for control of the world's shipping lanes. At the height of the Age of Sail, the Dutch fleet makes one of the most daring naval raids in history. The History Guy remembers the raid on the Medway.

This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As photographs of actual events are sometimes not available, photographs of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

The episode relates events that occurred during a period of conflict. All information is provided within historical context and is intended for educational purposes. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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[TheHistoryGuyChannel]

As many viewers have mentioned, I mispronounced the names Gillingham and Pepys. I apologize. I do seek to be accurate. English place names are tricky.

[sarjim]

De Ruyter was still a fighting admiral ten years after Medway. He fought in the Battle of Augusta (or Agosta) in 1677 while fighting the French to an inconclusive outcome, mainly due to his death after being hit by a cannonball. De Ruyter is considered one of the greatest admirals and tacticians of any era and any country. He is a national hero in the Netherlands. Since 1677, and to this day, the Dutch fleet's flagship has always been named the De Ruyter.

[peterdavy]

In the Second World War the Dutch cruiser De Ruyter entering the Thames made a navigation error and crashed into the anti-submarine boom. The Captain signalled the British Admiralty "De Ruyter crashed boom at Chatham". The reply was "What, again!"

[briansmith]

The Dutch influence on the US is often overlooked - cookies, Santa Claus, freedom of religion all came from the Netherlands through New Amsterdam (being founded in the 1620s). The end of the Anglo-Dutch Wars came with the ascension of the Dutch House of Orange to the English throne. The rapid social advancement experienced in England and their rapid worldwide growth came after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the importation of the Dutch structures of government and social development.

[scotthedrick]

I watched The Admiral: Command and Conquer last night. It's about De Ruyter, and this battle is shown. The Netherlands might have been small in size, but that cannot be said about their fighting balls.

[thephilosopherofculture]

This video overlooks the fact that the Dutch Republic was the richest nation in the world, by far, and had advanced financial systems that the English could only understand and copy after they embraced a Dutch king as their new king at the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. This financing knowhow was the actual treasure gained and it enabled England to conquer the world.
Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) writes that he started to cry when he went down in a Dutch ship the English had captured from a trading fleet of over 260 ships. It was the last ship of the line. Easy target. At the time, cloves were more costly than diamonds. When inspecting the captured ship he heard a crack underneath his boot and found some cloves on the deck. He reprimanded the captain for so much carelessness. Didn't he know the value of cloves? Then he descended in the hull of the ship and stood to almost his crotch in a sea of cloves. It was enough to pay for the complete ENglish yearly government budget. The profit from just the Dutch herring trade was higher than the total English marine budget. And that was just one trade type. But the Dutch had a problem. They understood that they were powerless on land because they did not have enough men and the men they had did not want to fight but rather wanted to trade (or paint!). The sailors on the ships were for a large part foreigners, many English. Almost all of their soldiers on land were German mercenaries. So they needed a powerful ally. That is why the Glorious Revolution ended the Golden Age for The Republic of the Netherlands (1575-1672) but also gave her the protection against the greedy devises of Austria, France, even Russia. It was a smart move. After that, the Dutch had THREE centuries of peace, from 1648 till 1940 with a short intermission in 1795 but that was not a real war with Napoléon, many Dutch people had welcomed him. The Dutch elite spoke French with one another anyway, from about 1750 till 1914. You see how culture can create a peaceful society or a belligerent society.

[hipocampelofantocame]

Marvelous video. As a Scot descendant, and as my great grandmother on my father's side was Dutch, I am always
pleased to see the English "learn their manners". History has a way of leveling the playing field.

[fruitbat]

Late comment here ! I live in Chatham and before the Pandemic the local council funded a ' celebration ' of the Medway attack . Local people were mightly pissed off ! Still annoyed about the Dutch victory 😂

[harrickvharrick]

Thank you so much ! I am a citizen of the Netherlands, and this little piece of history is something I must have missed in school. The power struggle between Holland and England in the day had impact on how trade in 'the East' was carried out. The English at the beginning of the 18th century were by far the stronger seagoing nation, and they conquered all of India, also having the most influence in China, the Dutch were sort of allowed to keep their colony of Indonesia, where our trade was based in opium, all of which came from one region in India and through one harbour there: Bengal. The English made fortune by selling 'their' opium in China. I have read the memories (diary) of Mr Pepys, it is a great fun book and gives a terrific insight in the everyday conditions and the lives people lived in those days - I can recommend it. Thanks again!

[douglasfleetney]

When De Ruyter sailed from the Medway he had a broom tied to the top of the main mast to show he had done a 'clean sweep' and had total victory. Since then it has been tradition, in the Royal Navy at least, that after a battle with no losses to tie a broom to the mast head or highest point on the ship. De Ruyter is still remembered here in Kent....

[swimmad]

First rate episode. I share an office with a Dutch colleague. Apart from the Battle of Medway he also reminds me that the Dutch were responsible for the last successful invasion of Britain in 1688 or the "Glorious Revolution". Its all good natured and we have yet to come to blows.

[miketriz]

36 minutes and 1, 300 views, you are a history rock star.

[BernardTheMandeville]

Finally! Somebody who tells this great story of my small country :)

[robertcras]

The Marines were actually 'invented' for this raid by De Ruyter. Now every country has Marines.

[Dibleydog]

In the early sixties we had in our office two history buffs Mr Ennis and Mr Hoogstraated. One afternoon they got into an argument over the attack on the Medway with Mr Ennis claiming that it could never have happened. Mr Hoogstraaten, who happened to be Dutch took a book from his desk, a book produced no less than by the Maritime Museum at Greenwich, that had a whole chapter dedicated to the attack and included pictures and a detailed description. Mr Hoogstraaten proudly placed the book in front of Mr Ennis who thought for a moment, rubbed his chin and said quietly, "It must have been a Sunday."

[ptk]

Another nice episode ...good job History Guy! ... And I loved your Dutch names pronunciation.

This piece of history is known to almost every schoolkid in The Netherlands and schools history teachers often combine lessons with a visit to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam... I understood however that in the UK it’s largely ‘forgotten history’ .... (I wonder why 🤨)

[NaomiClareNL]

In Dutch this is known as: de tocht naar Chatham whereby tocht can be translated as great voyage but also a trip or walk, take your pick :-).

It is also the oldest battle honour of the Korps Mariniers which was founded on 10 december 1665. Its first commanding officer, Willem Jospeh van Ghent (who was one of the major Dutch commanders in the raid on the Medway) is commemmorated in the Van Ghentkazerne in Rotterdam, the barracks where all Dutch marines start their training.

[theon]

The Anglo-Dutch wars and the Medway raid may be easily forgotten by the English but certainly not here in The Netherlands. Michiel de Ruyter remains a national hero to this day. 🇳🇱👍

[XmarkedSpot]

Your videos become better every time, sir. Your silly intro and flashy overlays made place for well selected contemporary documents kept lively by sensible pans and zooms. Your knowledge paired with a good sense for story telling remains an excellent combination.
I'm looking forward to all your future videos, please keep them coming!

[philipsalama]

If wars were won by feasting
Or victory by song
Were safety found by sleeping sound
How England would be strong!

But honour and dominion
Are not maintained so
They're only got by sword and shot
And this the Dutchmen know.

-Rudyard Kipling.