St. James's Day Battle

The naval St James' Day Battle (also known as the St James's Day Fight, the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on 4-5 August 1666 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War and was fought between fleets of England and the United Provinces commanded by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. (4 August was 25 July—St James' day in the Julian calendar then in use in England). In The Netherlands the battle is known as the Two Days Battle.

Results

The battle was a clear English victory — though the separate clash of the two rears was a victory for Tromp. Dutch manpower losses were enormous, immediately after the battle estimated at about 5,000 man (compared with 300 British killed), although more precise information showed that only about 1,200 of these had been killed or seriously wounded. But the Dutch only lost two ships — De Ruyter had been successful at saving almost the complete van, only Sneek and Tholen struck their flag — and they could quickly repair the damage. The twin disasters of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London however, combined with his financial mismanagement, left Charles II without the funds to continue the war. In fact he had had only enough reserves for this last battle. The Dutch soon recovered: within a month they again took sea but only a minor skirmish resulted. During this later fight De Ruyter inhaled a burning fuse filament that burnt a fistula in his throat; he would just recover in time to inflict a severe blow on the English navy in the Raid on the Medway in 1667, when at last he could carry out the plan he was prevented from executing in 1666 by this defeat.

Related Topics:
Great Plague - Great Fire of London - Charles II - Raid on the Medway - 1667

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During the weeks that the Dutch fleet was in repair, Admiral Robert Holmes, aided by the Dutch traitor Laurens van Heemskerck penetrated the Vlie estuary, burnt a fleet of 150 merchants (Holmes's Bonfire) and sacked the town of ter Schelling (the present West-Terschelling) on the Frisian island of Terschelling. Fan-Fan was again present.

Related Topics:
Robert Holmes - Vlie - Holmes's Bonfire - West-Terschelling - Terschelling

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In the Republic the defeat had also far-reaching political effects. Tromp was the champion of the orangist party. Now that he was accused of severe neglicence the country split over this issue. To defend himself Tromp let his brother-in-law Johan Kievit publish an account of his conduct. Kievit shortly afterwards was discovered to have planned a coup, secretely negotiating a peace treaty with the English king. He fled to England and was condemned to death in his absence; Tromp's family was fined and he himself forbidden to serve on the fleet. In November 1669 a Tromp-supporter tried to stab Michiel de Ruyter in the entrance-hall of his house. Only in 1672 Tromp would have his revenge on Johan de Witt by having him murdered. The new ruler, William III of Orange, in 1673 with great difficulty succeeded in reconciling De Ruyter with Tromp.

Related Topics:
Johan Kievit - 1669 - 1672 - William III of Orange - 1673

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