The Dutch Golden Age

The 17th century is considered the “Golden Age” of Dutch sea-power. In 1650 The Dutch were the acknowledged masters of naval warfare, relying on superior sailing and close-quarter fighting to gain the upper-hand.

Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter (1607-1676), was arguably the greatest admiral of the 17th century. Outstanding in all areas of naval command, leadership, tactics and strategy, he adapted quickly to the new linear-tactics introduced during the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) and his supreme defensive tactics denied the much larger Anglo-French fleets victory in the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674). Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter died in 1676 of his wounds, six days after winning a battle with a larger French fleet off Sicily.

During this period the Dutch were the foremost European shipbuilders, building ships for the United Provinces, Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, Germany etc. The galleon 'Gouden Leeuw' shown below is a late 16th century example flying the Dutch flag, they would have built galleons like this for many other nations. It already has a narrowing stern, as is so obvious with the later Fluyt.

The Fluyt was the classic three-masted, square rigged merchant ship of the 17th century, built to be extremely economical in operation, carrying the largest cargo and smallest crew possible. It had a wide, balloon-shaped hull and a very narrow, high stern. Since the Danes imposed a levy to enter the Baltic, depending on the (deck) size of a ship, the Dutch developed a ship which is wide below for plenty of cargo, narrow on deck 'cause ..., well you guessed it.

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