Michiel de Ruyter

Lore & Background

De Ruyter came from a modest background in Zeeland and began seafaring from an early age; by the age of 30 he had become a shipmaster in the Dutch merchant fleet. In 1641, De Ruyter briefly served as a rear admiral during the Portuguese Restoration War, after which he returned to a prosperous merchant career for a decade before retiring to his hometown of Vlissingen. On the outbreak of the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652, De Ruyter accepted a command in the Dutch Navy under lieutenant admiral Maarten Tromp, distinguished himself and was promoted to vice admiral at the end of the war. In 1655, he took part in the Second Northern War on the side of Denmark-Norway against Sweden. De Ruyter was named lieutenant admiral and commander of the Dutch fleet at the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665, and in 1666 he won a hard-fought victory in the Four Days' Battle in the southern North Sea. In 1667, De Ruyter executed the highly successful Raid on the Medway, where he destroyed much of the English fleet and captured the English flagship HMS Royal Charles, facilitating a favourable peace for the Dutch. In the Third Anglo-Dutch War, De Ruyter's actions during the battles of Solebay (1672), Schooneveld (1673), and Texel (1673) successfully prevented an invasion of the Dutch coast by Anglo-French forces. Continuing his fight against the French, De Ruyter was fatally wounded by a cannonball at the Battle of Augusta off Sicily in 1676, and died a week later in Syracuse. His body was brought back to Amsterdam, where he was accorded a state funeral and interred in the Nieuwe Kerk.

Reader's Guide

Often dubbed a Dutch folk hero, De Ruyter was highly respected by his sailors and soldiers, and his nickname Bestevaêr (early modern Dutch for "grandfather") is still used to refer to him in Dutch media today. Several Royal Netherlands Navy vessels have been named after him and his flagship, and he is credited as a founder of the Netherlands Marine Corps. His reputation as one of history’s greatest naval commanders was built on a series of decisive actions during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. He rose from modest beginnings in Zeeland, working as a boatswain’s apprentice and later a merchant shipmaster, before briefly serving as a rear admiral in the Portuguese Restoration War. After a prosperous decade in merchant shipping, he returned to naval command during the First Anglo-Dutch War, distinguishing himself under Maarten Tromp and earning promotion to vice admiral. In the Second Anglo-Dutch War, as lieutenant admiral and fleet commander, he won the hard-fought Four Days’ Battle in 1666 and executed the Raid on the Medway in 1667, destroying much of the English fleet and capturing its flagship. During the Third Anglo-Dutch War, his actions at Solebay, Schooneveld, and Texel prevented an invasion of the Dutch coast by Anglo-French forces. He was fatally wounded by a cannonball at the Battle of Augusta in 1676 and died a week later, receiving a state funeral in Amsterdam.

Did You Know?

• De Ruyter was born on 24 March 1607 in Vlissingen, Zeeland.
• He fought as a cannoneer at the relief of Bergen-op-Zoom in 1622 during the Eighty Years' War.
• He was fatally wounded by a cannonball at the Battle of Augusta in 1676 and died a week later in Syracuse.
• His nickname 'Bestevaêr' means 'grandfather' in early modern Dutch.