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Dutch Revolt
Posted: 2009-06-13 03:53pm
by Samuel
(A still stranger action place in 1574, during the siege of Leyden. There the dikes were opened, flooding the surrounding country. Dutch attempts to relieve the town still failed for some months. In the meantime, apparently, both sides constructed fleets of flat bottomed boats. When finally a storm raised the flood levels significantly, the Dutch Admiral Boisot’s Sea Beggars, manning scows and armed with harpoons, fought and old-style hull-to-hull naval engagement with a similar Spanish squadron some miles inland among the half-submerged trees and farmhouses of the Dutch countryside. The Dutch won and Leyden was relieved.)
page 121-122
From
The Jaws of Victory
By Charles Fair 1971 published by Simon and Schuster New York
Sorry for the delay- that is my source. I don't know if it is accurate, which is why I put it here. Can anyone confirm or deny that this happened?
~ Spelling mistakes fixed. Thanas
Re: Dutch Revolt
Posted: 2009-06-13 03:57pm
by Thanas
Well, yeah, but that is far from a real naval engagement - this is more like arm boats, fight.
Re: Dutch Revolt
Posted: 2009-06-13 04:23pm
by Frank Hipper
Armed people in boats fighting was the definition of 'naval engagement' for millenia.
Re: Dutch Revolt
Posted: 2009-06-13 04:25pm
by Thanas
Frank Hipper wrote:Armed people in boats fighting was the definition of 'naval engagement' for millenia.
The original assertion was made in a thread about the dutch navy.
Re: Dutch Revolt
Posted: 2009-06-13 04:41pm
by Frank Hipper
Thanas wrote:Frank Hipper wrote:Armed people in boats fighting was the definition of 'naval engagement' for millenia.
The original assertion was made in a thread about the dutch navy.
These boats were not part of the Dutch navy?
What ship types constituted the bulk of the Dutch Navy in 1574, anyway?
Re: Dutch Revolt
Posted: 2009-06-13 05:08pm
by Thanas
Frank Hipper wrote:Thanas wrote:Frank Hipper wrote:Armed people in boats fighting was the definition of 'naval engagement' for millenia.
The original assertion was made in a thread about the dutch navy.
These boats were not part of the Dutch navy?
Did you read the thread in which this assertion was first made? It was about a naval battle between the dutch and spanish navies. Now, a battle between boats hastily constructed during a siege may fit the very strict definition of a naval engagement, but certainly not what you would call a fleet battle between the spanish and the dutch.
What ship types constituted the bulk of the Dutch Navy in 1574, anyway?
Fluyts and Galleons as well as a large number of privateer ships varying in size.