Enno Doedes Star

Enno Doedes Star ( Osterhusen 1631 – Wirdum 1707) was a Dutch admiral. Star was born in

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

, an area just outside the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

that however in the 17th century had close religious and linguistic ties with it. He started his career in the Dutch Navy in 1658 when he took service with the

Admiralty of Amsterdam The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam ...

in the rank of extraordinary captain. For three years he had convoy duty in

The Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, protecting Dutch merchantmen from Portuguese privateers during the Dutch-Portuguese War. In 1661 and 1664 he commanded the supply ship ''Groene Kameel'', supporting the Dutch Mediterranean Fleet. This fleet, under command of Vice-Admiral

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch N ...

, towards the end of 1664 was ordered to execute a punitive expedition against English possessions in West-Africa, after the British had captured Dutch trading posts there. After defeating the English, De Ruyter crossed the Atlantic to raid English colonies in the Americas. Upon his return to the Republic in the summer of 1665, it transpired that the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...

had formally broken out. Star was promoted to full captain. In 1666 Star commanded the ''Gouden Leeuw'' of sixty cannon, a ship of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, the Dutch East Indies Company, during the Four Days Battle and the

St. James's Day Battle St James' Day Battle (also known as St James' Day Fight, the Battle of the North Foreland and the Battle of Orfordness) took place on 25 July 1666 — St James' day in the Julian calendar then in use in England (4 August 1666 in the Gregoria ...

. In the latter fight the Vice-Admiral of the

Admiralty of Friesland The Admiralty of Friesland or Frisian Admiralty ( Dutch: ''Admiraliteit van Friesland'' or ''Friese Admiraliteit''; West Frisian: ''Fryske Admiraliteit'') was one of the five Dutch admiralties of the Dutch Republic. Set up on 6 March 1596, it wa ...

, Rudolf Coenders, was killed. The

States of Groningen The Provincial Council of Groningen ( nl, Provinciale Staten van Groningen, ), also known as the States of Groningen, is the provincial council of Groningen, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 43 seats are distributed ...

had the right to choose a successor; on 13 December 1666 on commendation of De Ruyter they appointed Star. As the commander of the Frisian Fleet, Lieutenant-Admiral Tjerk Hiddes de Vries, had been killed also, Star functioned as acting lieutenant-admiral until the appointment of Lieutenant-Admiral Hans Willem van Aylva on 16 March 1667. Star in 1667 participated in the

Raid on the Medway The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At t ...

, in the later phases of the campaign commanding a squadron blockading

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring District, Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-w ...

, using as flagship the ''Groningen'' of seventy cannon. In 1672, during the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

, Baron van Aylva became an Infantry General and would never return to sea. Star thus again functioned as acting commander of the Frisian Fleet during the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

, fighting in 1672 during the

Battle of Solebay The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The battle began as an attempted raid on Solebay port where an English fleet was anchored and larg ...

and in 1673 during the

Battles of Schooneveld The Battles of Schooneveld were two naval battles of the Franco-Dutch War, fought off the coast of the Netherlands on 7 June and 14 June 1673 (New Style; 28 May and 4 June in the Julian calendar then in use in England) between an allied Anglo ...

and the Battle of the Texel, still on the ''Groningen''. In 1678 he commanded part of the auxiliary fleet supporting Spain against France. Star's last campaign was during the

War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...

when he in 1691 commanded a squadron in the Anglo-Dutch fleet operating in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

. That year he retired, still in the rank of vice-admiral. Star around 1652 married with Reynouw Gaickinga and had three children, a daughter and two sons. After the death of his first wife he remarried with Cornelia Pars, born in Appingedam. At his retirement he settled in his estate, or ''

buitenplaats A buitenplaats (literally "outside place") was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy. Many of them bou ...

'', Bolhuis at Wirdum in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

, where he deceased in 1705 or 1707. {{DEFAULTSORT:Star, Enno Doedes 1631 births 1707 deaths Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Dutch naval personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars People from Aurich (district) Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War