Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

in the

Dutch navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured by pirates and enslaved by Barbary Corsairs. In adult life, he became a renowned ship captain and naval commander, successfully leading Dutch forces fighting for independence in the

Eighty Years War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

, and then against England in the First Anglo-Dutch War, proving an innovative tactician and enabling the newly independent Dutch nation to become a major sea power. He was killed in battle by a sharpshooter from an English ship. Several ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have carried the name HNLMS Tromp after him and/or his son

Cornelis Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given na ...

, also a Dutch Admiral of some renown.

Early life

Born in Brielle, Tromp was the oldest son of Harpert Maertensz, a naval officer and captain of the frigate ''Olifantstromp ("Elephant Trunk")''. The surname ''Tromp'' probably derives from the name of the ship; it first appeared in documents in 1607. His mother supplemented the family's income as a washerwoman. At the age of nine, Tromp went to sea with his father, and he was present in a squadron covering the Dutch main fleet fighting the Battle of Gibraltar in 1607. In 1610, after his father's discharge because of a navy reorganization, the Tromps were on their way to

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

on their merchantman when they were attacked by a squadron of seven ships under command of the English pirate Peter Easton. During the fight, Tromp's father was slain by a cannonball. According to legend, the 12-year-old boy rallied the crew of the ship with the cry "Won't you avenge my father's death?" The pirates seized him and sold him on the slave market of

Salé Salé ( ar, سلا, salā, ; ber, ⵙⵍⴰ, sla) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the national capital Rabat, for which it serves as a commuter town. Founded in about 1030 by the Banu Ifran, ...

. Two years later, Easton was moved by pity and ordered his redemption. Set free, he supported his mother and three sisters by working in a

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

shipyard. Tromp went to sea again at 19, briefly working for the navy, but he was captured again in 1621 after having rejoined the merchant fleet, this time by Barbary corsairs off

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. He was kept as a slave until the age of 24 and by then had so impressed the

Bey of Tunis Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

and the corsair John Ward with his skills in gunnery and navigation that the latter offered him a position in his fleet. When Tromp refused, the Bey was even more impressed by this show of character and allowed him to leave as a free man. He joined the Dutch navy as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in July 1622, entering service with the Admiralty of the Maze based in

. On 7 May 1624, he married Dignom Cornelisdochter de Haes, the daughter of a merchant; in the same year he became captain of the ''St. Antonius'', an advice yacht (fast-sailing messenger ship). His first distinction was as Lieutenant-Admiral Piet Hein's flag captain on the ''Vliegende Groene Draeck'' during the fight with

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

privateers in 1629 in which Hein was killed. In 1629 and 1630, the year that he was appointed full captain on initiative of

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

Frederick Henry himself, Tromp was very successful in fighting the

Dunkirkers During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish monarchy. They were also part of the ''Dunkirk fleet'', which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's ''Fl ...

as a squadron commander, functioning as a commandeur on the ''Vliegende Groene Draeck''. Despite receiving four honorary golden chains, he was not promoted further. The ''Vliegende Groene Draeck'' foundered and new heavy vessels were reserved for the flag officers while Tromp was relegated to the old ''Prins Hendrik''. In 1634, Tromp's first wife died, and he left the naval service in 1634 in disappointment. He became a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and married Alijth Jacobsdochter Arckenboudt, the daughter of Brill's wealthy schepen and tax collector, on 12 September 1634.

Supreme commander of the confederate fleet

In 1637, Tromp was promoted from captain to Lieutenant-Admiral of Holland and West Frisia in 1637, following the dismissal of Lieutenant-Admiral Philips van Dorp, Vice-Admiral Jasper Liefhebber, and other flag officers due to incompetence. Although formally ranking under the Admiral-General

Frederick Henry of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

, he was the ''de facto'' supreme commander of the Dutch fleet, as the

s never fought at sea. Tromp was mostly occupied with blockading the privateer port of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

. Both Tromp and

Witte de With Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a Dutch naval officer. He is noted for planning and participating in a number of naval battles during the Eighty Years War and the First Anglo-Dutch war. Early life and ch ...

, who was named as Vice-Admiral, had been born in Den Briel and served as flag captains of Piet Hein. In 1639, during the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain, Tromp defeated a large Spanish fleet bound for

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

at the Battle of the Downs, marking the end of Spanish naval power. In a preliminary battle, the action of 18 September 1639, Tromp was the first fleet commander known for the deliberate use of

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

tactics. His flagship in this period was the '' Aemilia''. In 1643 the subject was the center of a parliamentary investigation of naval intrigue with the

Queen of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

and the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The titl ...

who had allegedly instructed the Vice-Admiral to allow passage of two

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

s purchased by English royalists in Dunkirk."Venice: May 1643." ''Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Archives of Venice'', Volume 26, 1642–1643. Ed. Allen B Hinds. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1925. 267–278
British History Online
Retrieved 22 June 2019. In the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652 to 1653, Tromp commanded the Dutch fleet in the battles of

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

, Dungeness, Portland, the Gabbard and

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is ...

. In the latter, he was killed by a sharpshooter in the rigging of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

's ship. His acting flag captain,

Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer Egbert Bartholomeuszoon Kortenaer or Egbert Meussen Cortenaer (1604 – 13 June 1665) was an admiral of the United Provinces of the Netherlands who was killed in the Battle of Lowestoft.His second name is also given as ''Bartolomeuszoon'' or ''Me ...

, on the '' Brederode'' kept up fleet morale by not lowering Tromp's standard, pretending Tromp was still alive. Tromp's death was a severe blow to the

but also to the Orangists, who sought the defeat of the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

and the restoration of the Stuart monarchy. Republican influence strengthened after Scheveningen, which led to peace negotiations with the Commonwealth, culminating in the Treaty of Westminster. During his career, his main rival was Vice-Admiral

, who also served the

Admiralty of Rotterdam The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Dutch admiralties in the Dutch Republic. History The Admiralty of Rotterdam was founded in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when (after the Capture of Brielle) ...

(de Maze) from 1637. De With temporarily replaced him as supreme commander for the

Battle of Kentish Knock The Battle of the Kentish Knock (or the Battle of the Zealand Approaches) was a naval battle between the fleets of the Dutch Republic and England, fought on 28 September 1652 (8 October Gregorian calendar), during the First Anglo-Dutch War near ...

. Tromp's successor was Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam.

References

*Roger Hainsworth and Christine Churches, ''The Anglo Dutch Naval Wars 1652-1674'', Sutton Pub Ltd, 1998 *Oliver Warner, ''Great Sea Battles'', Spring Books London, 1973 *R. Prud’homme van Reine, ''Schittering en Schandaal. Dubbelbiografie van Maerten en Cornelis Tromp'', Arbeiderspers, 2001 * Warnsinck, JCM, ''Twaalf doorluchtige zeehelden'', PN van Kampen & Zoon NV, 1941 * Warnsinck, JCM, ''Van Vlootvoogden en Zeeslagen'', PN van Kampen & Zoon, 1940

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tromp, Maarten 17th-century Dutch military personnel 1598 births 1653 deaths Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Burials at the Oude Kerk, Delft Dutch military personnel killed in action Dutch naval personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Naval commanders of the Eighty Years' War People from Brielle