Roemer Vlacq (August 1637 – 17 July 1703) was a

Dutch States Navy The Dutch States Navy (, ) was the navy of the Dutch Republic from 1588 to 1795. Coming into existence during the Eighty Years' War, the States Navy played a major role in expanding and protecting the Dutch colonial empire, in addition to partici ...

officer who blew up his ship to keep it out of enemy hands. Roemer Vlacq, son of Anna Jansdochter Verrijn and Dirk Vlacq, a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

and

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

from Gouda, became lieutenant commander of ''Kits'' 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 1671. In 1672, during the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...

, he commanded the frigate ''Postiljon'' during the

Battle of Solebay The Battle of Solebay took place on 6 June 1672 New Style, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, near Southwold, Suffolk, in eastern England. A Dutch States Navy, Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter attacked a combined Kingdom of England, Anglo-King ...

under lieutenant admiral

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch States Navy officer. His achievements with the Dutch navy during the Anglo-Dutch Wars earned him the reputation as one of the most skilled naval commanders in ...

. In 1673 he took part in all battles, commanding the frigate ''Brak''. In 1674 he was commander of the transport vessel ''Opperdoes'' during De Ruyter's expedition against

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. In March 1676 he went to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

as captain of ''Huys van Kruyningen'' under

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Jacob Binckes. On 3 March 1677 he was involved in the

action of March 1677 Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video ga ...

. When the French boarded his vessel and threatened to overpower his forces, he blew up the ship. Most of the crew lost their lives, but French ships were damaged as well. Vlacq himself survived, although heavily injured and returned to the Netherlands in October of the same year. At the end of the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

Vlacq performed

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

services: in 1678 to the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

and in 1690 and 1691 in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. In 1692 Vlacq was suspended for insubordination, but was rehabilitated on 14 February 1696 by

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and re-entered service with the Admiralty of Amsterdam. He once again went into convoy service. Vlacq was injured again during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

when a fleet of 110 Dutch and British merchant ships that he was escorting out of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

with five warships hit a French five-warships

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

under commodore Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon on 22 May 1703. During the ensuing Battle of Cap de la Roque, Vlacq sacrificed his warships in a successful attempt to let the merchant convoy escape. Vlacq's 50-gun flagship, the ''Muiderberg'' was attacked by the 90-gun thriple-deckers ''Le Vainqueur'' and ''Le Monarque''. Vlacq had lost an arm and shoulder and half his crew before surrendering the ship. The entire Dutch flotilla was destroyed. He was made a prisoner and transported to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, where he succumbed to his injuries on 17 July 1703. Roemer Vlacq was grandfather to , vice admiral of the Admiralty of Amsterdam.

References

Helden van het vaderland. Onze geschiedenis in 19e-eeuwse taferelen verbeeld
Dedalo Carasso, Amsterdams Historisch Museum, Amsterdam 1991 (on the website of ''Digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren''.
Heldendaden der Nederlanders ter zee

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

, reviewed on 11 March 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlacq, Roemer 1 Dutch naval personnel of the Third Anglo-Dutch War Dutch naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession People from Gouda, South Holland Dutch military personnel killed in action 1637 births 1703 deaths Dutch military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession