Second Anglo-Dutch War - History

Second Anglo-Dutch War - History

Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo- Dutch War took place after the Second Navigation Act was passed including a number of major naval battles between the British and the Dutch. The first battle took place in 1665. It is known as the Battle of Lowestoft and occurred after the capture of an Anglo-Hamburg convoy by the Dutch. The British and Dutch fleets engaged off Lowestoft. The battle was hard fought between ships of the two fleets. The British and Dutch flagships engaged directly with each other, and although the battle initially favored the Dutch, the Dutch flagship suddenly blew up and victory was with the British. During the course of the war the British captured the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. The British suffered a major naval defeat when the Dutch navy successfully penetrated the Medway River and captured the British flagship Royal Charles. The war ended with the Treaties of Bred. Under its terms the status quo is maintained, however the British retain New York. The Navigation Acts were slightly modified to allow Dutch ships with goods from the Rhine to call on British ports.

Second Anglo-Dutch War - History

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Pre-Revolution Timeline - The 1600s

They came, in colonies settled around Jamestown, with the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in the Massachusetts Bay, and they began what we would term the America of today. There would be treaties with the Indian nations and battles amongst warring tribes. There would be contests of wills between colonies funded and founded by British, Spanish, and French concerns. But this would be the century that began true settlement, for all its wonder and hardship and harbinger of a nation that would come.

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Picture above: Drawing of a canoe voyage of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1825, Peter Rindisbacher. Courtesy Library and Archives Canada via Wikipedia Commons. Right: Drawing of New Amsterdam, 1664, Johannes Vingboons. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

Pre-Revolution Timeline - The 1600s


1667 Detail

July 31, 1667 - Treaty of Breda ends the Second Anglo-Dutch War, with colonial boundaries set between Acadia, recognized as part of New France, the British colonies of New England, and the Dutch colonies around the world.

Yes, it's very confusing. The Anglo-Dutch Wars were four fold, and the peace established in between them short lived. The Second Anglo-Dutch War would begin on March 4, 1665 when the Dutch declared war against England after an attack on two Dutch convoys in the English Channel and near Cadiz. It would last for two years. Why did this one begin? Well, King Charles II had only been on the thrown for four years, and he had lots of personal ambition, which extended into commercial enterprises and stipends, plus a desire to reduce his dependence on Parliament. He had founded the Royal African Company to parlay against the monopoly of commerce of the Dutch East India and Dutch West India Companies.

King Charles II and England thought that a war with their Dutch adversary would be a quick and profitable venture and reset their goals of being the successful commercial nation against the Dutch adversary. It was not quick, and with other elements at play, a plague and lessening commercial growth, it would eventually end as much because of pressure from those same commercial interests as it would from the desire for victory.

So how did the French become involved? They, after failure at mediation, due in large part to a treaty to aid the Dutch signed on April 27, 1662, eventually joined the war on January 16, 1666 against the English due to concerns over the Spanish Netherlands. What about the Danes? England had hoped for their assistance, but alas, they joined the Dutch as an adversary. England did have Sweden they had signed a treaty of mutual defense in 1665, but remained neutral. The French King, Louis XIV, had paid them to stay out of it. Their diplomats did partake in the Peace of Breda, seeking to craft a solution that would satisfy their aims in Europe and the New World.

So what did that have to do with the American colonies? For one, Sweden sided with England because they didn't want the Dutch to lay further claims to New Sweden, i.e. Delaware, which was a bit odd because New Sweden had been defeated by New Netherlands in 1655, although New Netherlands had somewhat allowed it to continue autonomously prior to its takeover by the British one year earlier. New Netherlands, yes lost to the English in 1664, was still in play, however, with Dutch hopes for restoration of their original colony.

Components of the Treaty of Breda

The Peace of Breda began with negotiations on June 4, 1667, at Breda Castle between representatives of England, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Sweden, as mediator. However, tensions still plied. While talks were underway, the Dutch sent ships up the Thames on June 24, 1667, and attacked the British. The Dutch gained an advantage in terms after that surprise. The Dutch would get a relaxation of the Navigation Act of 1651, and be allowed to transport German goods to England. There would be concessions to England as well. Territory taken prior to the war would not be transferred back. Therefore, England got to keep New York (New Amsterdam), as well as previous Dutch territory in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The Dutch would retain possessions in the East Indies, including Surinam and Pulo Run, although England would retain several Dutch colonies in the Caribbean. For the French, they got a concession from England, who gave up their rights to New France settlements in Acadia and Penobscot. The Massachusetts colonies objected to this, thinking that the return of Nova Scotia to New France would harm the fur and fishing trades and be dangerous if war came again.

Because the opponents in the Second Anglo-Dutch War were not just England and the Netherlands, but included Norway, Denmark, and France, plus their colonial allies, the Treaty of Breda (Peace of Breda) became what was essentially four treaties. There was the Treaty of Peace and Alliance Between Great Britain and Netherlands a Commercial Treaty Between England and the Netherlands a Treaty of Peace Between Denmark-Norway and Great Britain and a Treaty of Peace Between France and Great Britain.

The treaties were to take effect on August 14 (24), 1667.

They should not have bothered. By 1672, England and the Netherlands were engaged in the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

Select Text, Treaty of Breda

1. First, that from this day there shall be a true, firm, and inviolable peace, a more sincere friendship, a closer and stricter alliance and union between the Most Serene King of Great Britain and the High and Mighty States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the lands, countries, and cities under the obedience of both parties, wheresoever situate, and their subjects and inhabitants, of whatsoever degree they may be.

2. Also, that for the time to come, all enmities, hostilities, discords, and wars, between the said lord king, and the aforesaid lords States General, and their subjects and inhabitants, shall cease and be abolished and that both parties shall altogether forbear and abstain from all plundering, depredation, wrongs, injuries, and molestation whatsoever, as well by land as by sea and in fresh waters everywhere, and especially in all regions, dominions, places, and governments (of what condition soever they may be) within the jurisdiction of either party.

3. Also, that all offences, injuries, damages, and losses, which the said Lord King and his subjects, or the aforesaid lords the States General and their subjects, have on either side sustained, during this war or at any time whatsoever heretofore, upon any cause or pretext whatsoever, be buried in oblivion, and completely erased from memory, as if no such things had ever occurred. But in order that the aforesaid peace, friendship, and alliance may stand upon firm and unshaken foundations, and that from this very day all occasions of new dissensions and differences may be cut off, it is further agreed that both of the aforesaid parties, or either of them, shall keep and possess hereafter, with plenary right of sovereignty, property, and possession, all such lands, islands, cities, forts, places, and colonies (how many soever) as during this war, or in any former times before this war, by force of arms, or in any other way they have seized or retained from the other party, and this precisely in the manner in which they were seized of and possessed them on the tenth day of May last past, none of the said places being excepted.

4. Moreover, that all ships, with their equipment, and cargoes, and all movable goods which during this war, or at any time heretofore, have come into the power of either of the aforesaid parties, or of their subjects, shall be and remain to the present possessors, without any compensation or restitution so that each may become and remain proprietor and possessor in perpetuity of that which has been thus seized, without any controversy or exception of place, time, or things.

5. Moreover, that all actions and pretensions, whatsoever they be, or in manner soever they have been restricted, circumscribed, defined, or reserved in any former articles of peace or alliance (and especially in the fifteenth article of those which were signed in the year 1662) which the said lord the king and the said lords States General, or their subjects, may or would attempt, institute, or move against one another about such matters or events as have happened during this war or in any former times, before as well as after the aforesaid treaty of 1662, up to the day of this present alliance, be and remain void, obliterated, and annulled as the said lord king and the said lords States General have declared and they do hereby declare, that by virtue of these presents they will forever utterly renounce, even as hereby they do renounce, all such actions and pretensions, for themselves and their successors, so that on account of them nothing further may or should be urged on either side, nor any controversy engaged in hereafter.

Second Anglo-Dutch War - History

A.) The Pre-History of the Invasion

In 1663 a British fleet took Dutch trading posts on the Gold Coast in 1664 a Fleet sailing in the name of the Duke of York took NEW AMSTERDAM and renamed it New York.

B.) The Military Course of Events

In 1665 an English fleet under the Duke of York was victorious at Lowestoft, then to suffer a defeat at the hands of Dutch Admiral Michiel Adriaansz. de Ruyter in the Four Days Battle. A fleet equipped by the Estates of Zeeland in 1665 took the English colony of Suriname, then an outpost of Barbados. Minor English victories were followed by de Ruyter's 1667 coup when he broke through the chains blocking the Thames mouth and set the English fleet, docked at Chatham, on fire (the BATTLE OF MEDWAY) the attempt of a Dutch force to take LANDGUARD FORT in 1667 was repelled by the English garrison of c. 500 men, commanded by Captain Nathaniel Darell. Peace was restored in the 1667 TREATY OF BREDA.

Overall, the Dutch Republic had the upper hand in the war. The English offered to restore New Netherlands (with New Amsterdam) in return for Suriname the Dutch side rejected. In 1667, the sugar plantations of Suriname were regarded more profitable than the fur trade with American natives on the Hudson River. The W.I.C. trade posts on the Gold Coast were restored to her.
The considerable contribution of persons/institutions equipping fleets at their own expense and for their own profit, has to be stressed. While the W.I.C. had lost New Netherlands, it was not the W.I.C. which had conquered Suriname, but a fleet equipped by the Estates of Zeeland. And these interests clearly influenced the negotiations at Breda.

The War did not resolve the Anglo-Dutch competition the Navigation Act remained in force.


In June, 1667, de Ruyter launched the Dutch "Raid on the Medway" at the mouth of the River Thames. After capturing the fort at Sheerness, they went on to break through the massive chain protecting the entrance to the Medway and, on the 13th, attacked the English fleet which had been laid up at Chatham. The daring raid remains England's greatest military disaster since the Norman Conquest. Many of the Navy's remaining ships were destroyed, either by the Dutch or by being scuttled by the English to block the river. Three ships of the line were burned: Royal Oak, the new Loyal London and Royal James. The English flagship, HMS Royal Charles, was abandoned by its skeleton crew, captured without a shot being fired, and towed back to the Netherlands. Its coat-of-arms is now on display in the Rijksmuseum. Fortunately for the English the raiders spared the Chatham Dockyard, England's largest industrial complex.

The Dutch success had a major psychological impact throughout England, with London feeling especially vulnerable just a year after the Great Fire. This, together with the cost of the war, of the Great Plague and the extravagant spending of Charles II, meant that the English were keen to sign a peace treaty &mdash and so were the Dutch as they had to deal with a French invasion of the Spanish Netherlands at the same time.

Charles II (1630 - 1685)

Portrait of Charles II © Charles II was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, whose restoration to the throne in 1660 marked the end of republican rule in England.

Charles was born on 29 May 1630, the eldest surviving son of Charles I. He was 12 when the Civil War began and two years later was appointed nominal commander-in-chief in western England. With the parliamentary victory he was forced into exile on the continent. He was in the Netherlands when, in 1649, he learnt of his father's execution.

In 1650, Charles did a deal with the Scots and was proclaimed king. With a Scottish army he invaded England but was defeated by Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. He again escaped into exile and it was not until 1660 that he was invited back to England to reclaim his throne. Although those who had signed Charles I's death warrant were punished, the new king pursued a policy of political tolerance and power-sharing. His desire for religious toleration, due in large part to his own leanings towards Catholicism, were to prove more contentious. He made a number of attempts to formalise toleration of Catholics and Non-conformists but was forced to back down in the face of a strongly hostile parliament.

The early years of Charles's reign saw an appalling plague (1665) and the Great Fire in 1666 which led to the substantial rebuilding of the city of London. Between 1665 and 1667 England was at war with the Dutch (the Second Anglo-Dutch War), ending in a Dutch victory. In 1670, Charles signed a secret treaty with Louis XIV of France. He undertook to convert to Catholicism and support the French against the Dutch (Third Anglo-Dutch War 1672-1674), in return for which he would receive subsidies from France, thus enabling his some limited room for manoeuvre with parliament.

In 1677, Charles married his niece Mary to the Protestant William of Orange, partly to re-establish his own Protestant credentials. Although Charles had a number of illegitimate children with various mistresses, he had none with his wife, Catherine of Braganza. His Catholic brother James was thus his heir. Knowledge of his negotiations with France, together with his efforts to become an absolute ruler, brought Charles into conflict with parliament, which he dissolved in 1681. From then until his death he ruled alone.

Charles's reign saw the rise of colonisation and trade in India, the East Indies and America (the British captured New York from the Dutch in 1664), and the Passage of Navigation Acts that secured Britain's future as a sea power. He founded the Royal Society in 1660. Charles died on 6 February 1685, converting to Catholicism on his death bed.

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The Union is a Constitutional Monarchy made up of three states in an permanent union. These states all have their own parliaments but also elect MP's to the Union Parliament in London. The political parties of the Union are divided into three main groupings which can be seen in the table below. In addition to the three main groupings there is the Canadian Liberal Party who have in the past formed Governments with the support of dissidents in the other parties.

Political parties of the Anglo-Dutch Union
Federal Socialist Coalition Conservative Union Religious Democrats
Great Britain Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats
Netherlands Labour Party ChristianUnion Christian Democrat Alliance
Americas New Democratic Party Progressive Conservative Party Christian Democrats

Currently a government of national unity under Dan Jarvis of the British Labour Party and Pim Fortuyn of the Progressive Conservative part coverns the Union after an upswing in support for parties outside of the major three left neither coalition able to govern on its own.

The Unions politics are divided into four levels. The highest of these is the Federal level where decisions on large policies and international affairs are decided upon. The seat of the Federal Parliament is in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster and representatives are elected from all three states. A federal election can only be called with the permission of the Monarch and He/She has other functions in addition to this. The Federal parliament is Bicameral and consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Prime Minister can only be drawn from the commons and the Lords, while having the power to scrutinize the commons and propose its own bills cannot block bills from the Commons. The Commons is elected when the Monarch dismisses parliament or when the MP's four year (Previously five year) term is up. The Lords consists of 300 members of the peerage chosen by the other peers and the monarch to represent the lords and is also the only part of any parliament that the monarch can enter outside of the state opening.

Below this is the National level, this consists of the three governments based in Ottawa, York and Amsterdam. These parliaments decide on domestic matters within each state in the union and are responsible for matters such as health care and social security. Elections to these parliaments can be called at any time by the incumbent Prime Minister although the ruling monarch has some ceremonial functions.

This is followed by the Regional level. At this level of government decisions are made on issues that only effect the surrounding area, for example metropolitan transport and policing. Elections to this level are alongside National elections but the ruling Monarchy is almost totally removed at this level.

At the lowest or County level the local government is in charge of carrying out directives issued by National or Regional governments. County governments have little say in the running of their area although they can recommend changes to the National government. The elections to the County government are separate to the National and Regional level.

Prior to the 4th Convention Parliament in 2002 the role of the monarch in Anglo-Dutch politics was severely limited, The convention parliament rolled back the limitations on monarchical power allowing the Monarch to freely summon and dismiss parliament and to veto laws as well as allowing her to submit laws and enter the federal parliament. The Monarchs role as head of state was also reaffirmed by the Convention Parliament confirming them as commander in chief of the armed forces. However the Convention Parliament also stated that Parliament must be called at least once a year for eight months and that parliament can override the monarch's veto with a 75% majority and even dismiss the Monarch with a 70% vote.

Second Anglo-Dutch War - History

The Anglo-Dutch are going to war, again, plus expeditions galore, King Philip's War, and fur trade from Virginia to Hudson's Bay .

More Pre-Revolution


Pre-Revolution Timeline - The 1600s



September 13, 1660 - The second piece of legislation in the series of Navigation acts is passed by British Parliament to continue to control colonial commerce in the New World.

1663 - Puritan missionary John Eliot publishes the Eliot Indian Bible, the first complete bible published in British North America.


May 28, 1677 - Treaty of Middle Plantation signed between Virginia and the Native American tribes of the Nottoway, Appomattoc, Wayonaoake, Nansemond, Nanzatico, Monacan, Saponi, and Meherrin.

December 3, 1677 - North Carolina colonists engage in Culpeper's Rebellion against unfair custom duties charged due to the series of Navigation Acts passed by the English Parliament.

History Photo Bomb

Map of the Lederer Expedition, the Discoveries of John Lederer, 1672. Courtesy Library of Congress, Hathitrust,

Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in a drawing of their canoe voyage of exploration in 1673, 1911, Edgar S. Cameron. Courtesy Library of Congress.

ABH Travel Tip

You can visit much of the Pre-Revolution history of the United States throughout the many trails and historic sites of the nation. And don't miss out on the Native American history throughout Florida or other regions. The history of the nation and North America comes from the culture of the many tribes that made up the mosaic of human culture in each state. They were here before the majority of us, after all, and their history is an amazing collection of wonder, beauty, and dedication to the land that sits beneath us.

Drawing depicting the capture of Mrs. Rolandson during the King Philip's War between colonists and New England tribes, 1857, Harper's Monthly. Courtesy Library of Congress.

Second Anglo-Dutch War - History

A Timeline of Modern English History

1485 Beginning of Tudor Dynasty, Henry VII assumes the throne
Central Royal authority was strengthened and private feudal armies suppressed

1487 Rebellion of Lambert Simnel

1509 End of Henry VII's reign – Begin reign of Henry VIII

1513 Battle of Foldden English victory over Scotland

1514 Beginning wars with France and Scotland

1517 End wars with France and Scotland

1520 (June 7) establishment of a short-lived alliance between Henry VIII and Francis I of France

1522 England invades France - invasion unsuccessful

1523 England abandons attempted French invasion

1527 Divorce crisis of Henry VIII begins

1530 Henry VII begins the process of breaking with the papacy
time of internal instability associated with founding the new church

1534 Church of England established, unrest within England largely subsided

1542 Renewed warfare with France and Scotland
French landings on the English coast between1545 and 1546
convince Henry VIII to begin a massive naval construction program.
Beginning of the modern Royal Navy.
Beginning of the construction of system of coastal fortifications.

1547 Death of Henry VIII – Begin reign of Edward IV
Since Edward IV was not of age to rule, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, ruled as regent.

1549 Religious/Social Unrest
Duke of Somerset puts down a Catholic revolt in Devonshire .
Royal forces under John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, put down a peasant revolt in Norfolk .
Setbacks in wars with France and Scotland
French successful in battle outside Houlogne. Scottish recapture Haddington.
September – Somerset forced out as regent due to war setbacks, social unrest,
and noble dissatisfaction with his liberal ideas.
Warwick, Duke of Northumberland, becomes regent .

1550 Peace with France
France returns Boulogne to England for a cash payment.

1553 Death of Edward IV
(June 6-19) Insurrection of Northumberland Upon the death of Edward VI, Northumberland attempted to place his daughter in law, Lady Jane Grey , on the throne instead of the rightful successor, Edward's sister, Mary. Northumberland was captured, and Jane was deposed and executed after a reign of nine days .

1553 Beginning of the Reign of Mary I
Re-establishment of Catholicism in England .
Her marriage to Philip of Spain added to religious unrest,
many English Catholics joined the Protestants in distrust of Spain and Spanish Catholicism.

1554 Insurrection in Kent Led by Sir Thomas Wyatt, Sir Thomas Carew, and the Duke of Suffolk, this was an attempt to prevent Mary's marriage to Philip. Wyatt was defeated and overpowered while trying to take London . The rebellion collapsed and the leaders were executed.

1555 Persecution of Protestants begins

1557 War begins with France Mary's marriage led to English involvement in Spain 's endemic wars with France

1558 End of Mary I's reign / Start of Reign of Elizabeth I (sister of Edward VI and Mary I) Elizabeth returns England to Protestantism, She followed a general policy of avoiding involvement in major continental wars.

1559 England ends war with France

Intervention in Scotland English forces assist Scots against Frenchforces in Scotland . French surrender at Leith in February, 1560.

1562 England sends troops to France to aid the Huguenots.

1568 Beginning of a period of mounting hostilities between Spain and England

1570 Papal Bull declares Elizabeth excommunicated and deposed

1573 Temporary Rapprochement with Spain . Ascendancy of the Guise family in France leads to a temporary reduction of tensions.

1577 Alliance with the Netherlands Republic in their war against Spain , although Elizabeth did not declare war against Spain .

1580 Sir Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation of the World Drake raids Spanish and Portuguese colonies and shipping along the way.

1585 English military assistance to the Netherlands Henry Sidney, Earl of Lester, brings an army of 6,000 men to Holland .
Drake's expeditions to the Caribbean An English expedition under Sir Francis Drake sacked Santo Domingo , Cartagena , St. Augustine and carried out numerous other raids in the West Indies . Expedition ends in 1586.

1587 English army in Netherlands returns to England The army performed poorly, and the Earl of Lester died in the field in the previous year.
(April-June) Drake's Expedition to Cadiz Aware of Spanish plans for the coming armada, Drake sails into the port of Cadiz with a fleet of 23ships and destroys 33 Spanish vessels of all sizes.

1588 Santa Cruz dies Admiral Marquis de Santa Cruz , who was in charge of preparing the Armada, dies on January 30, and was replaced by Alone Perez de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia, who had no naval experience.
May 20 - The armada leaves Lisbon (comprised of 20 great galleons,44 armed merchant ships, 23 transports, 35 smaller vessels, 4 galleasses,and 4 galleys.)
July 19 - Armada sited off the coast of Lizard Head by Englishscout vessels.
July 20 - Lord Howard of Effingham, commander of the Englishforces, sets sail with from Plymouth (34 ships under his command, joinedby 34 under Drake's command, a London squadron of 30 ships, and an additional30 ships under Lord Henry Seymour.)
July 21 - Spanish lose one ship in engagements off Plymouth .
July 23 - No losses on either side as a result of this all daybattle
July 25 - Battle of Dorset . The English are able to replenishtheir ammunition while the Spanish are not. Spanish head for Calis to replenishstocks and pick up troops.
July 26-27 - Armada anchored off Calis, but unable to obtainsupplies due to the blockade of Bruges by the Dutch fleet under the commandof Justinian of Nassau.
July 28 - English send fire ships into the Spanish fleet, whichresponds by cutting anchor and traveling up the coast while suffering heavylosses from English long range fire.
July 29-30 - Unfavorable winds keep Spanish fleet from landinganywhere in the Low Countries . Sedina Sidonia decides to return to Spainby sailing up through the North Sea .
August 2 - English fleet breaks off its pursuit of the Armadaand returns to its home ports.
August-September - The armada suffers heavy losses as it makesits way back to Spain , due to storms, starvation, and thirst. 63 of theoriginal 130 ships returned to Spain .

1589 4,000 English troops land in Normandy to aid Henry of Navarre

1591 Small English force lands at St. Malo and Rouen .

1594 Tyrone Rebellion in Ireland Endemic rebellion in Irelanderupted into full scale war under the leadership of Hugh O'Neil, Earl ofTyrone.

1596 English troops landed during a raid on Cadiz .

1598 English defeated by Irish at the Battle of Yellow Ford onthe Blackwater river.

1601 Spanish Intervention Spain sends 4,000 troops to Irelandand capture Kinsale.

1603 Death of Elizabeth I ,End of Tudor dynasty,
beginningof Stuart dynasty with reign of James I .

English victory Irish-Spanish troops defeated at the Battle of Kinsale.O'Neil surrenders and is pardoned by James I.

1604 October 24 - Unification of Britain The union of the crownsof England and Scotland eliminated internal frontiers and reduced the needfor a standing army, which increased parliamentary authority at the expenseof royal authority.

1605 The Gunpowder Plot the last major Catholic conspiracy

1624 Involvement in 30 Years War James sends a small force of1,200 men to the continent to assist Frederick of Prussia and ChristianIV of Denmark. This army collapses in 1625 due to a lack of training andsupplies.

1625 End of reign of JamesI, beginning of Charles I's reign

1626 Beginning of the Anglo-French war.

1627 The Duke of Buckingham's expedition to the Isle of Re, nearLa Rochelle, to support Huguenot forces ended in defeat.

1628 Buckingham assassinated while preparing another expeditionagainst the French.
May - The Petition of Right listing of parliamentarygrievances against the king.

1630 November 5 - Peace with France and Spain

1639 First Bishops' War Scotland revolts over the impositionof Anglican liturgy into Scottish Presbyterian services.
June 18 Pacification of Dunse temporary compromisesettlement

1640 Second Bishops' War hostilities renewed in Scotland
April-May the "Short Parliament" the Commonsrefuses to grant Charles financial support for the war.
August 28 Scots defeat Charles' forces atNewburn, Northumberland, and Durham
November - Treaty of Ripon temporary end tohostilities.
November 3 - the "Long Parliament" TriennialAct agreed to by Charles I.

1641 October - Outbreak of the Irish War Irish rebellion breaksout
due to the distastefor the policies of the Earl of Stratford , the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland .
December 1 - Grand Remonstrance Act passedby Parliament listing the grievances against Charles I.
Abolition of the councilor courts, abolitionof prerogative taxation, Triennial Bill.

1642 January 3 Charles attempts to arrest 5 leaders in the Commons,attempt fails.
March - Charles rejects Parliament's attemptto gain control of army.
June - Parliament raises a 24,000 man army
August - Charles begins to raise his armyat Nottingham

1643 Kings armies have the advantage
Scots invade on the side of Parliament

1644 Parliaments armies take the advantage
June - Battle of Marston Moor Parliament wins,decisive battle in war.

1645 "Clubmen" rising of armed neutrals threaten both sides
Royalist armies disintegrate
Parliament forces reorganize into the NewModel Army

1646 King surrenders to Scots
Bishops and Book of Common Prayer abolished
Presbyterian Church established

1647 Army revolt Radical movements criticize parliamentary tyranny

1648 Second Civil War Scots now side with the king and are defeated

1649 Trial and executionof Charles I England becomes a republic
Government by single chamber Rump Parliament
Oliver Cromwell begins the conquest of Irelandcomplete in 1650

1650 Cromwell begins the conquest of Scotland complete in 1652

1651 Thomas Hobbes publishes Leviathan

1652 First Dutch war begins

1653 Cromwell dissolves Rump Parliament Cromwell becomes LordProtector of Britain, written constitution.

1654 End of the first Dutch war

1655 Beginning of War with Spain
Royalist insurrection Penruddock's rising,a complete failure

1658 Cromwell dies and is succeeded by his son Richard

1659 Richard overthrown by army Rump is restored, but displeasesthe army

1660 Restoration of the Stuarts - Charles II takes the throne

1662 Church of England restored

1663 Failure of first Royal attempt to grant religious toleration

1665 Second Anglo-Dutch War begins
Great Plague final major outbreak

1666 The Great Fire of London

1667 Second Anglo-Dutch War ends
Milton 's Paradise Lost published allegoryfor the failed revolution

1672 Third Anglo-Dutch War begins
Failure of second royal attempt to grant religioustoleration

1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War Ends

1679 The Exclusion Crisis beginning of the Whig and Tory parties

1685 February 6 - James II takes the throne

1687 Newton 's Principia Mathematica published

1688 William of Orange invadesJames II flees the country

1689 February 13 - William of Orange andMary Stuart named joint sovereigns of England by Parliament.
Irish War begins

1690 Battle of the Boyne William III defeats Irish and Frencharmies

1691 Irish War ends English victory

1694 Bank of England founded
Death of Queen Mary

1697 Civil List Act Parliament votes funds for the maintenanceof the royal household.

1699 February Disbanding Act Parliament reduces the size of theBritish standing army to 7,000 to limit William III's involvement in continentalwarfare.

1700 Importation of Indian muslin and printed calicoes is forbidden

1701 June 12 Act of Settlement Parliament states thatthe English crown
will go to the Electors of Hanover, throughSophia, granddaughter of James I,
after Anne,daughter of James II had reigned.
September 16 James II dies in France
Beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession

1702 Death of William III,Anne Stuart takes the throne

1704 British capture Gibraltar from Spain

1705 Newcomen's fire-engine

1707 May 1 Union of England and Scotland Establishes theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain .

1708 James Edward, the Pretender, lands in Scotland his welcomeis lukewarm
and he returnsto France in the same year.
Abraham Darby takes lease of Coalbrookdale

1710 Fall of the Whig Ministry Tories cometo power - Harley ministry

1713 End of the War of the Spanish Succession Treaty of Utrecht

1714 August 1 - Death of Anne Stuart, beginning of the HanoverDynasty with George I, Elector of Hanover.

1715 September - Beginning of the Jacobite Rebellion in Scotlandinitial successes, James Edward arrives from France in December.

1716 Septennial Act no parliament can sit for longer than sevenyears without an election
February - Jacobite rising defeated JamesEdward returns to France .

1719 Spanish Expedition to Scotland Spanish fleet sailing toScotland to put Stuarts back on the throne is scattered by a storm anddoes not meet its objective.

1720 South Sea Bubble Many investors are ruined after speculationin the stock of the South Sea Company
Wearing of pure cotton cloth prohibited

1721 Walpole ministry

1727 George I dies, George II becomes king
beginning of war with Spain

1729 End of war with Spain

1730 Lord Townshend retires from the ministry to devote himselfto agricultural improvement

1733 Excise crisis Walpole must abandon plans to reform customsand excise duties.
Kay's fly shuttle invented
Jethro Tull's Horse-hoeing Husbandrypublished

1737 Death of Queen Caroline

1738 Lewis Paul's roller-spinning machine invented

1739 Beginning of "War of Jenkin's Ear" Anglo-Spanish naval war

1740 Beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession

1742 Fall of Wallpole

1744 Pelham ministry

1745 Beginning of "The Forty-five" James Edward once again comesto England to reclaim his throne.

1746 End of "The Forty-five" Scottish uprising suppressed, JamesEdward returns to France . Scotsmen now forbidden to wear their nationaldress.

1748 End of "War of Jenkin's Ear" with Spain
End of the War of the Austrian SuccessionPeace of Aix-la-Chapelle

1749 Iron manufactures suppressed in the American colonies

1751 War between British and French in India

1752 Adoption of Gregorian Calendar

1754 War between English and French colonists in America begins
Newcastle ministry

1756 Beginning of the Seven Years War Britain allied with Frederickthe Great of Prussia against France , Austria , and Russia .

1758 Threshing machine invented
Bridgewater Canal constructed

1760 Death of George II, accession of GeorgeIII
Carron Iron Works opened

1761 Wilkinson sets up furnaces in Bersham

1763 End of the Seven Years War Peace of Paris

1764 Hargreaves' spinning jenny invented

1765 American Stamp Act meant to pay for the defense of the Americancolonies
Rockingham ministry

1766 Chatham ministry begins

1768 Grafton ministry begins
Cook's first voyage in the Pacific begun

1769 James Watt's steam engine patented
Arkwright's "water frame" patented

1770 Lord North's ministry begins

1773 Boston Tea Party a protest against the East India Company'smonopoly on tea exports to American colonies

1774 Coercive Acts Passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party
Arkwright's carding machine patented
Wearing pure cotton cloth permitted by law
Priestley discovers oxygen

1775 Thomas Spence's The Real Rights of Man published
War of American Independence begun

1776 Declaration of American Independence
Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of theRoman Empire published
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations published

1777 First Bath and West of England Agricultural Show held

1779 Crompton's mule invented

1781 British surrender at Yorktown end of American RevolutionaryWar

1782 Second Rockingham ministry

1784 Henry Cort's puddling process patented
Bell's cylindrical process of calico printing
Andrew Meikle's threshing machine
Watt's double-acting steam-engine

1783 Shelburne ministry
Pitt ministry

1785 Steam-engines first applied to spinning machinery
Arkwright's patents declared invalid
New Lanark Mills founded by David Dale
Cartwright's first patent for a power loom

1786 Eden 's commercial treaty with France

1789 French Revolution

1791 Thomas Paine's The Rights of Man published
Spinning jenny applied to wool

1792 Coal and gas used for lighting

1793 Outbreak of war with France
Eli Whitney's cotton gin
Commercial depression begins

1794 Habeas Corups suspended

1795 "Speenhamland" system of relief made wages equal to thecosts of subsistence
Beginning of the United Irishmen Revolt

1796 Vaccination against smallpox introduced

1797 United Irishmen Revolt ends brutally repressed by Britishforces
Cash payments by the Bank of England suspended
The British Naval Mutinies

1798 Malthus's Essay on Population first published
Income tax (10% on incomes over £200)

1799 Napoleon appointed First Consul in France
Beginning of commercial boom
Trade Unions suppressed under the CombinationLaw
Serfdom of Scottish coal miners abolished
Limited free trade established between Britainand Ireland

1801 Union with Ireland
End of commercial boom
First British Census estimated population8,892,536
Surrey Iron Railway

1802 Peace with France
Peel introduces first factory legislation
West India Dock completed

1803 War with France begins again
Horrock's improved power loom patented
General Enclosure Act simplifies the processof enclosure of common land

1805 Battle of Trafalgar Nelson defeats the French and Spanishfleets

1806 Death of Pitt, Lord Grenville becomesPM

1807 Abolition of the slave trade

1808 Peninsular War begins
East India Docks opened

1809 Economic boom begins

1811 Depression sets in
Luddite riots in Nottinghamshire

1812 Beginning of war with United States of America
Napoleon's Russian campaign

1813 Monopoly of East India Company abolished
Henry Bell's steamboat Comet plies on theClyde

1814 Stephenson's railway engine used to haul coal
Repeal of Statute of Apprentices

1815 Battle of Waterloo
Congress of Vienna
Corn Law passed
Beginning of a commercial boom

1817 Recession sets in

1819 Peterloo Massacre
The Savannah crossed the Atlantic partly understeam power

1820 Death of George III,accession of George IV

1821 Famine in Ireland begins
Cash payments resumed by the Bank of England

1822 Greek war of independence begins

1823 End of Irish famine

1824 Trade boom begins
Repeal of laws against the export of machineryand artisans

1825 Trade Unions legalized
Stockton and Darlington railway opens
Commercial depression begins

1827 Liverpool retires, Canning becomesPM

1829 Catholic Emancipation
Greece wins independence
Metropolitan Police established

1830 Death of George IV, accessionof William IV
Liverpool and Manchester railway opens

1831 Swing riots rural workers protesting against mechanizationof agriculture

1832 Great Reform Bill introduces the "10pound" voter franchise

1833 Factory Act limiting child labor

1834 Slavery abolished it the British Empire
Grand National Consolidated Trade Union Founded

1835 Commercial boom - Major increase in railway building begins

1837 Death of William IV, accessionof Victoria I

1838 People's Charter drafted
The Great Western Railway opened London toBath and Bristol

1839 Chartist riots
Capture of Hong Kong
Beginning of Afgan war

1840 Railway regulation act

1841 Tories assume power, Peel becomesPM

1842 Income tax revived
End of Afgan war

1843 End of Opium War with China

1844 Boom in railway building begins Result of the Cheep TrainsAct
Irish potato famine begins
First telegraph in England

1846 Corn Laws abolished
Peel resigns, Lord JohnRussell becomes PM

1848 European revolutions
Last great Chartist demonstration

1949 Repeal of Navigation Laws

1851 Great Exhibition Crystal Palace showcases the industrialmight of Britain
Submarine cable laid across the English Channel

1852 Russell Resigns, Earl of Derby becomes PM

1854 Crimean War begins

1855 Newspapers duties repealed
Aberdeen resigns, Palmerston becomes PM

1856 Crimean War ends

1857 Start of second Opium War opens China to European trade
Production of aniline dyes started

1858 End of Second Opium War
Indian Mutiny and India Act
Palmerston resigns, Lord Derby becomes PM

1859 Publication of Darwin 's Origin of the Species
Great London builders strike

1860 Anglo-French "Cobden" treaty

1861 Death of Albert, Prince Consort
US Civil war causes cotton famine in Lancashire

1862 Limited Liability Act provides stimulus to business interests

1863 War with Japan to open Japanese ports to trade

1865 October - Death of Palmerston, Russell becomes PM

1866 Derby forms a minority Conservative government
Submarine cable laid across the Atlantic

1867 Dominion of Canada Act
Second Reform Act household franchise in boroughs

1868 February - Disraeli becomes PM (Conservative)
Gladstone forms Liberal Government

1869 Suez Canal opened
Irish Church disestablished
Debt imprisonment ended

1870 Irish Land Act
Elementary Education Act

1871 Purchase of commissions in the army abolished

1874 Disraeli forms Conservative government

1875 British government buys controlling shares in Suez Canal
Agricultural depression deepens due to new grain supplies from Russia and
the United States entering the European market for the first time.

1876 Victoria proclaimed Empress of India
Compulsory Education enacted

1877 Confederation of British and Boer states in South Africa

1878 Congress of Berlin
Edison 's bipolar dynamo invented

1879 Economic depression deepens
Zulu war
Incandescent lamp invented

1880 First Anglo-Boer war
Synthetic indigo manufactured
Employers Liability Act passed

1882 Britain occupies Egypt
Triple Alliance between Germany , Austria ,and Italy

1885 Burma annexed
Third Reform Act household franchise in counties
Salisbury 's first Conservative government

1886 Gladstone becomes PM (Liberal Party)
First Home Rule Bill for Ireland splits theLiberal Party
Gold found in Transvaal
Royal Niger Company chartered
1886 Conservatives return to powerunder Salisbury

1887 British East Africa Company chartered

1889 London dock strike
Board of Agriculture instituted
British South Africa Company chartered

1892 Liberals return to power under Gladstone

1893 Second Home Rule Bill rejected by the House of Lords
Independent Labor Party founded

1894 Gladstone resigns, Lord Rosebery becomes PM

1896 Sudan conquest begins

1897 Workmen's Compensation Act

1898 Sudan under British control Fashoda incident
German naval expansion begins

1899 May-June First Hague Peace Conference
Second Anglo-Boer war begins

1900 " Khaki" election won by Salisbury
Commonwealth of Australia Act

1901 Death of Victoria I- Edward VII becomes king

1902 Anglo-Japanese alliance
End of Boer War Peace of Vereeniging

1903 Tariff Reform Campaign started
Wright brothers make first airplane flight

1904 Anglo-French Entente
Committee on Imperial Defense (Esher Committee)
major reorganizationof British armed forces in light of the Boer War experiences

1905 Campbell-Bannerman's Liberal Government
Morocco Crisis
Beginning of the Haldane Military Reforms

1906 Launching of the H.M.S Dreadnought First all big-gun battleship,with 10 12" guns.
Labor Party formed

1907 Anglo-Russian Entente

1908 Beginning of Asquith's Liberal Government
Old Age Pension plan introduced
Eight hour day in coal mines introduced

1910 Death of Edward VII - accession ofGeorge V
Churchill's Employment Exchanges introduced

1911 Moroccan Crisis
Serious railroad, mining, and coal strikeslasting until 1912

1912 Failure of Anglo-German naval talks
First minimum wage laws for miners
Beginning of the Balkan war

1913 End of the Balkan war Peace of London

1914 Third Home Rule Act for Ireland passed and suspended
March 20 - Curragh "Mutiny" Brigadier GeneralHubert Gough resigns
rather thancarry out orders that would have forced them to compell the population
of Ulster toaccept Home Rule under the separatists of southern Ireland .
June 28 - Assassination of Archduke Ferdinandat Sarajevo
August 4 - British Empire enters firstWorld War

1915 Dardanelles expedition ending in British withdrawal fromGallipoli in 1916
Unofficial strike on Clyde
South Wales miners strike

1916 Battle of the Somme
Battle of Jutland
Lloyd George succeeds Asquith as Prime Minister

1917 Battle of Passchendaele
Food Ministry reorganized

1918 November 11 - End of first World War

1919 Treaty of Versailles
London police strike
National railway strike
Cotton Operatives strike

1920 Civil war in Ireland
Deflation and price slump sets in
First meeting of League of Nations

1921 "Triple Alliance " Miners, dockers, and railwaymen strikeon "Black Friday," but strike is broken when dockers and railwaymen backdown.

1922 Fall of LLoyd George, Bonar Law leads Conservative government

1923 Bonar Law resigns, Stanley Baldwin becomes PM

1924 January - First Laborgovernment headed by MacDonald

1925 Britain goes back on the gold standard

1926 May 3-12 - General strike

1931 Financial Crisis Britain goes off the gold standard.
Hoover moratorium on inter-governmental debt
Gold standard collapses

1932 Ottoawa Conference institutes imperial preference on tradewithin the British Empire

1935 Conservatives win election, Baldwin becomes PM
June 18 Anglo-German Naval Agreement Germantonnage would not exceed 35% of English tonnage.
(This agreementestranged France from Britain ).
September - Ethiopian Crisis

1936 Death of George V - Edward VIII abdicates - George VI becomes king

1937 Neville Chamberlain becomes new Conservative PM
January 2 - Anglo-Italian Mediterranean Agreement

1938 September 29 - Munich Agreement

1939 March 31 - British Guarantee to Poland
September 3 - Britain declares war on Germany

1940 Churchill replaces Chamberlain as PM
British withdrawal from Dunkirk
Battle for Britain

1941 Luftwaffe blitz on many British cities
Soviet Union and the United States enter the war

1942 Loss of Singapore
Battle of Stalingrad
Beveridge Report on Social Security

1943 Successful North African Campaigns
Anglo-American armies invade Italy

1944 D-Day invasion of France
Butler's Education Act

1945 May 8 - End of second World War in Europe
August 15 - End of war in far East
Landslide Labor victory Clement Attlee becomes Prime Minister
Beginning of involvement in Greece
Beginning of troubles in Arabia Intermittent frontier conflicts in Aden and Arabian Protectorates.

1947 India , Pakistan , and Burma become independent
Pound convertibility crisis pound only able to remain freely convertible with the US dollar for one month.
Coal and other industries nationalized
Treaty of Dunkirk: A 50 year Anglo-French alliance, also including the Benelux countries.

1948 Beginning of the Berlin Blockade RAF units participate.

1949 NATO founded
April 18 - Independence of Eire: Ireland breaks off all ties with Great Britain
and becomes an independent state.
devaluation of the pound

1950 March 29 - Churchill urges the rearmament of Germany
Korean War begins

These Are The Best 10 Naval Movies On Earth

Admiral (2015). In a similar vein, never forget that the Netherlands has a seaborne badass of its own. Admiral recalls the story of Admiral Michiel De Ruyter, who commanded the Dutch Navy during the seventeenth-century Anglo-Dutch naval wars. Holland was the reigning sea power of the age, England and its Royal Navy the upstarts. De Ruyter reached the summit of his achievements with the Medway Raid (1667), during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The admiral took his fleet into the Thames estuary, deep into the British interior, and either burned or towed away much of the English battle fleet. That’s rather like China’s navy stealing into Tokyo Bay today and attacking the U.S. Seventh Fleet at its moorings. Dutchmen celebrate De Ruyter’s triumph to this day, while Kipling wrote a poem about the raid to illustrate the wages of British naval unpreparedness. A solid telling of a more or less forgotten episode in maritime history. Bonus: also check out Broadside, which covers the Anglo-Dutch wars from the English side and features magnificent visuals of sea battles.

James Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College. The views expressed in this article are his own. This article first appeared earlier this year.