William III and his two navies

Abstract

Soon after his accession to the English throne William’s two navies started combined operations against the common enemy France. The Nine Years War had broken out, and this was followed after a short interval by the War of the Spanish Succession. Combined naval operations by two allies were nothing uncommon in those days. Anglo- French fleets had fought the Dutch in no fewer than four fierce battles in 1672 and 1673. French and Dutch squadrons had cooperated against the English Navy in 1666, and much earlier in 1596 and 16252727 Anglo- Dutch fleets jointly attacked Spanish ports (1). In these examples cooperation never lasted long nor was it very close. Problems concerning the command structure were seldom satisfactorily solved. Allies regularly changed sides during the 17th century. The Glorious Revolution, however, can be treated as a turning point. England became involved in a generations-long struggle against France. The Dutch Republic under William III had already started to fight Louis XIV’s urge for expansion, more than 15 years earlier. Both countries almost became traditional allies. Right from the beginning in 1689 detailed arrangements were made for naval cooperation, long-standing ones as later developments showed.