War declared between Great Britain and Holland, April 1652. declared war against her in April 1652. As the desperate and sanguinary struggles which followed are matters of general history, it will be sufficient for our purpose if we recapitulate some only of the leading facts which show the effect of the war upon the merchant shipping of both countries.
The Dutch were at first, if not throughout, by far the heavier sufferers. Within a month of the declaration of war Blake captured one hundred of their herring fleet, together with twelve frigates of their convoy, sinking the thirteenth. He also made efforts to intercept five East Indiamen under the Dutch flag, which had endeavoured to get into port by sailing round Scotland, and he contrived to carry six more frigates into Yarmouth Roads. About the same period Sir George Ayscough, the admiral commanding in the Channel, having thirty-eight ships under him, made an attempt to stop the passage of a fleet of Dutch merchantmen, sailing under the protection of De Ruyter, another distinguished Dutch admiral, but after a furious engagement he was compelled to retire into Plymouth, and to leave a free passage for De Ruyter's convoy down Channel.
The English capture prizes. The English, however, again took possession of the Channel, and scarcely a day passed without Dutch prizes being brought into English ports: many of these having made long voyages to distant parts of the world, were on their homeward voyage without ap-*
- [Footnote: June 2, when the Dutch were again beaten. The fifth on August 10,
an indecisive action, wherein Monk commanded the English instead of Blake, and Tromp was killed, leaving De Witt in command. The action between Ayscough and De Ruyter was fought on August 26, 1652.—See Sir E. Cust's 'Lives of the Admirals,' etc., i. p. 370.]
