Michiel de Ruyter (ADMIRAL) – Trailer from Rebel Film on Vimeo.
Just to explain… This is the Admiral de Ruyter who famously led the Dutch Navy’s Raid on the Medway in June 1667 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
He should be better known to us Brits – and I gather the new film will be available with subtitles. Check the starry cast by the way…
De Ruyter bombarded and then captured the town of Sheerness, then sailed up up the River Medway to Chatham, where the Dutch burned three capital ships and ten smaller naval vessels, and towed away the Unity and the Royal Charles, then the pride of the English fleet.
It was one of the worst defeats in the Royal Navy’s history, and led to a quick and favourable peace for the Dutch.
Read about De Ruyter here, and for a more English view of the Raid on the Medway, click here.
Sorry to say de Ruyter had already died in battle before William III arrived in Brittain. He has been called by many the best naval commander ever. During the second and third Anglo Dutch wars, it was his brilliance that gave the Dutch the edge over their English competitors. On his death in 1676 the shi carrying his remains back to the Netherlands was given free passage through enemy waters and every ship and fortress they passed gae salute to this great, now all but forgotten, hero.