[II. The Capture of Dutch Convoys by the Earl Of Sandwich.]
After the defeat of the Dutch off Harwich, the Duke of York returned to England to report himself to the king; and the command of the fleet now lying in Southwold Bay fell upon the Earl of Sandwich, who had contributed so much to the late victory. While here news reached the earl that two rich Dutch squadrons had put to sea; whereupon he immediately prepared to follow them with Sir George Ayscue as vice-admiral, and Sir Thomas Tyddiman as admiral of the rear, determined either to intercept De Ruyter, the Dutch admiral, on his return, or to take and burn the Turkey and East India fleets of which they had news.
Both these schemes were doomed to failure. De Ruyter returned unexpectedly by the north of Scotland and arrived safely in Holland, where he was immediately promoted to the chief command of the fleet. The Turkey and India fleet—consisting of twenty sail under the command of Commodore Bitter—took the same route; but having intelligence of the approach of the English, took shelter in the port of Bergen in Norway.
Here the Danish governor promised them all the assistance he could give, and to strengthen his hands the Dutch landed forty-one pieces of cannon, which he disposed in a line in front of the port, the Dutch forming another line of their largest ships across the bay, and then waiting the arrival of the English fleet. Bergen, being a neutral port, ought to have been an asylum of safety for these Dutch merchantmen, but the King of Denmark, hoping to share the plunder, showed himself willing to treat with the Earl of Sandwich for liberty to attack the convoy in port. The earl, however, had no desire to share the spoil, and, impatient of delay, ordered Sir Thomas Tyddiman with fourteen sail of men-of-war and three fire-ships to enter the bay and cut out the Dutch squadron. This he attempted with great courage; though the wind was against him and he had to face a fierce fire from the castle, the line of guns, and the Dutch ships. Eventually, he was compelled to bear out of the bay, which he succeeded in doing without the loss of a ship; though five or six of his squadron were very much damaged.
To relieve the Dutch squadron—now practically prisoners in the port of Bergen—the Dutch manned a stout fleet, which put to sea under the command of Admiral Ruyter, who was accompanied by De Witte, appointed, with two other deputies by the states, to attend upon the admiral. After meeting with many difficulties, the Dutch fleet succeeded in eluding that of the English, and arrived safely before Bergen, where, in the meantime, their friends had found a new enemy in their old defender. The Danish governor had modestly desired a hundred thousand crowns for the assistance he had given them in the late affair with the English, and had threatened to sink them without ceremony if they offered to stir out of the port before they had complied with his demand. The arrival of De Ruyter's fleet made him change his tone, and he allowed them to sail without paying the money, but kept the cannon they had put ashore.
Thus far, the Dutch were very successful; but on their return home the fleet was scattered by a storm, in which they lost two fire-ships and some of the merchantmen. The vice-admiral and rear-admiral of the East India fleet, ships of very great value, with four men-of-war, were taken by five English frigates, which the same storm had separated from their fleet; and soon after four of their men-of-war, two fire-ships, and thirty merchantmen joined our fleet instead of their own, and through this mistake were all taken prisoners. This ended the operations of the year 1665.
[III. The Four Days' Fight in the Channel.]
The year 1666 opened upon a new condition of affairs. The French having declared in favour of the Dutch, Charles II. recalled his ambassador, Lord Holles, from the French court, and sent the Earl of Sandwich as ambassador to Spain; placing the fleet under the command of Prince Rupert and the Duke of Albemarle, who had won distinction as General Monk, the former to look after the French, who began to talk very high, and the latter to act against the Dutch.
Prince Rupert and the Duke of Albemarle went on board the fleet on April 23rd, 1666, and sailed with it in the beginning of May. Towards the latter end of the month a rumour reached the English court that the French fleet, under the command of the Duke of Beaufort, was coming out to the assistance of the Dutch; and orders were immediately despatched to Prince Rupert to sail with the white squadron to engage it; which order he proceeded to obey.