A NATIVE of Rotterdam, the son of Martin Van Tromp, who, at the age of eleven years, stood by his father when he was shot down in action, the boy crying wildly to his messmates, ‘Comrades, will you not revenge my father’s death?’
Martin’s father before him had also been killed on the deck of his own vessel, in an engagement with the English, and Cornelius proved himself worthy of his brave progenitors. At the age of twenty-one he had attained the rank of post-captain, and was employed against the Emperor of Morocco, whom he compelled to make advantageous terms with the Dutch. In 1652 he fought the English at Porto Longone, and captured one of their finest vessels, the Sampson, which he boarded, his own ship being disabled; but, to the great mortification of Van Tromp, the Sampson was recaptured by the enemy. The following year, in a fresh encounter with the English, he made a violent effort to regain possession of his former prize, but the Sampson was blown up. The Dutch were victorious on this occasion, but they lost their Admiral, and Van Tromp was promoted to the vacant post. In 1656, in connection with Oldham and De Ruyter, he distinguished himself on the high seas, and then retired for a while from public life, and did not go afloat till 1662, when he fought the Algerine pirates in the Mediterranean. He also performed an arduous task in convoying several richly freighted Dutch merchantmen from the East Indies safely into port, in spite of numerous enemies who were on the look-out for such valuable prizes. Van Tromp was constantly opposed to the English, and in one engagement he gained universal praise for the manner in which he defended his disabled and shattered ship, when the Dutch were defeated, and sad havoc made in their fleet. New ships had to be constructed in all haste, and the States-General were placed in a dilemma as to the appointment of the command of the naval forces. Popular De Ruyter was absent, battling with other foes, and although Van Tromp’s knowledge and skill were almost universally acknowledged, there was a very powerful faction against him, led by the brothers De Witt, then in the plenitude of their power. The head and front of the gallant seaman’s offending seemed to consist in his unswerving loyalty to the House of Orange. There was, however, no alternative, and the command of the fleet was grudgingly bestowed on Cornelius Van Tromp, who had many hard conditions, to which his patriotism alone induced him to submit. He had not the sole command, but was joined therein by De Witt and others, who received instructions to watch over and supervise all his movements. Worse treatment was in store for him; no sooner had he hoisted his flag, than the sudden return of De Ruyter changed the whole aspect of affairs; Van Tromp’s appointments were cancelled, and De Ruyter ordered to supersede him. We can imagine with what feelings of wrathful indignation Van Tromp went on shore, proudly refusing to serve under the man who had supplanted him. In the ensuing year, spite of much bitterness of feeling, he who had been so unjustly treated was induced (partly by the bribe, perhaps, of a splendid ship) to join De Ruyter in an attack on the English, when, after a fierce struggle, of several days’ duration, the Dutch were victorious. Hostilities continuing between the two nations, in another engagement Van Tromp defeated the British Admiral Smith, but De Ruyter was worsted; and on their return violent recriminations passed between them. De Ruyter complained that his colleague had acted quite independently, had afforded him no support whatsoever, and, in fact, had left him and his portion of the fleet completely in the lurch, while Van Tromp retaliated with counter-charges. The States-General, as usual, espoused the cause of De Ruyter, deprived Van Tromp of his commission, forbade him to hold any communication with the fleet, and placed him under provisory arrest at the Hague. It was at this moment, while smarting beneath the ingratitude and injustice of the country which he had so nobly served, that tempting offers were made to the gallant seaman to enter the service of France, but these overtures were answered with becoming indignation. He now gained permission to leave the Hague, and repair to a country house which he possessed near Gravensand, called Trompenburg, and built in the fanciful form of a man-of-war. But being in the Hague at the time of the murder of the De Witt brothers, there were slanderous rumours set abroad that he encouraged the assassins. This arose doubtless from the fact that some voices in the crowd on the day of the murder called out, ‘Down with the De Witts! Long live Van Tromp!’
The Admiral remained for some time in retreat, but in 1673 he was reinstated in all his dignities by the Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.). A formal reconciliation took place between him and De Ruyter, and they once more agreed to make common cause against the enemies of their country. In an engagement with the combined forces of France and England, Van Tromp was sorely pressed, compelled to change his ship three times, and three times he was rescued by the gallantry of De Ruyter. The war continued, and they were both in constant service, and, whether successful or not, both famed alike for their patriotism and courage.
In 1675, the Dutch being then at peace with England, Charles II. invited Van Tromp to visit London, where he welcomed him with great honour, and gave him the title of Baron. The citizens also crowded to see the man whose name, as well as that of his father, had long been used with them as a bugbear to frighten naughty children (as was the case with ‘Boney’ in later days), and whose advent on the shores of England had at one time been so much dreaded that prayers had actually been printed against such a calamity.
Next year the Admiral was despatched to the assistance of Denmark against Sweden, and the King of that country also did him great honour, creating him a Count, and decorating him with the Order of the Elephant. On his return, the death of De Ruyter had made a vacancy in the highest naval command which it was in the power of the States-General to bestow, and it was conferred on Van Tromp. His last expedition was to accompany the Prince of Orange in his attack of St. Omer, and in 1691, William (then King of England) proposed to him to hoist his flag on the new fleet equipping against France, but Van Tromp died before he could undertake the trust. He expired at Amsterdam, and was buried with great solemnity in the paternal mausoleum at Delft.
Cornelius Van Tromp, with many great qualities, had something of a braggadocio in his nature. Witness his vain boast, when, after some successful encounter with the English, he attached a broom to his main mast, at a time when our superiority as a naval power was almost universally admitted.
Van Tromp had one brother, and an only sister, who had been christened by her father (in commemoration of one of his victories, at the time of her birth) by the following names, ‘Anna Maria Victoria Hardensis Trompensis-Dunensis.’ We sincerely hope, for the sake of her playmates, that the young lady had at least one nickname.
