Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (23 April 1598-31 July 1653) was a Dutch admiral who served in the Dutch Revolt and the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The father of Cornelis Tromp, Maarten Tromp played a major role in establishing the United Provinces as a maritime power due to his victories over the Spanish and English, but he was killed at the Battle of Scheveningen in 1653.
Biography[]
Born in the Dutch port of Brill, Maarten Tromp went to sea at the age of nine. He was twice captured by pirates and sold as a slave, the first time at the age of 12. Surviving these spells of servitude, he became a Dutch naval officer, serving with distinction as a captain under the famous privateer-turned-admiral Piet Heyn in 1629. Amid the politicking that plagued Dutch naval administration, Tromp fell from favor until, in 1637, he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant-admiral and took effective command of the Dutch fleet. His victory over the Spanish at the Downs in 1639 made him a national hero.
Tromp's combative spirit helped spark the First Anglo-Dutch War. On 29 May 1652, he was escorting a merchant convoy through the Strait of Dover when he encountered English General-at-Sea Robert Blake. Blake demanded that the Dutch dip their flag in salute, Trump refused, shots were fired, and a five-hour naval battle followed. Three months into the ensuing war, Tromp was relieved of his command by his political enemies, but the Dutch defeat in his absence at the Kentish Knock brought a rapid return. Trump had a difficult task combining convoy escort with fighting the English fleet, but he had the better of Blake at Dungeness in December 1652 and showed outstanding skill in holding off the English at the three-day running battle of Portland in February-March 1653. At the Gabbard, however, he suffered heavy losses to the English, who had bigger ships and heavier guns. In August 1653, he attempted to break the English blockade of the Dutch coast at Scheveningen. In the course of the battle he showed all his usual brilliance of maneuver, but was killed by a sharpshooter hidden in the rigging of an English ship. The engagement cost the Dutch 15 ships, while the English fleet survived intact. However, the actions of the Dutch had persuaded the English to end their blockade.