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Maritime: An Unsuccessful Attack on the VOC fleet at Bergen, 1665, by Willem Van De Velde the Elder (1669).

Maritime: An Unsuccessful Attack on the VOC fleet at Bergen, 1665, by Willem Van De Velde the Elder (1669).

n July 1665 Lord Sandwich, commander of the English fleet, took his ships to sea hoping to exploit the recent victory over the Dutch at Lowestoft. His two targets were de Ruyter’s squadron bound home from West Africa and the Americas, and a rich VOC convoy, which arrived twice a year from East Indies laden with spice, gems and luxury goods. At that time a single VOC Indiamen could be worth of £250000, which was a quarter of the English crown annual revenues. The VOC convoy arrived in 1665 to Bergen consisted of 60 ships carrying cargo worth of over 11 million guilders.

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