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The First Anglo-Dutch War
Anglo-Dutch Wars at sea
Four Days' Battle
Battle of Dover OOB
Battle of Livorno OOB
Battle of Lowestoft
Battle of Monte Cristo
Battle of Solebay
Battle of Sound
Battle of the Texel

17th Century Battles | Anglo-Dutch Wars

Battle of Monte Cristo (or the Battle of Elba)

The Battle of Monte Cristo (or the Battle of Elba) was the first battle in the Mediterranean Sea between the Dutch and the English, during the First Anglo-Dutch War. The Dutch out-numbered the English, but they quickly found that they were at a great disadvantage, when facing any of the English "Second Rates", such as the English flagship. Other English ships were faster than any Dutch ship. The frigate Constant Warwick was scouting for the fleet, when first sighted by the Dutch, as they passed the island of Elba.

The English fleet commander was Richard Badiley. He had been a Parliamentarian naval commander from 1649, after having spent time in the Mediterranean, both trading and "fighting Turks." Van Galen had also been active fighting the Barbary pirates, a seemingly never-ending occupation for a Dutch Mediterranean squadron. The first Dutch commander, Joris Cats, had offended the Grand Duke of Tuscany, so Johan van Galen was rushed overland to relieve him.

The English and Dutch orders of battle at Leghorn were as follows:

English fleet

The Dutch fleet

The English goal was to reach Leghorn (Livorno) with their squadron. The Dutch hoped to destroy the English fleet, and secure the Mediterranean for Dutch merchant shipping. This merchant shipping in the Mediterranean was primarily from Amsterdam. Both combatants in the First Anglo-Dutch War understood, very well, the importance of defeating the enemy battle fleet. While there were the occasional large convoy to escort through the Channel or in from Norway, both sides understood that the goal was to defeat the enemy's fleet, to achieve control over the local seas. That script was also played out in Mediterranean.

Both fleets had ships in the Mediterranean that were not present at Monte Cristo. There was a small English force trapped in Leghorn, commanded by Henry Appleton, formerly with Trinity House. Appleton was more politician than naval officer and often performed badly, until his squadron was eliminated at the Battle of Leghorn. The Dutch had a total of as many as 36 ships in the Mediterranean, having reinforced the 14-ship squadron with 22 hired ships.

The dates for the battle are uncertain. There is the calendar issue, for one thing. The English still used the Julian (old style) calendar, where the year started on March 25, and the days were ten days behind the (new style) Gregorian calendar. The Dutch, like the rest of Europe, used the Gregorian calendar.

R. C. Anderson says that the initial encounter happened about 4pm, August 27 (old style), while Dutch accounts say the battle was fought on September 6, 1652 (new style). In any case, the encounter started late afternoon, when the Dutch fleet sighted an unknown ship. This proved to be the frigate Constant Warwick, scouting for the convoy. The wind was light; some shots were exchanged at long range, until dusk, with no action overnight.

The next day, while the wind was still light, from the Southeast, most Dutch ships were four miles to windward, at dawn. The Dutch plan was to concentrate on Badiley's flagship, the Paragon. The English plan was to fight, in line, with the four warships, while the merchantmen would head north, towards Leghorn. Henry Appleton, Badiley's Rear Admiral, was blockaded in Leghorn by a larger Dutch force.

The English squadron roughly handled the Dutch. Van Galen's flagship, the Jaarsveld, had taken so much damage to sails and rigging that he was unable to close. Two ships managed to close with the Paragon. The Maan and Zeven Provincien had their captains killed and had to withdraw. The Maan had surrendered, but Badiley was not able to take her, as he was being heavily engaged, himself.

The other five Dutch ships then were able to close the Paragon, and were also driven off, heavily damaged. Two more Dutch captains were killed. One was Albert Corneliszoon t' Hoen, the Prinses Royaal's captain. The other was Joost Willemszoon Block (or Blok), from Zeeland, the Wapen van Zeeland's captain.

The English escaped, except the Phoenix, which behaved strangely and ran aboard the Eendracht. The Dutch boarded and captured the English frigate.

• Anderson, R.C., The First Dutch War in the Mediterranean, The Mariner's Mirror, November 1963, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 241-265.
• Ballhausen, Carl, Ph.D., Der erste Englisch-Hollandische Seekrieg 1652-1654 Sowie der Schwedisch-Hollandische Seekrieg 1658-1659, Martinus Nijhoff, den Haag, 1923.
• Elias, Dr. Johan E., Schetsen uit de Geschiedenis van ons Zeewezen, Vol. III, Martinus Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage, 1925.
• Fox, Frank L., A Distant Storm: The Four Days Battle of 1666, Press of Sail Publications, Rotherfield, 1996.
• Hondius, Jodocus, Onstelde-Zee, Oft Zee-Daden, Amsterdam, 1654.
• Van Rijsewijk, P. Haverkorn, De Eerste Oorlog met Engeland en Willem van de Velde de Oude, Oud-Holland Vol. 17, 1899, pp. 33-46.