The naval Battle of Leghorn took place on 4 March 1653 (14 March

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

), during the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...

, near Leghorn (

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

), Italy. It was a victory of a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

squadron under

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

Johan van Galen Johan "Jan" van Galen (1604 – 23 March 1653) was a Commodore (rank), Commodore of the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands. he participated in the First Anglo-Dutch War. Biography Johan van Galen was ...

over an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

squadron under Captain Henry Appleton. Afterwards, another English squadron under Captain

Richard Badiley Vice-Admiral Richard Badiley ( – 7 or 11 August 1656) was an English naval officer. He saw service during the First Anglo-Dutch War. Early service He was a merchant, ship-owner, and ship-captain, probably related to several Badileys wh ...

, which Appleton had been trying to join up with, reached the scene in time to observe the capture of the last ships of Appleton's squadron, but was outnumbered and forced to return to

Porto Longone Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Background

In 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of England, mistakenly believing that the United Provinces after their defeat at the

Battle of the Kentish Knock The Battle of the Kentish Knock (or the Battle of the Zealand Approaches) was a naval battle between the fleets of the Dutch Republic and England, fought on 28 September 1652 (8 October Gregorian calendar), during the First Anglo-Dutch War near t ...

would desist from bringing out fleets so late in the season, split their fleet between the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and home waters. This division of forces led to a defeat at the

Battle of Dungeness The naval Battle of Dungeness took place on 30 November 1652 (10 December in the Gregorian calendar) during the First Anglo-Dutch War near the cape of Dungeness in Kent. Background In September 1652 the government of the Commonwealth of En ...

in December 1652, and by early 1653 the situation in the Mediterranean was critical too. Appleton's squadron of six ships (including four hired merchantmen) was trapped in Leghorn by a blockading Dutch fleet of 16 ships, while

's of eight (also including four hired merchantmen) was at

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

. The only hope for the English was to combine their forces, but Appleton sailed too soon and engaged with the Dutch before Badiley could come up to help. Three of his ships were captured and two destroyed and only one (''Mary''), sailing faster than the Dutch ships, escaped to join Badiley. Badiley engaged the Dutch, but was heavily outnumbered and retreated. The battle gave the Dutch command of the Mediterranean, placing the English trade with the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

at their mercy, but Van Galen was mortally wounded, dying on 13 March. One of the Dutch captains at the battle was son of Lieutenant-Admiral

Maarten Tromp Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (also written as ''Maerten Tromp''; 23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was a Dutch army general and admiral in the Dutch navy. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, including being captured ...

Cornelis Tromp Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp, ''Count of Sølvesborg'' (3 September 1629 – 29 May 1691) was a Dutch naval officer who served as lieutenant-admiral general in the Dutch Navy, and briefly as a general admiral in the Royal Danish Navy. Tromp ...

, who was to become a famous admiral himself.

Ships involved

United Provinces of the Netherlands

Johan van Galen *''Vereenigde Provincien''/''Zeven Provincien'' (United Provinces/Seven Provinces) 40 (flag) *''Eendracht'' (Concord) 40 (Jacob de Boer) *''Maan'' (Moon) 40 (Cornelis Tromp) *''Ter Goes'' 40 (Jan Richewijn) *''Zon'' (Sun) 40 (Pieter van Zalingen) *''Zutphen'' 36 (Jan Uijttenhout) *''Maagd van Enkhuysen'' (Maiden of Enkhuysen) 34 (Jan Roetering) *''Jonge Prins'' (Young Prince) 28 (Cornelis Barentszoon) *''Julius Caesar'' 28 (hired merchantman) (Jacon Janszoon Roocher) *''Witte Olifant'' (White Elephant) (hired Italian merchantman ''Elefante Bianco'') 28 (Sijbrant Janszoon Mol) *''Madonna della Vigna'' 28 (hired merchantman) (Harman Sonne) - Ran aground north of Livorno harbor, but salved *''Susanna'' 28 (hired merchantman) (Daniel Janszoon de Vries) *''Zwarte Arend'' (Black Eagle) 28 (Pieter Janszoon van Bontebotter) *''Salomons Oordeel'' (Judgment of Soloman) 28 (hired merchantman) (Meijndert Theunissen van Oosterwout) *''Roode Haes'' (Red Hare) 28 (hired merchantman) (Adriaan Rodenhaes) *''Ster'' (Star) 28 (hired merchantman) (Hendrik Govertszoon) The ''Eendracht'' and ''Jonge Prins'' were ships of the

Noorderkwartier Noorderkwartier (; en, Northern Quarter) is a historical term referring to the part of the former Dutch province of Holland north of the river IJ, covering the regions Kennemerland, Zaanstreek, Waterland and West Friesland and now part of the ...

Admiralty, all the others (including the hired merchantmen) pertained to the

Amsterdam Admiralty The Admiralty of Amsterdam was the largest of the five Dutch admiralties at the time of the Dutch Republic. The administration of the various admiralties was strongly influenced by provincial interests. The territory for which Amsterdam ...

Commonwealth of England

Capt. Henry Appleton's squadron *''

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister G ...

'' 44 (Stephen Lyne) - Blown up by ''Vereenigde Provincien'' *''

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

'' 48 ('flagship' of Appleton) - Captured (by ''Eendracht''?) *''Samson'' 40 (hired merchantman, Edmund Seaman) - Burnt by fireship *''Mary'' 30 (hired merchantman, Benjamin Fisher) *''Peregrine'' 30 (hired merchantman, John Wood) - Captured by ''Zwarte Arend'' *''Levant Merchant'' 28/30? (hired merchantman, Stephen Marsh) - Captured by ''Maagd van Enkhuysen'' Capt. Richard Badiley's squadron *''Paragon'' 52 ('flagship' of Badiley) *''Phoenix'' 36 (Owen Cox) *''Elizabeth'' 36 (Jonas Reeves) *''Constant Warwick'' 32 (Upshott) *''Mary Rose'' 32 (hired merchantman, John Turtley) *''Lewis'' 30 (hired merchantman, William Elle) *''William and Thomas'' 30 (hired merchantman, John Godolphin) *''Thomas Bonaventure'' 28 (hired merchantman, George Hughes) *''?'' (fireship, Peter Whyting) The fireship is listed as ''Charity'' in ''Mariner's Mirror'' vol. 49, but according to ''Mariner's Mirror'' vol. 24 that ship was expended during an action off Plymouth on 27 August 1652.

Notes

References

*''Mariner's Mirror'' volume 24 (1938) *''Mariner's Mirror'' volume 49 (1963) {{coord missing, Italy Leghorn 1653 in Europe Leghorn Livorno