Engel Michielszoon de Ruyter (2 May 1649 – 27 February 1683) was a Dutch vice-admiral.

Biography

De Ruyter was born in

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river ...

, the son of lieutenant admiral

Michiel de Ruyter Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (; 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) was a Dutch admiral. Widely celebrated and regarded as one of the most skilled admirals in history, De Ruyter is arguably most famous for his achievements with the Dutch N ...

and his second wife Cornelia Engels. He began his naval service on board his father's ship on his expeditions in 1664 and 1665. Captains often had their sons serve with them, so that they learned their trade while their wages were paid by the Admiralty. In 1666, during the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...

, Engel was a midshipman in the

Admiralty of Amsterdam 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 ...

. He served in the St. James's Day Battle on board Willem van der Zaen's ship, the ''Gouda''. In 1667 he rose to lieutenant-commander. On 1 April 1668 he became captain-extraordinary and in 1669 a captain in ordinary, a permanent post. In 1670 he served under lieutenant-admiral

Willem Joseph van Ghent Willem Joseph baron van Ghent tot Drakenburgh (14 May 1626 – 7 June 1672) was a 17th-century Dutch admiral. His surname is also sometimes rendered Gendt or Gent. Early career Van Ghent was baptised on 14 May 1626, in the church of Wi ...

in the expedition against the privateers of Algiers, receiving a reward for his service on that expedition. During the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 1678 ...

he fought in the

battle of Solebay The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The battle began as an attempted raid on Solebay port where an English fleet was anchored and large ...

as captain of the ''Deventer'' and was wounded in the chest by a splinter. In the winter of 1672/73 he also commanded a company of "landmatrozen" on the

Dutch Water Line The Dutch Waterline ( nl, Hollandsche Waterlinie, modern spelling: ''Hollandse Waterlinie'') was a series of water-based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combine ...

as a major. In 1673 he was captain of the ''Waesdorp'' in the two battles at the Schooneveld and at the

Battle of Texel The naval Battle of Texel or Battle of Kijkduin took place off the southern coast of island of Texel on 21 August 1673 (11 August O.S.) between the Dutch and the combined English and French fleets. It was the last major battle of the Third A ...

. His change of command was lucky, since the ''Deventer'' went out of service after an accident in the First Battle of the Schooneveld. On 6 October 1673 he was promoted to

schout-bij-nacht () is a Dutch Naval rank, with a NATO rank of OF-7. The ' was responsible for ensuring that fleet continued to sail in the prescribed order at night. The title comes from the title of the officer who replaced the admiral at night and was therefo ...

. During the Franco-Dutch War he was on the 70-gun ''Spieghel'' in 1674 during the failed expedition against

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

. In 1675 he served on convoy escort duty in 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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and in 1676 he fought in the fleet sent to help Denmark against the Swedes in the Scanian War. On 19 October 1678 he was made vice-admiral and commanded a squadron in the fleet under

Cornelis Evertsen de Jonge Cornelis Evertsen the Younger (Flushing, 16 April 1628 – Flushing, 20 September 1679) was a Dutch Admiral from the 17th century. Cornelis was the son of Lieutenant-Admiral Johan Evertsen and the nephew of Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Evertse ...

which was sent to help Spain, fighting the French admiral Chateaurenault. Not as grave as his father, Engel commissioned a biography of him from

Gerard Brandt Gerard Brandt (25 July 1626, Amsterdam – 12 October 1685, Amsterdam) was a Dutch preacher, playwright, poet, church historian, biographer and naval historian. A well-known writer in his own time, his works include a ''Life of Michiel de Ruy ...

in 1681 and made his father's logbooks more accessible by writing summaries of them. Like his father, he was promoted within the Danish and Spanish nobility, rising to

junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

and later baron - in the Netherlands he was also known as ridder. In 1680 he bought an estate in

Breukelen Breukelen () is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is situated to the north west of Utrecht, along the river Vecht and close to the lakes of the Loosdrechtse Plassen, an area of natural and tourist ...

, naming it the ''Ruytervegt''. He never married and died childless. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruyter, Engel 1649 births 1683 deaths 17th-century Dutch military personnel Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Dutch naval personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars People from Vlissingen