Johan Evertsen de Liefde ( – 21 August 1673) was a Dutch naval commander who served as vice admiral of Holland and West Frisia within the

Admiralty of Rotterdam The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Dutch admiralties in the Dutch Republic. History The Admiralty of Rotterdam was founded in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when (after the Capture of Brielle) ...

. His elder brother,

Cornelis de Liefde Cornelis "Kees" Evertsen de Liefde ( – 29 September 1673) was a Dutch naval commander, a role also fulfilled by his younger brother Johan de Liefde Life In 1644, he was a skipper on shipping between Rotterdam and Amsterdam. During the Firs ...

, was also a naval commander. Johan was killed in 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 Old Style, O.S.) between the Dutch Republic, Dutch and the combined Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Fra ...

Naval career

De Liefde was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, probably in 1619. On 16 June 1644, he became a captain with the

Admiralty of the Maze The Admiralty of Rotterdam, also called the Admiralty of de Maze, was one of the five Dutch admiralties in the Dutch Republic. History The Admiralty of Rotterdam was founded in 1574 during the Dutch Revolt, when (after the Capture of Brielle) W ...

based in Rotterdam. In the same year he sailed with the Dutch Mediterranean fleet combating the

Barbary corsairs The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

; his ship took a corsair. Shortly afterwards, De Liefde took a ship of the

Dunkirkers During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were commerce raiders in the service of the Spanish monarchy. They were also part of the ''Dunkirk fleet'', which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's ''Fl ...

First Anglo-Dutch War

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, ...

, De Liefde in 1652 again took service, first as captain of ''Jonas'', a ship of the municipality fleet of the city, and subsequently as a commander of the admiralty vessel ''Dordrecht''. In 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 ...

, De Liefde functioned as temporary squadron subcommander, or commandeur, under

Johan Evertsen Johan Evertsen (1 February 1600 – 5 August 1666) was a Dutch admiral who was born in the 17th century. Early life Like his five brothers, Evertsen started his military career as a lieutenant after the death of his father, "Captain Jan". He q ...

, when

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 ...

replaced

Witte de With Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a Dutch naval officer. He is noted for planning and participating in a number of naval battles during the Eighty Years War and the First Anglo-Dutch war. Early life and chil ...

during the latter's absence. De Liefde, still in the rank of captain, was also present at the relief of

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

on the ship ''Hollandia'' in 1656. On 4 November 1657, while part of the fleet of Lieutenant Admiral

Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam Jacob, Banner Lord of Wassenaer, Lord Obdam, Hensbroek, Spanbroek, Opmeer, Zuidwijk and Kernhem (1610 – 13 June 1665) was a Dutch nobleman who became lieutenant admiral, and supreme commander of the navy of the Dutch Republic. The name ''Obd ...

blockaded

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, De Liefde captured a ship of the Portuguese sugar fleet returning from Brazil, gaining him much personal wealth. In 1658, he fought in the

battle of the Sound The Battle of the Sound was a naval engagement which took place on 8 November 1658 (29 October O.S.) during the Second Northern War, near the Sound or Øresund, just north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen. Sweden had invaded Denmark and an army ...

against the Swedes, on the ''Dordrecht''.

Second Anglo-Dutch War

At the onset of 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 Kingdom of England, England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas a ...

, on 29 January 1665, De Liefde, having returned to service the Admiralty of the Maze, replaced Aert Jansse van Nes as acting rear admiral. On 15 June, he was officially appointed in this rank and function. Shortly afterwards, using ''Klein Hollandia'' as his flagship, he fought in the

battle of Lowestoft The Battle of Lowestoft took place on during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer, Lord Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size comm ...

as second-in-command of the second squadron, commanded by Johan Evertsen. On 24 February 1666, he became acting-vice admiral, again succeeding Van Nes. He distinguished himself fighting on the ''Ridderschap van Holland'' in the

Four Days' Battle The Four Days' Battle, also known as the Four Days' Fight in some English sources and as Vierdaagse Zeeslag in Dutch, was a naval battle of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Fought from 1 June to 4 June 1666 in the Julian or Old Style calendar that ...

, especially on the fourth day. For his conduct, he received a golden chain from the

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Genera ...

. He was made a vice admiral on 5 September.

Third Anglo-Dutch War

He participated in all major battles of 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 ...

, and was mortally wounded in the last, the

. De Liefde was given a grave memorial in the Great Church of Rotterdam.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

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External links

* 1619 births 1673 deaths Admirals of the navy of the Dutch Republic Dutch military personnel killed in action Dutch naval personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars Military personnel from Rotterdam {{Netherlands-mil-bio-stub