Once all the Civil wars were dealt with, Ireland and Scotland subjugated, and Cromwell sat at the head of the English state, he turned his eyes outside the Isles of Britain.  So began the first Anglo-Dutch war. The English wished to completely dominate trade in the English channel and North sea, and that meant the Dutch needed to bug off. Now the English navy was one of the most powerful navies in Europe, if not the most powerful, but just like the rest of Europe, they relied on merchants to provide a large number of there war ships. After a defeat at Dungeness in 1652, the English decided to centralize there navy, as they did their army a few years earlier. An Admiralty committee was established, led by Sir Henry Vane. They improved their naval supply routes to give their ships more free reign, and increased pay to improve morale as well as encourage recruits to join. Robert Blake, George Monck, and Richard Deane created the first articles of war. They organized 3 fleet squadron, a red, white, and blue, each fleet having 3 admiral (Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral) to increase the amount of territory they could cover and the better the efficiency of command. Although costly, the English won the war after making these changes. It is clear that by copying there national army model into their fleet, England was becoming one of the strongest military forces on the Earth.

Plant, David. “The First Anglo-Dutch War: Overview.” The First Anglo-Dutch War, Military Overview, 2013, bcw-project.org/military/first-anglo-dutch-war/.

Image thanks to “1652-1674 Anglo-Dutch Wars - Timeline Dutch History - Rijksstudio.” Rijksmuseum, www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio/timeline-dutch-history/1652-1674-anglo-dutch-wars.