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First Anglo-Dutch War

English and Dutch trading rivalry reached boiling point in 1652. The Dutch were in the ascendant as they had wrested control of the spice trade from the Portuguese and dominated trade in the North and Baltic Seas.

A broadside satirising the relationship between England and the Netherlands at the time of the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-54). Engraved Latin and English inscriptions, key A-O, and English letterpress title, legend, and a list in four columns of 27 cruelties committed by the Dutch against the English British Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Navigation Act which sought to protect British trade had the effect of increasing Anglo-Dutch tensions. The war was instigated by English attacks on Dutch ships. Dutch retaliation encouraged Oliver Cromwell to seek peace with the Dutch.

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