The Battle of the Medway (or Battle of Chatham), c.1667 (oil on canvas)

The Battle of the Medway (or Battle of Chatham) (England) from 9 to 14 June 1667, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (Anglo-Dutch) 1665-67, the Dutch, under the command of Lieutenant Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, launched a raid on the Thames and went up the river then the Medway River to Chatham, where they burned 3 merchant ships and 10 ships of the Royal Navy, then captured the Unity and the Royal Charles, the flagship and flagship of the English fleet. The painting depicts the triumphant return of the Dutch with their catches. This action, the worst English defeat, ended the conflict with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (31 July 1667). Oil on canvas, circa 1667, by Pieter van den Velde (1634-1687).