Maarten Tromp

Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (April 23, 1598-August 10, 1653) was an officer and later admiral in the Dutch navy.

Born in Den Briel, Tromp sailed the seas from the age of 9, and joined the Dutch navy as a lieutenant in 1621. In 1639, as the Dutch struggle for independence from Spain, as an admiral, Tromp defeated a large Spanish invasion fleet bound for Flanders towards the end of the Eighty Years' War.

Tromp was killed in the First Anglo-Dutch War during the Battle of Scheveningen, after having lost earlier battles with the English that same year.

The death of Maarten Tromp was not only a severe blow to the Dutch navy, but also to the Orangists who sought the defeat of the Commonwealth and restoration of the Stuart monarchy in England; the Republican influence strengthened after Scheveningen and the peace negotiations with the Commonwealth, culminating in the Treaty of Westminster, began in earnest.

On of Tromp's sons, Cornelis Tromp later also became a Rear Admiral in the Dutch navy.

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He became a sailor at a very young age. He served the Admiralty of Rotterdam, and his first distinction was being Piet Hein's flag captain during the capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet. His ship, at that time, was the Vergulde Draeck.

In 1639, he commanded the fleet, as Lt.-Admiral, that defeated the Spanish armada in the Battle of the Downs, in English waters. Some authorities suggest the Dutch fought in a single line of battle.

In early 1652, Tromp commmanded the Dutch fleet in home waters. On May 29, 1652, his 42 ships encountered first Nehemiah Bourne's squadron and then Robert Blake's squadron that had been in Rye Bay. Shots were fired, and one Dutch ship ended in English possession (the Sint Laurents, 30 guns).

At the Battle of Scheveningen, Tromp was killed by a sharpshooter in the rigging of William Penn's ship.

During his career, his main rival was Witte Corneliszoon de With, who also served the Admiralty of Rotterdam (the Maas).