Raid on Chatham 1667 Andrew Marvell v. Rudyard Kipling
Introduction.
It is interesting to compare the similarities between two poets dealing with the 1667 Dutch raid on the Medway centuries apart.
The three Anglo-Dutch wars from 1653 -1673 saw fourteen battles or major raids in Western European waters. Clashes between the English and the Dutch in West Africa and the American colonies also occurred.
The Battle of Lowestoft 3rd June 1665, is generally regarded as an English victory, with the loss of at least 30 Dutch ships and James Duke of York excelling himself as an admiral .
Pieter Cornelisz van Soest [Public domain], via Wikimedia Common
On 10th -12th August 1666, an English fleet under Robert Holmes had raided the Dutch town of West Terschelling, which was set on fire along with some 140 merchant ships . This incident is sometimes referred to as 'Holmes Bonfire'. Many Dutch ports were hard to reach via sudden raids by reason of geography, but West Terschelling was unlucky in this respect. However, the English coastline was far more exposed And retaliation soon came.
Andrew Marvell ( 1621- 1678) summed up just how vulnerable ships could be to enemy raids; Particularly when the Dutch retaliated in 1667.
‘Last Instruction to a Painter London September 4th 1667 ‘ -Andrew Marvell
There our sick ships unrigg’d in summer lay
Like molting fowl, a weak on easy prey,
For whose strong bulk earth scarce could timber find,
The ocean water of the heavens wind-
Those oaken giants of the ancient race,
That rul’d all seas and did our Channel grace "
( Lines 571- 576)
'Last Instructions to A Painter' is the fourth in a series of long poems written by Andrew Marvell. Whilst in the 1660s John Dryden was using his exceptional talents to deliver poetry that would favour the King, Andrew Marvell's poetry was full of quite sharp criticism
The 'sick ships' referred are in fact the becalmed Royal Navy of 1667, an easy target for the fleet of the Dutch Republic under the command of the mighty Michiel De Ruyter , who managed to sail up the Medway and caused some havoc. The Royal Navy Dockyard at Chatham euphemistically refer to the event as' The Battle of the Medway' , the Dutch call their visit on 10th-12th June 1667 'De Tocht Naar Chatham' / 'the excursion to Chatham.' The Dutch were considering sailing up the River Thames but Admiral de Ruyter seems to have thought that there were too many risks involved.
They sail securely through the River's track.
An English Pilot too. (O shame, O sin)
Cheated of Pay was he that she'd them in
( Lines 580- 582)
Such a pilot would have been hung, drawn and quartered as a traitor if they were caught aiding the enemy. Yet Marvell seems to have some sympathy for the unpaid sailors.
Our Seaman ,whom no Danger's shape could fright,
Unpaid refuse to Mount our ships for spight,
Or to their fellows swim on board the Dutch ,
Which show the tempting metal in their clutch.
( Lines 599- 602)
Marvell praises the overall courage of the sailors, and again blames the lack of pay for their dismal plight. The Raid was a humiliation for the English with several ships being burned, and the Dutch Navy towed away the English flagship the 'Royal Charles' . The 'Royal Charles' was originally 'The Naseby' and built during the time of the Commonwealth. Hastily renamed at the time of The Restoration, besides playing a major roll during the Battle of the Lowestoft, where it engaged the prestigious Dutch ship 'Eendracht'. The outcome was that the 'Eendracht' blew up with the loss of 404 of the ship's 409 man crew.
The towing back of the 'Royal Charles' , and the blockading of the coast of the South-East of England led to the Peace of Breda in 1667.
( Lines 571- 576)
'Last Instructions to A Painter' is the fourth in a series of long poems written by Andrew Marvell. Whilst in the 1660s John Dryden was using his exceptional talents to deliver poetry that would favour the King, Andrew Marvell's poetry was full of quite sharp criticism
The 'sick ships' referred are in fact the becalmed Royal Navy of 1667, an easy target for the fleet of the Dutch Republic under the command of the mighty Michiel De Ruyter , who managed to sail up the Medway and caused some havoc. The Royal Navy Dockyard at Chatham euphemistically refer to the event as' The Battle of the Medway' , the Dutch call their visit on 10th-12th June 1667 'De Tocht Naar Chatham' / 'the excursion to Chatham.' The Dutch were considering sailing up the River Thames but Admiral de Ruyter seems to have thought that there were too many risks involved.
They sail securely through the River's track.
An English Pilot too. (O shame, O sin)
Cheated of Pay was he that she'd them in
( Lines 580- 582)
Such a pilot would have been hung, drawn and quartered as a traitor if they were caught aiding the enemy. Yet Marvell seems to have some sympathy for the unpaid sailors.
Our Seaman ,whom no Danger's shape could fright,
Unpaid refuse to Mount our ships for spight,
Or to their fellows swim on board the Dutch ,
Which show the tempting metal in their clutch.
( Lines 599- 602)
Marvell praises the overall courage of the sailors, and again blames the lack of pay for their dismal plight. The Raid was a humiliation for the English with several ships being burned, and the Dutch Navy towed away the English flagship the 'Royal Charles' . The 'Royal Charles' was originally 'The Naseby' and built during the time of the Commonwealth. Hastily renamed at the time of The Restoration, besides playing a major roll during the Battle of the Lowestoft, where it engaged the prestigious Dutch ship 'Eendracht'. The outcome was that the 'Eendracht' blew up with the loss of 404 of the ship's 409 man crew.
The towing back of the 'Royal Charles' , and the blockading of the coast of the South-East of England led to the Peace of Breda in 1667.
Rudyard Kipling ( 1865- 1936) also wrote about the 1667 raid. His poem 'The Dutch in the Medway' first appeared in 1911 'A School History of England 1911 by C.R.L. Fletcher and Rudyard Kipling, and was reprinted in other anthologies. Kipling accused those in authority of neglecting the sailors whilst they practise hollow form of patriotism . The opening four lines are a barbed attack on Restoration decadence.
"If wars were won by feasting/ Or Victory by song/Of safety found in sleeping sound/How England would be strong! "
Andrew Marvell had already highlighted grievances of the unpaid sailors - and Kipling echoed this view, though less inclined to repeat the claim that an English pilot had changed sides to assist the Dutch.
Another consideration not covered by the poems is that the Dutch had captured so many English sailors during the Four Day War, and enough were prepared to fight for the Dutch to avoid a long confinement as prisoners of war to switch allegiance. It is highly plausible that these turncoats shared their navigation knowledge.
The outcome of the Raid was that the Dutch now controlled the seas around South- East England and could blockade the ports they chose. In July 1667 the Treaty of Breda was concluded. One particularly significant development was that the English kept the Dutch settlement in North America known as 'New Amsterdam' , and renamed it 'New York', after James Duke of York, later to become James II of England/ James VII of Scotland.
' The Dutch in the Medway 1664-1672 ' - Rudyard Kipling
"If wars were won by feasting/ Or Victory by song/Of safety found in sleeping sound/How England would be strong! "
Andrew Marvell had already highlighted grievances of the unpaid sailors - and Kipling echoed this view, though less inclined to repeat the claim that an English pilot had changed sides to assist the Dutch.
Another consideration not covered by the poems is that the Dutch had captured so many English sailors during the Four Day War, and enough were prepared to fight for the Dutch to avoid a long confinement as prisoners of war to switch allegiance. It is highly plausible that these turncoats shared their navigation knowledge.
The outcome of the Raid was that the Dutch now controlled the seas around South- East England and could blockade the ports they chose. In July 1667 the Treaty of Breda was concluded. One particularly significant development was that the English kept the Dutch settlement in North America known as 'New Amsterdam' , and renamed it 'New York', after James Duke of York, later to become James II of England/ James VII of Scotland.
' The Dutch in the Medway 1664-1672 ' - Rudyard Kipling
If wars were won by feasting,
Or victory by song,
Or safety found in sleeping sound,
How England would be strong!
But honour and dominion
Are not maintained so.
They're only got by sword and shot,
And this the Dutchmen know!
The moneys that should feed us
You spend on your delight,
How can you then have sailor-men
To aid you in your fight?
Our fish and cheese are rotten,
Which makes the scurvy grow--
We cannot serve you if we starve,
And this the Dutchmen now!
Our ships in every harbour
Be neither whole nor sound,
And, when we seek to mend a leak,
No oakum can be found;
Or, if it is, the caulkers,
And carpenters also,
For lack of pay have gone away,
And this the Dutchmen know!
Mere powder, guns, and bullets,
We scarce can get at all;
Their price was spent in merriment
And revel at Whitehall,
While we in tattered doublets
From ship to ship must row,
Beseeching friends for odds and ends--
And this the Dutchmen know!
No King will heed our warnings,
No Court will pay our claims--
Our King and Court for their disport
Do sell the very Thames!
For, now De Ruyter's topsails
Off naked Chatham show,
We dare not meet him with our fleet--
And this the Dutchmen know !
FURTHER READING
The Kipling Society notes by Peter Keating are very helpful The Dutch in the Medway
A useful guide to the Treaty of Breda
Have used the reprinted 'Everyman' edition of Andrew Marvell's poetry
Paul Kennedy's 'The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery ' ( 1998) has an excellent chapter 'The Stuart
Navy and the Wars With The Dutch 1603-1688.'
'The Journals of Matthew Quinton' by J.D.Davis are a jolly good read for anyone
who likes the sound of Commonwealth/ Restoration naval novels.
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