ABSTRACT

By the time that Oliver Cromwell was installed as Lord Protector on 16 December 1653 the Anglo-Dutch War had been raging for eighteen months. For two main reasons it is not surprising that these two republican regimes engaged in hostilities. First. there existed in England a concern that the House of Orange harboured pro-Stuart sympathies. Second, economic rivalry between the two countries was great and growing. When the Dutch failed to abide by the terms of the Navigation Act of 1651-stipulating that goods imported into England should henceforth be carried either in English ships or in ships belonging to the country of origin-there began a war that was to last until the Dutch were defeated and forced to agree terms for peace according to the terms of the Treaty of Westminster in April 1654. At the same time, Cromwell formed a treaty with Sweden providing for peace and commerce.To this was added an agreement with Denmark in September instituting a political alliance.