it was the last effort.
Again they sued for peace. Cromwell drove a hard bargain; he insisted
on every claim England had ever made against the Netherlands before
the war, but on this occasion he agreed to leave Holland her
independence.

Thus in less than two years the First Dutch War came to an end. In
the words of Mr. Hannay,[1] the English historian, its "importance
as an epoch in the history of the English Navy can hardly be
exaggerated. Though short, for it lasted barely twenty-two months,
it was singularly fierce and full of battles. Yet its interest is
not derived mainly from the mere amount of fighting but from the
character of it. This was the first of our naval wars conducted
by steady, continuous, coherent campaigns. Hitherto our operations
on the sea had been of the nature of adventures by single ships
and small squadrons, with here and there a great expedition sent
out to capture some particular port or island."

[Footnote 1: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROYAL NAVY, Vol. I, p. 217.]

As to the intensity of the fighting, it is worth noting that in this
short period six great battles took place between fleets numbering
as a rule from 70 to 120 ships on a side. By comparison it may be
remarked that at Trafalgar the total British force numbered 27
ships of the line and the Allies, 33. Nor were the men of war of
Blake and Tromp the small types of an earlier day. In 1652 the
ship of the line had become the unit of the fleet as truly as it
was in 1805. It is true that Blake's ships were not the equal of
Nelson's huge "first rates," because the "two-decker" was then
the most powerful type. The first three-decker in the English navy
was launched in the year of Blake's death, 1657. The fact remains,
however, that these fleet actions of the Dutch Wars took place
on a scale unmatched by any of the far better known engagements
of the 18th or early 19th century.

A curious naval weapon survived from the day when Howard drove
Medina Sidonia from Calais roads, the fireship, or "brander." This
was used by both English and Dutch. Its usefulness, of course, was
confined to the side that held the windward position, and even
an opponent to leeward could usually, if he kept his head, send
out boats to grapple and tow the brander out of harm's way. In the
battle of Scheveningen, however, Dutch fireships cost the English
two fine ships, together with a Dutch prize, and very nearly destroyed
the old flagship of Blake, the _Triumph_