Maarten Tromp

Maarten Tromp
A portrait of Tromp by Jan Lievens.
Birth name	Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp
Nickname(s)	Bestevaêr
Born	23 April 1598 Brielle, Dutch Republic
Died	31 July 1653(1653-07-31) (aged 55) Battle of Scheveningen
Buried	Oude Kerk, Delft
Allegiance	Dutch Republic
Years of service	1607–1653
Battles/wars	Eighty Years' War Battle of Gibraltar Action of 18 February 1639 Fight in the Channel Battle of the Downs Siege of Dunkirk Siege of Mardyck First Anglo-Dutch War Battle of Dover Battle of Dungeness Battle of Portland Battle of the Gabbard Battle of Scheveningen †
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Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp or Maarten van Tromp (23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653) was an army general and admiral in the Dutch navy during much of the Eighty Years' War and throughout the First Anglo-Dutch War. Son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, during which time he was captured by pirates and enslaved by Barbary corsairs. In adult life, he became a renowned ship captain and naval commander, successfully leading Dutch forces fighting for independence in the Eighty Years' War, and then against England in the First Anglo-Dutch War, proving an innovative tactician and enabling the newly independent Dutch nation to become a major sea power. He was killed in battle by a sharpshooter from an English ship. Several ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have carried the name HNLMS Tromp after him and/or his son Cornelis, also a Dutch admiral of some renown.