Maarten Tromp
Maarten Tromp | |
|---|---|
A portrait of Tromp after Jan Lievens. | |
| Birth name | Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp |
| Nickname | Bestevaêr |
| Born | 23 April 1598 |
| Died | 31 July 1653 (aged 55) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Dutch Republic |
| Service years | 1607–1653 |
| Conflicts | |
| Signature | |
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.