Dutch victory in the 4th Anglo-Dutch War

How to achieve this? @HJ Tulp @pompejus

You two have enough knowledge about Dutch History so I may have to ask you.
In reality? You need a POD years before. The Dutch navy (and economy) was lagging way behind Great Britain at that point. There was no way to win.

Well, maybe there is a way. If Britain is distracted enough by the French, Spanish, the Americans and maybe some others, so they are to distracted to focus on the Dutch and are willing to end the Anglo-Dutch war quickly to focus on the others.
 

Lusitania

Donor
In reality? You need a POD years before. The Dutch navy (and economy) was lagging way behind Great Britain at that point. There was no way to win.

Well, maybe there is a way. If Britain is distracted enough by the French, Spanish, the Americans and maybe some others, so they are to distracted to focus on the Dutch and are willing to end the Anglo-Dutch war quickly to focus on the others.
The problem is that British navy and especially merchant navy was so much larger than rest of Europe that it would need a major POD much earlier for that to be a possibility. Also the most it would give the Dutch is till the napoleonic wars when Dutch were a french ally.
 
The War was really a symptom more than a cause of the Republic's decline. Really the only way I could see for there to be a Dutch victory would be combined Franco-Spanish-Dutch naval and amphibious operations, which I think unlikely as I doubt that France and the Netherlands would cooperate. From there you'd essentially need the Dutch Army to march on London to demand the kind of concessions that could reverse the Netherlands' long-term decline...i.e. turning over all British Indian possessions as well as major parts of the British Caribbean. Even then the Dutch land vulnerability would be an issue, as would the fact that Dutch harbors often weren't big enough to safely maneuver three-decker ships of the line through. Returning to the glory days of the 1600s is borderline ASB.
 
Returning to the glory days of the 1600s is borderline ASB.

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The problem is that British navy and especially merchant navy was so much larger than rest of Europe that it would need a major POD much earlier for that to be a possibility.
Although you are correct that the British navy was superior to all other European nations, it was not as dominating as it was in the 19th century. Before the Revolutionary wars I think that if France and Spain and maybe another country, like the Netherlands cooperated, they could have still beaten the British. Obviously the Dutch could no longer do it alone, like they did in the 17th century. The Dutch republic had been in decline, because of internal corruption and economic stagnation. That is what needed to change and you need a POD probably decades earlier. My guess would be around the time William III died or not long after.
 

Lusitania

Donor
Although you are correct that the British navy was superior to all other European nations, it was not as dominating as it was in the 19th century. Before the Revolutionary wars I think that if France and Spain and maybe another country, like the Netherlands cooperated, they could have still beaten the British. Obviously the Dutch could no longer do it alone, like they did in the 17th century. The Dutch republic had been in decline, because of internal corruption and economic stagnation. That is what needed to change and you need a POD probably decades earlier. My guess would be around the time William III died or not long after.
Yes but if that was to happen what other things would of changed. The building and maintaining of a much larger navy and merchant navy would of cost a huge amount of money. What would of been the impact to diverting $ and resources to that. Could the Dutch state afford it. Also what would of been the political and military implications of a continued larger Dutch fleet?
 
Even if they expand their fleet the dutch harbors can't really support ships larger than 4th rate by British reckoning on a large scale.
 

HJ Tulp

Donor
Is a POD in the (late) 18 century going to be able to restore the Republic to a position above Great Britain? Practically impossible. The Netherlands had been punching way above it's wait for longer than anyone could expect. The OP however, asks if the Netherlands can win the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. This isn't terribly hard really. What hurts the Netherlands the most is that it's a co-belligerent to France, Spain and the USA but not an ally. This means that the Dutch fleet didn't really participate in conjunction with the others. Given the constraints in communication of the era this might not have been very possible anyway. Was there much cooporation between the Spanish and the French? What did hurt the Netherlands ALOT was the fact that it stood alone at the peace-table as well.
 
What cooperation between the french and Spanish were very poor and when they did try to take control of the channel it was only the British commander worries about the numbers that kept it from a major disaster for the french and spanish.
 
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