Maarten Tromp

Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp (23 April 1598 – 31 July 1653), also known as Maarten van Tromp, was an army general and admiral in the Dutch navy during much of the Eighty Years' War and throughout the First Anglo-Dutch War.

Born in Brielle, the son of a ship's captain, Tromp spent much of his childhood at sea, during which time he was twice captured by pirates and sold into slavery. After regaining his freedom, he joined the Dutch navy and served with distinction, rising to the rank of lieutenant admiral in 1637 during the Eighty Years' War. Subsequently at the behest of Stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange he accepted the command of the Dutch navy, which had fallen into a deplorable state due to incompetence and neglect. In 1639, through the deliberate use of line of battle tactics, he won a decisive victory over Antonio de Oquendo's Spanish fleet at the Battle of the Downs. The defeat all but marked the end of Spain's power at sea and ushered in an era of Dutch maritime supremacy.