In 1672, England formally declared war on its commercial archrival, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, marking the beginning of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. In response, the Evertsen Expedition, under the command of Evertsen the Youngest of the Admiralty of Zeeland, launched a surprise attack against the English East India Company fleet, to be followed by raids on major English and French colonial establishments in the Western Hemisphere. "The battle against England had marked Holland's zenith as a world maritime power. The Dutch warriors who had followed the flag to sea had miraculously...