who was largely responsible for Dutch naval greatness in the 17th century. In 1639 Tromp completely defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of the Downs. In the First Anglo‐Dutch War he defeated Blake off Dungeness in December 1652, fought magnificently but unsuccessfully to protect Dutch convoys in the English Channel, and was killed trying to break Monck’s blockade of the Dutch coast. His son Cornelius (1629–91), Ruyter’s rival, won victories in the Mediterranean in the Second and Third Anglo‐Dutch Wars and against Sweden at Gotland.