Battle of Ronas Voe 1674
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Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1674 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 17th century | derived |
| Period | Jacobite & later | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
| War / conflict | Third Anglo-Dutch War | Wikidata |
| Participants | Dutch Republic, Kingdom of England | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Ronas Voe was a naval engagement between the English Royal Navy and the Dutch East India ship Wapen van Rotterdam on 14 March 1674 in Ronas Voe, Shetland as part of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Having occurred 23 days after the signing of the Treaty of Westminster, it is likely to have been the final battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
Shortly after embarking on a journey towards the Dutch East Indies with trade goods and a company of soldiers, extreme weather conditions caused Wapen van Rotterdam to lose its masts and rudder and it was forced to take shelter in Ronas Voe for a number of months. A whistleblower in Shetland informed the English authorities of the ship's presence, and in response three Royal Navy men-of-war and a dogger were dispatched to capture the ship. After a short battle, the ship was captured and taken back to England as a prize of war.
An unknown number of up to 300 of the ship's crew were killed in the battle and were buried nearby in Heylor. A modern memorial to the Dutch crew is erected where they are believed to be buried, bearing the inscription "The Hollanders' Graves".
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 60.5069, -1.4467
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Ronas Voe (revision 1370273096), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).