The Medway Raid

The 1667 Dutch invasion of the Medway dockyards occurred at the absolute worst conceivable time. The nation was involved in an increasingly fierce war with the Dutch immediately after the Great Fire of London and a terrible outbreak of the bubonic plague that killed up to 100,000 people. But the raid would turn out to be its most intense and destructive stage.

This was a period when the Royal Navy faced significant challenges from other maritime empires, like as the Dutch and Portuguese, as opposed to the later years of the empire. The raid began on June 12 when Dutch ships broke through the defensive line along British beaches and started destroying the docks as a whole.

The Dutch suffered only minor losses in exchange for the destruction of numerous fortifications, smaller boats, and cannon batteries. By the time it was all through, the Dutch had seized four ships, including HMS Royal Charles, and it had appeared as though the water was on fire. It took years for the Royal Navy to be fully operational again, making it the biggest British defeat ever to occur at home.

Date: 19–24 June 1667
Location: Chatham, Medway, England

Result: Dutch victory