How did the Chinese beat the Dutch
As is known, the European colonial powers in the XIX century seriously took up the "development" of China and very much succeeded in this. In all the wars against the Middle Kingdom, starting with the Opium and ending with "Boxing", "long-nosed barbarians", as Europeans called in China, won victories and achieved their goals. And China in all these conflicts looked like a big, but loose, clumsy and weak "whipping boy."
However, this was not always the case. Today is the anniversary of the battle in the Liaoluo Bay in Taiwan, which took place on October 22 1633. In this naval battle, the Min Empire fleet under the command of Admiral Zhang Zholina (his portrait is placed on the headband) defeated the combined squadron of the Dutch East India Company and Taiwanese pirates. This victory for a long time delayed European expansion in the East China Sea and greatly weakened the pirate threat to the eastern regions of China.
Zhang Zholina’s fleet, which itself was previously a pirate, but in the year 1630 switched to the service of the empire, consisted of large blessed boats 50, as well as about a hundred small ships and firefighters. "Blessed boats" were large double-decked junks, on which stood up to 36 guns and falcontes. The Chinese bought guns and gunpowder for them from the British. The Dutch had eight galleons under the command of Admiral Hans Putmans.
Putman drew to his side local pirates, led by Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu, promising them to participate in the looting of Chinese coastal cities and towns. Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu were sent from 40 to 50 junks, however, they acted independently, did not obey the orders of Putmans, and, seeing that the Dutch were defeated, fled from the battlefield.
To increase the number of boarding fighters on their ships, Zhang Zholin announced a set of volunteers with combat training, promising each of them two silver coins for participating in the battle, plus five coins per pirate head and 50 coins for the Dutch - dead or alive. Such material interest in combination with significant numerical superiority has borne fruit. The outcome of the battle was influenced by the fact that the Dutch had shortly before this hit the storm, which seriously battered their ships.
On the morning of October 22, the Chinese attacked a Dutch squadron stationed in Liaolu. According to the rules of war in force in China at that time, Zhang Zholin warned Putmans of the attack in advance by sending him a letter stating that he "would kill a dog who dared to spoil in the imperial palace." Although the Dutch were aware of the impending attack, they were unable to repel the simultaneous attack of a large number of firewalls followed by "blessed boats" with boarding teams.
The Chinese admiral, knowing that the experienced Dutch gunners fired faster and more accurately than his people, made a bet not on an artillery duel, but on hand-to-hand combat, and did not lose. At the beginning of the battle, the four “blessed boats” were surrounded by the “Sluterdiyk” galleon that had not managed to get off the anchor. Hundreds of Chinese poured onto its deck from both sides, and in a few minutes killed the crew. The same fate soon befall the Kudekerk galleon. Hastily raising sails and chopping off the anchor ropes, he began to taxi to the exit from the bay, but ran aground. He tried to come to the rescue "Salm", however, several Chinese ships grappled with him and also took to the boarding. Meanwhile, the Brockhafen Galleon flared up from the fireworks.
The remaining four Dutch ships, including the flagship Putmans galleon Perd and most of the pirate junks, still managed to escape from the trap. The Dutch left, taking advantage of speed, and Zhang organized a chase on the high seas for the pirates and drowned several of them. As a result, the East India Company lost half of its Pacific squadron: one ship burned down, three more were captured. Approximately 150 of Dutch sailors were killed in the battle, around 250 - burned or drowned and 83 were captured. The Chinese have lost 86 people killed and 132 people wounded. All their ships survived, with the exception of several firefighters. Loss of pirates - unknown.
The battle in Liaoluo Bay was the biggest victory of the Chinese fleet in the fight against overseas colonizers throughout his history. In the future, the technical and organizational lag of the Chinese civilization from the European one continued to increase, therefore, the Chinese never again managed to achieve such success.
Fleet of the Dutch East India Company in the roads of Amsterdam.
Chinese single-deck combat junk.
Chinese firefighters.
Chinese diorama depicting a battle in Liaolu Bay.
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