De Ruyter was born in Vlissingen in 1607 CE as the fourth child of a sailor.
He made his first naval voyage at the age of 11 and got his first adventure before he had come of age:
capture by the Spanish and escape.
At the age of 15 he had attained the rank of skipper, the highest noncommissioned officer rank on a 17th century CE Dutch ship.
For a while he served in the Dutch army and later the navy, acted as an agent for a merchant,
was helmsman on a whaler and sailed to South America.
De Ruyter became captain in 1637 CE and rear-admiral four years later.
He acted in many roles: whaler, trader and privateer.
In 1642, rich from all his work, he bought his own ship, the Salamander, and used it for trading with Morocco and the West Indies for a decade.
At the end of that period he planned to retire, yet very soon after the First Anglo-Dutch war broke out.
The Dutch fleet had been neglected and at first lost heavily to the English navy.
The admiralty of Zeeland called upon the Ruyter and reluctantly he re-enlisted as a squadron commander.
Serving under Maarten Tromp he fought in five naval battles, earning a reputation as a reliable and skillful commander.
In the battle of Scheveningen Maarten Tromp was shot dead.
Pensionary Johan de Witt wanted de Ruyter to become supreme commander of the navy, but he refused.
Instead he became vice-admiral.
This is an example of de Ruyter's reluctance in accepting high honors and titles, either out of political shrewdness or genuine modesty.
Throughout his career, he also assumed a neutral stance in religious matters, though he took piety seriously.
He took good care of his men, which earned him the nicknamed Bestevaêr (grandfather) and frequently spent his own money on buying the freedom of slaves.
He was less yielding when his skills or orders were criticized; de Ruyter was a self-made man from low birth who worked himself up through ability and daring.
As vice-admiral he fought in the Mediterranean and against Sweden.
At home he helped to modernize the navy, replacing merchantmen with true warships and training marines.
In 1665 CE the Second Anglo-Dutch war started.
De Ruyter had already fought skirmishes against the English in the Caribbean and his return to the Netherlands boosted morale.
In 1666 CE he defeated the English at the Four Days' Battle, elevating his status from national hero to international champion.
The balance between the English and the Dutch swung back and forth, but the English treasury ran dry and after two years of fighting peace was made.
After the war Johan de Witt, recognizing his political value, kept de Ruyter at home, to prevent him being killed in battle.
He spent his time training, equipping and otherwise strengthening the navy.
His time on land almost got him killed in another way: an assassin tried to murder him, though failed.
In 1672 CE the Dutch were attacked by France and Münster over land and cornered.
A year later the English joined in and tried to cut off its sea supply lines, but the Ruyter defeated the English in three battles by superb maneuvering, saving the republic.
In response the Dutch made him lieutenant-admiral-general.
England and Münster made in peace in 1674 CE; the French three years later.
De Ruyter was a master in playing the game of wind, currents, undepths and timing in battle.
During his career he won about two dozen sea battles and averted defeat in many others.
After the English abandoned boarding for the line-of-battle tactic,
de Ruyter improved on that by cutting through the line to gain local numerical superiority.
The Third Anglo-Dutch war concluded, the new Dutch government did not let their famous commander rest and sent him off to help Spain fight a rebellion in Messina.
In 1676 CE, in the Battle of Augusta, he was fatally wounded by a cannonball and died a week later from infection.
War Matrix - Michiel de Ruyter
Age of Reason 1620 CE - 1750 CE, Generals and leaders