Aemilia (ship)

The Aemilia was a 57-gun Dutch ship of the line and the flagship of Admiral Maarten Tromp.

History

Launched in 1632, on October 21, 1639, it participated together with 100 other ships in the destruction of the Spanish fleet of 70 ships in the Battle of the Dunes, coming from Kent and heading to the Netherlands. The British Royal Navy, which was neutral, was also there, but Admiral Tromp put a Dutch squadron to watch them in case they also intervened. The Aemilia stood out from the Spanish ships for having a flat bottom, being able to maneuver easily on the sandbanks, where the Spanish ships ran aground. The battle was transcendental for Dutch independence, a country that after the victory came to dominate the seas of Northern Europe. This victory and the civil war that was taking place in England allowed the Netherlands to expand its power and wealth.

The Aemelia was for many years the flagship of the Dutch navy under the command of Admiral Tromp. Until she was lost or sank in 1646, the cause of which is not clarified, but which appears in the list of the Dutch fleet, a new 28-gun Aemelia, implying that the main one, the 56-gun one, was out of service..