De Ruyter, << deh ROY ter, >> Michel Adriaanszoon de (1607-1676), also spelled Ruiter, was one of the greatest fighting seamen of the Netherlands. He was an admiral of the Dutch Navy during the three wars between England and the Netherlands in the middle 1600’s. During the first war, Ruyter helped Admiral Martin Tromp defeat the English off Dungeness in 1652. When Tromp died, Ruyter became chief in command. In 1666, during the second war, Ruyter won the Four Days’ Battle. Ruyter won all the naval battles of the third war. However, the Dutch lost the war, when the French attacked them on land. In 1676, Ruyter was killed while he was fighting the French. He was born in Flushing (now Vlissingen).
