[plank]

What I missed in the piece is a description on how they did against the Dutch. Both Spanish and French were more ‘land type’ armies, as a Dutchmen I remember in the history wé were taught that the Dutch punched above their weight on sea warefare.

Indeed, if I had to wager, I would assume that the English against the Portuguese or the Dutch would do worse then against the Spanish or French, given the same firepower/size of ships etc. (For the record, did not check ‘the mighty internet’ whether my gut feelings are supported by facts) (Edit: but -> both)

[bgnn]

Weren't Dutch ships much smaller but more numerous than the English? What I remember is reading that this made Dutch ships more maneuverable and more capable of piracy. They were good at harassing ports too.