After their victory at the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653, the English fleet of 120 ships under General at Sea George Monck on his flagship Resolution blockaded the Dutch coast, capturing many merchant vessels.

[6] His death was kept secret to keep up the morale of the Dutch but by late afternoon, twelve of their ships had either been sunk or captured and many were too damaged to continue the fight.

The English fleet was also badly damaged and with many wounded in urgent need of treatment, returned to port to refit and were unable to maintain the blockade.

Both sides claimed a victory: the English because of their tactical superiority, the Dutch because the strategic goal of their attack, the lifting of the blockade, had been achieved.

However, Tromp's death was a severe blow to the Dutch – few now expected to beat the English; the Orangist faction lost political influence and Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt was willing to give formal treaty assurances to Cromwell that the infant William III of Orange would never become stadtholder, thus turning the Netherlands into a base for a Stuart restoration.