View of Tripoli

Four views of North-African cities. Reinier Nooms, c. 1665. To protect the Dutch merchant fleet, the navy took the fight the enemy, far beyond the country's coastal waters. The Mediterranean harbours shown here - Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and Salee - were bases from which privateers attacked Dutch merchant shipping. Attempts were made to impose treaties on these cities using the threat of naval force. Between 1661 and 1663 Admiral Michiel de Ruyter cruised the Mediterranean Sea in an effort to stamp out piracy. De Ruyter's ship, de Liefde, is shown in the foreground of the view of Algiers. This series of paintings was displayed in one of the rooms of the Amsterdam Admiralty. The Republic's navy was divided into five regional admiralties, one of which was based in Amsterdam.