Ruyter, Michiel Adriaanszoon de definition of Ruyter, Michiel Adriaanszoon de in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Ruyter, Michiel Adriaanszoon de (mēkhēl` ä`drēänsōn' də roi`tər), 1607–76, Dutch admiral. His life was spent in the Dutch mercantile and naval service. He fought under Maarten Tromp Tromp, Maarten Harpertszoon (mär`tən här`pərtsōn trômp), 1597–1653, Dutch admiral.
..... Click the link for more information. in the first (1652–54) of the Dutch Wars Dutch Wars, series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which French interests played a primary role.
..... Click the link for more information. and distinguished himself in the second Dutch War (1664–67) by the capture of English holdings on the Gold and Guinea coasts. He saved the Dutch fleet in a brilliant withdrawal after defeat at North Foreland (Aug. 4, 1666) and burned English ships (1667) in the Medway. With Cornelis Tromp Tromp, Cornelis (kôrnā`lĭs trômp)
..... Click the link for more information. he led the Dutch fleet in the third Dutch War (1672–78) and saved Dutch ports (1672) from attack by the English and French. Despite his protests over the conditions of the Dutch fleet, he was sent to the Mediterranean (1675), where he was mortally wounded at Messina.