The Stockholm incident[1][2] was an event in July 1651 when English privateer ships, namely the Man-of-war Jonsco Frigot and the Phoenix fought with the Stockholm, a Swedish ship heading back from Portugal. The fighting ended with the Stockholm giving up after the Phoenix arrived to support the Jonsco Frigot.
| Stockholm incident | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Swedish Empire |
 England | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Sybraut Jellis (WIA) | Unknown | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
Stockholm |
Jonsco Frigot Phoenix | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 ship | 2 ships | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 killed Several wounded | Unknown | ||||||
Incident
editIn July 1651, the Stockholm was on her homeward bound voyage with a large cargo of sugar and salt before being stopped by the English man-of-war Jonso Frigot in the English Channel. She was asked to strike her sail and deliver her papers to the Englishmen. This came as a surprise to the Swedes, as two Dutch and one Danish ship had been allowed to freely sail on their way. Acting upon the belief that the English privateer ship seemed to be an Irish pirate, the captain of the Stockholm, Sybraut Jellis, opened fire on the Englishmen and fought for several hours in an attempt to defend his ship.[3] The Stockholm would however yield when another English vessel, the Phoenix, joined the action. After the fighting, the Stockholm would be seized by the English.[4][2][1]
Aftermath
editDuring the fighting, the Swedes suffered one man killed and several others wounded, including Sybraut Jellis himself. The likely reason behind the Swedish resistance is that one of the main owners of the Stockholm, Richard Clerck, was a Scottish admiral in Swedish service. Moreover, the Swedes were likely already tired of being subject to English claims of superiority at sea.[2][1]
The incident resulted in direct diplomatic overtures to England, initially opened by the Riksråd in August of the same year when another co-owner of the Stockholm, Benjamin Bonnel, received permission to travel to England in order to recover the Stockholm.[2][1]
See also
edit- Skirmish at the Isle of Wight – 1647 engagement of the English Civil War
- Action of 18 April 1695 – Skirmish between an English ship and a Dano-Swedish fleet
- Action of 10 August 1695 – 1695 engagement of the Nine Years' War
- Anglo–Swedish skirmish (1695) – Anglo–Swedish naval skirmish
- Battle of Orford Ness (1704) – 1704 naval battle
References
edit- ^ a b c d Murdoch 2019, p. 3–4.
- ^ a b c d Davies, J. D.; James, Alan; Rommelse, Gijs (2019-06-25). Ideologies of Western Naval Power, c. 1500-1815. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-07499-4.
- ^ Claim of Benjamin Bonnel and Richard Clerck, 20 August 1651
- ^ "BONNELL, BENJAMIN [SSNE 2579] - The Scotland, Scandinavia and Northern European Biographical Database". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
Works cited
edit- Murdoch, Steve (2019). 'Breaching Neutrality': English prize-taking and Swedish neutrality in the First Anglo-Dutch War, 1651–1654 (PDF). Routledge. pp. 3–4.