The Batavian navy was the navy of the Batavian Republic which was a continuation of the Staatse vloot of the Dutch Republic. Though thoroughly reorganized after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, the navy embarked on several naval construction programs which, at least on paper, made it a serious rival of the Royal Navy during the War of the Second Coalition. However, the Capitulation of Saldanha Bay, the Battle of Camperdown and the Vlieter incident showed that the navy did not measure up to that expectation. Nevertheless, the reorganizations proved to be durable, when the Batavian Republic was succeeded by the Kingdom of Holland, and later, the Kingdom of the Netherlands which makes the present-day Royal Netherlands Navy expected to trace its ancestry through it.
Flag, jack, and pennant of the Batavian navy
Vice-Admiral Jan Willem de Winter, commander-in-chief of the Batavian fleet
Samuel Drummond, de Winter's personal surrender aboard HMS Venerable
Rear-Admiral Samuel Story
The Batavian Republic was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the Dutch throne. From October 1801 onward, it was known as the Batavian Commonwealth. Both names refer to the Germanic tribe of the Batavi, representing both the Dutch ancestry and their ancient quest for liberty in their nationalistic lore.
A portrait of William V of Orange-Nassau
Naval flag and pennants of the Batavian Republic. The canton features the Netherlands Maiden.
Herman Willem Daendels (1762–1818)
In The first Kiss this Ten Years! —or—the meeting of Britannia & Citizen François (1803), James Gillray caricatured the peace between France and Britain.