The English demand for a salute was more than ceremony because it asserted sovereignty over vaguely defined British seas. Dutch officers had previously complied as a courtesy while denying that the gesture conceded legal jurisdiction. In 1652, however, Tromp received stiffer but ambiguous instructions that made his conduct depend on relative strength and whether the Republic was being slighted. The confused firing off Dover then gave the Commonwealth a grievance it treated as treachery, helping turn diplomatic tension into a formal declaration of war.
Notable Point · 14:11-16:00
The Dover salute crisis and the road to war
A disputed demand to salute in the British seas turned a long-running question of sovereignty into a dangerous armed encounter off Dover.