Was the Dutch convoy under-escorted?

Was the Dutch escort standard for a convoy of 112 merchant ships?

Yes; it was a fairly standard escort for a convoy of that size.

A viewer asks whether the Dutch escort was standard for a convoy of 112 merchant ships. It was a fairly normal level of protection. The response matters because the French success should not be explained simply by unusual Dutch neglect. Merchant ships were expected to rely on their escorts rather than sacrifice cargo and crew capacity for heavy armament of their own. The action instead exposes the limits even a normal convoy system faced when a stronger raiding squadron achieved contact.