During his lifetime Michiel de Ruyter was portrayed many times. His portrait in paint and print must have decorated many a wall. Clearly people needed at the time of threatening civil war an idol and he fitted the profile. When De Ruyter became vice admiral of the fleet under Cornelis Tromp, the less talented son of the celebrated Maarten Tromp, he was a novice to the viper pit that was the Dutch political scene. He had no connections and was a self made man. He came from an Orangist Island but got his commission from Johan de Witt a staunch State supporter. Although admiring Johan de Witt and his gifted brother Cornelis and becoming friends with them, he never chose sides. In contrast his boss at the Admiralty Cornelis Tromp was an card-carrying Orangist and took part in intrigues to bring Willem III Prince of Orange to power. De Ruyter’s only loyalty was with his family and the Dutch Republic. On the portrait paintings of De Ruyter he has a fleshy, glum but not unfriendly face albeit rather plain. He is clearly heir to generations of Jenever drinkers as so many Dutch. His stance is confident but rather square. His clothes are plain and practical. His ability to stay neutral yet be loyal to a few principles, combined with a sharp mind and healthy curiosity in anything that was new, different and could be put to use, made him an ideal ‘traveller’. His ships might have been an extension of his home island, but once on foreign shore he was open to new experiences. Hence his learning the Irish a.o.. This worked very well of course when he was not tied to the duties of warfare. The Bros De Witt stimulated his innovative tendencies. That’s how a.o. came the forming of an ‘army at sea’ about: the Marines.
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