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During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), the Dunkirkers or Dunkirk Privateers were in the service of the Spanish Empire and later the Kingdom of France. They operated from the ports of the Flemish coast: Nieuwpoort, Ostend, and Dunkirk.
Although their existence predated him, Dunkirkers were mainly organized under the rule of Spanish governor Alexander Farnese. The first Dunkirkers sailed a group of outfitted by the Spanish government, but non-government investment in privateering soon led to a more numerous fleet of privately owned and outfitted warships. They were part of the Dunkirk fleet, which consequently was a part of the Spanish monarchy's Flemish fleet Armada de Flandes, and worked in cooperation with admirals like Francisco de Ribera and Miguel de Horna.
Throughout the Eighty Years' War, the fleet of the Dutch Republic repeatedly tried to destroy the Dunkirkers, but they remained active and prolific until Spain's final loss of Dunkirk in 1658. Afterwards, Dunkirkers would enter the service of France until their suppression was accorded in the 1712 Peace of Utrecht.
The Dunkirkers had an extremely wide range for their era. Although mainly operating in and around the Channel, they also sailed near the Denmark and German coastal areas to intercept Dutch ships returning from the Baltic Sea, and operated in Spanish and Mediterranean waters. Renowned commanders like Michel Jacobsen also had activity against the Ottoman Empire. They cooperated closely with the Spanish navy, for instance, in the Battle of the Downs. This combined effort reached a peak of effectiveness during the time the Eighty Years' War merged with the Thirty Years' War. To evade the Dutch navy the Dunkirk admiralty had a special type of small and very maneuverable warship constructed, the frigate. Frigate-like ship types were soon adopted by other navies and still have their modern-day counterparts.
In 1600 the Dutch sent an army to conquer the city of Dunkirk and stop the privateering once and for all. The Dutch invasion force clashed with a Habsburg Spain and although the Dutch won the resulting Battle of Nieuwpoort the Dutch commander, stadtholder Maurits of Nassau, realised his lines were dangerously over-stretched and so turned back to the Republic. The Flemish Fleet continued to be especially damaging to the herring fisheries of Holland and Zeeland, almost completely wiping out the sector on several occasions. However, Dutch merchantmen proved far more valuable targets, sometimes vessels on their way back from Russia or as far as the Indies were captured, along with their valuable cargoes.
After 1621, when the Twelve Years' Truce ended, the Dunkirkers captured on average 229 merchantmen and fishing vessels per year from the Dutch. By 1628, they had also seized 522 English vessels, primarily but also ships carrying munitions and victuals to the Dutch. This was one of the major concerns of Charles I's diplomatic representative in Brussels, Sir Balthasar Gerbier, who eventually managed to have tobacco taken off the list of 'victuals'. One of the most successful raiders of this period was Jacob Collaert. It was not until October 1646, when the French captured Dunkirk with Dutch naval support, that the danger from the privateers was greatly reduced. In 1652, Spanish forces recaptured the city and the Dunkirkers once again became a major threat. The Dunkirkers harassed English trade after England resumed hostilities against Spain in 1657, before Dunkirk was captured by a Franco-English force in 1658.Cooper, J. P. (1979). The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 4, The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 1609-48/49. CUP Archive. , p. 236. Ostend then became their most important port. When, after 1672, France and the Dutch Republic became enemies, privateering activities were resumed at Dunkirk, this time for France, and this would last intermittently until 1712. A famous Dunkirk privateer from this period was Jean Bart.
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