Admiral

Michiel de Ruyter

& Maarten Tromp: The wind is blowing the wrong way. Like politicians, very unpredictable.

& Johan de Witt: This is our country. A country we conquered from the water. A country where we earn our own happiness. By working hard, in the villages and cities. In the ports and on the mainland. Our freedom can only be protected if we are willing to fight for freedom for others. That is why the Dutch lion holds these seven arrows in his claw. That is what binds us. Your freedom is my freedom. I’ll defend this freedom until my last breath.

& Michiel de Ruyter: No one will listen to me.
    Johan de Witt: We’ll make them listen.
    Michiel de Ruyter: I’m not of noble birth.
    Johan de Witt: Even better.
    Michiel de Ruyter: Sailors are conservative. You can’t just make anyone admiral of the fleet. That’s not how it works.
    Johan de Witt: Yes, it does. It’s the 17th century, anything is possible.

& Jan: The Royal Charles. Unsinkable, or so they say.
    Michiel de Ruyter: All ships are unsinkable, Jan. Until they sink.

& Johan de Witt: What about those sea soldiers you’re training? What do you call them?
    Michiel de Ruyter: Marines.

& Johan de Witt: Diplomacy, Michiel, diplomacy is the future of warfare.
    Michiel de Ruyter: The people don’t understand diplomacy.
    Johan de Witt: I can’t adapt my policy to people who understand less than we do...

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& Johan de Witt: The French are at the border. The English near the coast. And that’s not all. The bishops of Cologne and Munster are joining in. They’ve divided our country, everyone gets a piece of the pie. It’s not just about destroying our fleet. They want to land near The Hague with a huge number of troops. You must stop them. Our land army won’t survive it. You’re our only hope, Michiel. Don’t let them turn us into English and French provinces.

& Jan: The brothers De Witt are lost. Stay out of it.
    Michiel de Ruyter: What kind of country would that be? I say whatever I want, as long as I live.

& Willem III: Gentlemen, excuse me, we’re going to flood the country.

& Michiel de Ruyter: The wind comes from the south, and so we’ll do what they expect us to do. We’re going to sail in line here... and then Tromp is going to leave a hole here. He’s good at that.

& Michiel de Ruyter: You want me to join a rebellion?
    Dequesne: You can be the symbol of our resistance. The people look up to you.
    Michiel de Ruyter: And I have the fleet behind me. You’re crazy, man. Plunge the country into a civil war?
    Dequesne: Anything is better than a dictatorship!

& Willem III: I might as well have condemned him to death. That would’ve been more honest.
    Bentinck: Think of it as an act of a true statesman.
    Willem III: ... I’ve decided to form an alliance with the English throne. I have to seize this opportunity.
    Bentinck: What!?
    Willem III: A marriage with Mary Stuart. Think of it as an act of a true statesman.

& Willem III: Give him the most beautiful grave possible.

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