Portuguese-Dutch naval war in Asia in the 17th Century and the military revolution

Abstract

This article approaches the 17th Century Portuguese-Dutch naval war in Asia in the light of the discussion on the military revolution, focusing on the related issue of whether the revolution produced a Western military exceptionalism that made Westerners militarily superior to non-Europeans in the Early Modern period. We consider the extent to which military Asian influence on the Portuguese in Asia in the 16th Century made them militarily inferior to European enemies like the Dutch in the 17th Century. It will be argued that it did so only in a limited way that does not corroborate claims for an extensive Early Modern Western military exceptionalism.