Bust of Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez, Jean Antoine Houdon, 1786 - 1787
The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War broke out in 1780. Britain attacked the Netherlands for supporting the American Revolution. The British besieged Dutch settlements in India and Ceylon, among other places. The diminished Dutch navy called upon the help of its ally, France. The French vice-admiral De Suffren defeated the British fleet in five naval battles.