II U Y 



R Y A 



carrying on at Breda, which De Witte had protrafted, 

 while he haltened the naval preparations. The Dutch fleet 

 appeared in thu Thames under the command of De Ruyter, 

 which threw the Englifh into the utmoft conlternation. A 

 chain was thrown acrofs the Medway, and fome new forti- 

 fications were added to Sheernefs and Upnore cattle : but 

 thefe preparations were unequal to the urgency of the cafe. 

 Sheernefs was foon taken, though defended with the utmoft 

 valour by lir Edward Sprague. Having the advantage of 

 a fpring tide and an eaflerly wind, the Dutch, with fix men 

 of war and five fire-Ihips, prefied on and broke through the 

 chain, and burnt feveral Englifh men of war in their courfe : 

 among thefe was the Royal Oak, the commander of which, 

 captain Douglas, periftied in the flames, though he might 

 readily have efcaped. " Never was it known," faid he, 

 " that a Douglas left his pott without orders." The peace 

 which foon after followed gave fome repofe to De Ruyter, 

 till the alliance between Charles II. and Lewis XIV. for 

 the ruin of the Dutch republic, again called him to the 

 defence of his country. With a fleet of 91 fail, in June 

 1672, De Ruyter attacked the combined fleets of 130 fail, 

 commanded by the duke of York, lord Sandwich, and count 

 d'Eftrees, in Solebay ; and after an engagement, which he 

 reprefented as the moft obftinate th?t he ever witnefled, 

 night parted the adverfaries, each claiming the viftory. 

 Lord Sandwich and count d'Eftrees lolt their lives, and the 

 other lofles were nearly equal, but De Ruyter kept the fea, 

 and fafely convoyed home a large fleet of merchantmen. 

 The French kept aloof, and fuffered very little. 



De Ruyter was now doomed to fuffer danger from a differ- 

 ent caufe. During the popular fury agamll the oppofers 

 of the houfe of Orange, which proved fatal to the Dl- 

 Wittes, De Ruyter, as one of the party, notwithftanding 

 the great Cervices which he had rendered his country, was 

 attacked in the llreets of Amfterdam with all forts of 

 weapons, but efcaped without much injury. When William 

 was raifed to the Itadtholderihip, the fervices of this great 

 admiral were too important to be flighted through party 

 difputes, and in 1673 he was fent to fea with a ftrong fleet 

 in queit of the combined Engliftl and French, who were on 

 the Dutch coaft, under the command of prince Rupert. 

 An indecilive engagement enfued on the 7th of June, in 

 which De Ruyter difengaged Tromp from the French 

 fquadron which had furrounded him. The battle was par- 

 tially renewed on the 14th, and in Auguft, as we have 

 feen in the article RuPERT, a more fevere engagement 

 took place, in which an Englilh and two Dutch admirals 

 were killed, and both parties claimed the victory. De Ruyter, 

 however,, received the thanks of the ftadtholdcr for his good 

 conduft on this occalion. Peace between England and the 

 Dutch foon after followed, and never fince have the two 

 nations contefted the empire of the ocean with fuch mighty 

 force, and fo determined a fpirit. France, at this time, 

 was riling fait to be a maritime power, and Holland, in al- 

 liance with Spain, had to contend with her for the fuperiority. 

 De Ruyter, in 1674, made a fruitlefs expedition to the French 

 Caribbee iflands. In the beginning of 1676 he was fent 

 with a fleet to Sicily, which had been encouraged by the 

 French to revolt from the Spaniards. He fell in with the 

 French fleet under the duke de Vironne, and an action enfued, 

 which lalted the whole day, with no decifive advantage to 

 either fide. De Ruyter repaired to Leghorn to refit, and 

 then, forming a junftion with the' Spaniih fleet, they pro- 

 ceeded towards Meffina. The French came out to meet 

 them, led on by the celebrated Du Quefne, and a fecond 

 battle took place on the 21ft of April. The Spaniards 

 kept at a cautious diftance, but De Ruyter, like himfelf, 



t7 



ruined to tha centre, broke the French line, and was in t fit- 

 aft of chafing, when a caunon-fliot wounded him in the left 

 heel and right leg. A fever fupervened, which within a 

 week put an end to his life in the port of Syracufe, at the 

 age of 69, deeply regretted by his country and admired bv 

 all Europe. The king of Spain had, only a few days previ- 

 oufly to this, conferred upon him the title of duke, with l 

 penfion. His remains were magnificently interred at Am- 

 fterdam at the public expence, and a fuperb monument was 

 erefted to his memory. Univer. Hift. Hume. Campbell's 

 Lives of the Admirals, edit. 1813. 



RUZA, in Geography, a town of RufTia, in the govern- 

 ment of Mofcow ; 48 miles W.N.W. of Mofcovv. N. lat. 

 55° 46'. E. long. 36° 2'. 



RUZASUS, Zaffoone, in Ancient Geography, a port in 

 the eaftern part of Mauritania Caefarienfis, iituated E. of 

 Rufcurium. 



RY, in Geography, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Lower Seine ; nine miles E. of Rouen. 



RYACOTTA, a town of Hindoottan, in Myfore, 

 ftrong, and well furnifhed with guns, ammunition, and pro- 

 vifion for its defence, but taken by the Britifh in July 1 79 1 ; 

 75 miles S. of Seringapatam. N. lat. 12° 26'. E. long. 



78° 5'- 



RYADER. See Riader. 



RYAL. See Rial. 



Rval, a name given to the noble, which, on account of 

 the fcarcity of gold in the time of Henry V. of England, 

 was diminiftied in fize, whilft it retained its former value, 

 but was reftored by Henry VI. to its original fize, and 

 caufed to pafs for ioj-. under this appellation. (See Rose- 

 noble.) This ryal of IOJ., and alfo the angel of 6s. Sd., with 

 their divifions of half and quarter, were the fole gold coins, 

 till, in 1485, Henry VII. publiftied the double ryal, or 

 fovereign of 20s. accompanied by the double fovereign of 

 40X. James I. of England illued rofe-ryals of 30J-., and 

 fpur-ryals of 15^.; angels of j or., and angelets of $s. ; till 

 his ninth year, when gold was raifed in the proportion of 

 1 1. i;i I Ox. 



RYALCHERY, in Geography, a town of Hindooftan, 

 in theCarnatic ; iomiles N.W. of Bomrauzepollam. 



RYAN, Looii, an arm of the fea, which extends itfelf 

 in a S.E. direftion into Wigtonfliire, Scotland, forming, 

 with the bav of Glenluce, the peninfula denominated the 

 Rinns of Galloway. It is about ten miles in length from its 

 entrance to Stanraer, which is fituated at its head, and 

 varies in breadth from two to four miles. On its eaftern 

 fide (lands the little village of Cairn, contiguous to which is 

 a very fafe and commodious bay, with good anchoring 

 ground, and depth of water fufficient for (hips of any 

 burthen. King William's fleet anchored here on their 

 paflage to Ireland. Oppofite to this village a fand-bank 

 runs a confiderabie way acrofs the loch, but few accidents 

 ever happen upon it, and it even contributes to the fafety of 

 the fouthern part of the bay, by breaking the force of the 

 tides, which flow (trongly in the direftion in which it lies. 

 This bank abounds with oy Iters of a moft excellent quality. 

 Belides Cairn bay, there are feveral other excellent an- 

 choring bays in the loch, called Portmore bay, the Wig bay, 

 the bay of Soleburn, and the bay of Dalmennock. In 

 fliort, tbe anchoring is good and fafe in almoft every part of 

 the loch. For fome further remarks relative to this arm of 

 the fea, fee Sxankaer. Sinclair's Statiitical Account of 

 Scotland, vol. i. 8vo. Edin. 1 79 1. Carhfle's Topogra- 

 phical Dictionary of Scotland, 4to. 1813. 



RYANIA, ir. Botany, was named by Vahl injuit com- 

 memoration of John Ryan, M.D. F.R.S., a very aftive 



and 



