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Why did the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War begin during the American Revolution?

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Anglo-Dutch Wars The *Sovereign of the Seas*, an English galleon of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Launched in 1637, this was the largest warship of its time and the first to carry 100 guns. The prominent beak at its bow soon went out of fashion, but its three gun decks and low sterncastle and forecastle set the pattern for ships of the line for the rest of the sailing era. Contemporary engraving by J. Jayne.

The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War began because of secret Dutch trade and negotiations with the American colonies, which were in revolt against England during the American Revolution. England declared war on December 20, 1780.1

The conflict led to England quickly seizing key Dutch possessions in the West and East Indies and imposing a blockade on the Dutch coast. The war concluded in May 1784, marking a low point for the Dutch Republic's power and prestige.1