What Dutchman used a broomstick to symbolize he had cleaned the sea?

ceetee

Maarten Tromp, but this quote from Wikipedia suggests urban legend has a lot to do with his fame, such as it may have been. "In traditional British histories, Tromp is often wrongly called "Van Tromp". There is also a story that, after his victory at Dungeness, Tromp attached a broom to his mast as a symbol that he had swept the English from the sea. The following year, the English admiral supposedly attached a whip to his mast as a symbol that he had whipped the Dutch off the sea. This is now regarded by historians as dubious." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maarten_Tromp Sep 02 10, 2:32 AM