Patzer

Michiel de Ruyter didn't actually die on the spot when he's hit by a cannon ball. He died from his injuries later.

In the movie Michiel's wife was at the funeral in Amsterdam. In reality she was not there at all. In those days it was normal that the widow did not attend the funeral. Michiels son Engel, a son-in-law and a grandson represented the family.

A remorseful prince William III orders to give De Ruyter a beautiful grave. In truth, De Ruyter's family financed it themselves.

Michiel de Ruyter is shown as being present in The Hague at the lynching of the De Witt brothers but he was not in The Hague, as also a mob who tried to find him in reality discovered.

The Dutch and English fleets can initially be seen actively sailing straight towards each other, even though the wind only blows in one direction.

When the camera zooms out from the aerial view of the French invading a city to a view from above the clouds, which then blends into a map, the view from space is actual modern day satellite photography. It shows many features and landmasses which did not exist in the 17th century. Most notable the whole province of Flevoland, the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam, the islands of Zeeland were not yet connected, various dams and bridges, and the greenhouses in the Westland.

Next to the front door of the 'Amsterdam' house of Michiel the brown ANWB-shield is visible (with an explanation from the tourist board).

The Battle of Scheveningen which opens the movie took place on July 31, 1653, while the final scene happened on March 18, 1677. This means that in reality, the events depicted in the movie spanned almost 24 years, but artistic license was taken in condensing the story and action to a few years at most (notice for example that the children in the movie hardly age).

The stone in the front gable of the 'Vlissingen' house of Michiel contains the date '1938'.

When de Ruyter is sick, his wife uses the word malaria. The word is Italian from the words bad (mal) air (aria) first used around 1740.

When Charles I states that Louis XIV only wants the Southern Netherlands, William III reacts horrified by the idea of his country being split in two. In truth, the Southern Netherlands (more or less modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg) were Spanish possessions, not Dutch.