You might ask "so how did the experiment work out?"

Yes, I ran the Battle of Monte Cristo simulation with the crew effectiveness increased for the Dutch and reduced for the Engish. For the English, this is not so farfetched. After Monte Cristo, the crew of Richard Badiley's flagship was at the point of mutiny. They wanted to scuttle the ship and escape.

The first time I adjusted the crew effectiveness, the Dutch did well, but the Paragon still was still able to survive all Dutch attacks and to inflict severe damage on them. After that, I further reduced the crew effectiveness for the Paragon. When I ran the simulation again, using my current tactics of maneuvering the fleet as a unit, with the helm, and the Dutch obliterated the English. In any case, the Dutch were stronger than the English. In the actual battle, the Paragon was able to repel all Dutch attacks. We only know, after the fact, how close the crew was to breaking and running.