Caribbean campaign of 1803–1810

The United Kingdom’s campaign in the Caribbean began shortly after the breakdown of the Treaty of Amiens. Hostilities with France resumed in May 1803 but official notification did not arrive in the West Indies until mid-June, along with orders to attack France's valuable sugar islands, Martinique, St Lucia and Tobago. Martinique was rejected as too well defended but the commanders in chief, William Grinfield and Samuel Hood, thought attacks against the other two islands feasible, and the expedition set out from Barbados on 20 June with 3,149 soldiers, two ships-of-the-line, two frigates, converted to troopships, and two sloops.[1][2] St Lucia was captured on 22 June 1803, after the island’s main fortress, Morne Fortunee had been stormed, and Tobago nine days later and, after leaving men to hold these islands, the expedition returned to Barbados.[3]

On 10 August, Grinfield received orders to call on the surrender of the colonies of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice. The Dutch colonies, unhappy with the rule of the Batavian Republic had applied to the British government for a peaceful take over. A large portion of Grinfield's forces had since been used up as garrisons of the newly captured French islands but by supplementing his force with Royal Marines, he was able to amass some 1,300 men.[4] Light winds delayed their arrival off Georgetown until 18 September when a summons was immediately dispatched to the Dutch governor. A party arrived on 20 June and terms of surrender were agreed. Another deputation had to be sent to the separately governed colony of Berbice which was eventually taken, without a fight, on 27 September.[4]

In 1804, the British captured Surinam. The invasion force comprised Commodore Samuel Hood's flagship HMS Centaur, Emerald, the 44-gun heavy frigates Pandour and Serapis, the 28-gun sixth-rate Alligator, the 12-gun schooner Unique, the 12-gun corvette Hippomenes, and the 8-gun Drake, together with 2,000 troops under Brigadier-General Sir Charles Green.[5]

Sir J.T. Duckworth's Action off San Domingo, Feb. 7 8th 1806, Thomas Whitcombe

By this time Spain a former enemy of the British and ally of the French was now invaded by French forces which led to the Peninsula war. Once the news of the invasion had reached the island, the criollos of Santo Domingo revolted against French rule and were later assisted by the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom who were now Spain's new ally.

By 1808 French colonial territories in the Caribbean were a drain on both the French and British navies. The fortified harbours on the islands and coastal towns provided shelter for French warships and privateers that could strike against British trade routes at will, forcing the Royal Navy to divert extensive resources to protect their convoys.[6] However, the maintenance and support of these bases was a significant task for the French Navy. It had suffered a series of defeats during the war that left it blockaded in its own harbours and unable to put to sea without attack from British squadrons waiting off the coast.[7] Cut off from French trade and supplies, the Caribbean colonies began to suffer from food shortages and collapsing economies, and messages were sent to France in the summer of 1808 requesting urgent help.[8]

Some of these messages were intercepted by the patrolling Royal Navy. Based on the description in those messages of the low morale and weak defences of the Caribbean territories, the decision was taken to eliminate the threat from the French colonies for the remainder of the war by seizing and occupying them in a series of amphibious operations. Command of this campaign was given to Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, who focused his initial efforts on Martinique, gathering a substantial force of ships and men at Barbados in preparation for the planned invasion.[9] While the main British forces concentrated in the Leeward Islands, smaller expeditionary forces were sent to watch other French colonies.