The Battle of Martinique was a successful British invasion of the

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

in the West Indies during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

. They continued to occupy the island until 1802, when the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

restored it to French control.

Background

Prior to the invasion, war had broken out between the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

. The British government was contacted by French planter Louis-François Dubuc, who wished to place

under British protection as the Republic's National Constituent Assembly was about to pass legislation which would abolish slavery in the

French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

; the legislation was passed the day before the British invasion of Martinique commenced. Fourteen days later, the British signed the Whitehall Accord on 9 February with

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revolu ...

French planters, which allowed them to keep their chattel property.

Invasion

On 5 February, a British fleet under the command of

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

Sir John Jervis landed troops under the command of Sir Charles Grey on the island, which proceeded to capture the island from the Republicans in concert with French planters. By 20 March, only Fort Bourbon and

Fort Royal Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Histo ...

remained under Republican control. Jervis ordered the

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

ship of the line HMS ''Asia'', and the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

, HMS ''Zebra'' to capture Fort Saint Louis.James (1837), Vol. 1, p. 218 ''Asia'' was unable to get close to the fort and ''Zebra'' went in alone, with her captain, Richard Faulknor. Despite facing heavy Republican artillery fire, Faulknor ran ''Zebra'' close under the walls. He and his ship's company then used ''Zebra''s boats to land. The British stormed the fort and captured it. ''Zebra'' lost only her pilot killed and four men wounded. Meanwhile, the remainder of the British fleet captured Fort Royal and two days later Fort Bourbon capitulated.

Aftermath

The Governor General of Martinique at the time, Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, surrendered to Grey. The British then occupied Martinique until the

returned the island to the French in 1802.

References

;Bibliography * Fortescue, John
''A history of the British Army'', Volume 4
* Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Battles involving Great Britain Battles involving France

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

Conflicts in 1794 Invasions 1794 in the British Empire 1794 in the Caribbean Invasions by Great Britain

1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United Stat ...

18th century in Martinique {{France-battle-stub