Basque Roads, sometimes referred to as ''Aix Roads'', is a roadstead (a sheltered bay) on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, bounded by the Île d'Oléron to the west and the Île de Ré to the north. The port of La Rochelle stands at the northeast corner of the roads, and the town of Rochefort is near the mouth of the river Charente to the south. It was the location of a failed British attack on Rochefort in 1757 during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, of an attack by HMS ''Unicorn'' and HMS ''St Fiorenzo'' on a Spanish squadron on 2 July 1799, and of the final surrender of Napoleon Bonaparte on HMS ''Bellerophon'' on 15 July 1815. It was also the site of the British naval victory over a French fleet at the 1809 Battle of Basque Roads. A further engagement took place on 13 February 1810, when Lieutenant Gardiner Henry Guion was put in command of eight boats from HMS ''Christian VII'' under Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke, HMS ''Armide'' under Captain Lucius Ferdinand Hardyman, and HMS ''Seine'' under Captain David Atkins, to attack nine French gun-boats in the Basque Roads, capturing one.

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* {{coord, 46.042, -1.209, dim:50000_region:FR, display=title Bays of Metropolitan France Landforms of Charente-Maritime Roadsteads of France

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