First battle of Tobago

The First Battle of Tobago took place on 3 March 1677 between a Dutch fleet under the command of

Jacob Binckes Jacob Binckes (1637, Koudum – 12 December 1677) was a Dutch commodore. Jacob himself used the name Benckes. Jacob was seafarer trading mostly on Norway in the transport of wood. In 1665 Jacob Binckes started his service with the Admiralty of ...

and a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

squadron commanded by

Jean II d'Estrées Jean, Comte d'Estrées, (3 November 1624 in Solothurn, Switzerland – 19 May 1707 in Paris), was a Marshal of France, and an important naval commander of Louis XIV. He was born into a noble family from Picardy. His aunt was Gabrielle d'Estr� ...

attempting to recapture the island of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. There was much death and destruction on both sides. One of the Dutch supply ships caught fire and exploded; the fire then quickly spread in the narrow bay causing several

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s, among them the French

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

''Glorieux'', to catch fire and explode in turn which resulted in great loss of life.

Order of battle (first battle)

France

*''Glorieux'' (flagship, 64 guns) - ( Jean, Comte d'Estrées) Destroyed; 60 killed *''L'Intrépide'' (56 guns) - ( Louis de Gabaret) Captured *''Le Precieux'' (54 guns) - Captured *''Le Marquis'' (46 guns) - ( Chevalier de Lézines) Destroyed *''Le Galant'' (46 guns) - Damaged *''Le Fendant'' (54 guns) - (

Charles de Courbon de Blénac Charles de Courbon, comte de Blénac (1622 – 10 June 1696) was a French colonial administration who served as governor general of the French Antilles during the 17th century. He was an experienced soldier and fought for the king during the Fron ...

) Damaged *''Fortuné'' (52 guns) - (

Nicholas Lefèvre de Méricourt Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

) *''Le Laurier'' (40 guns) - (

Charles-François de Machault de Belmont Charles-François de Machault de Belmont (1640–1709) was a French naval officer who was governor general of the French Antilles from 1703 to 1709. He held office during the War of the Spanish Succession, when the French colony on Saint Kitts was ...

) *''Le Soleil d'Afrique'' (40 guns) - Captain killed

Dutch Republic

*''Beschermer'' (flagship, 54 guns) - (

) 50 killed *''Huis te Kruiningen'' (58 guns) - ( Roemer Vlacq) Captured; 56 killed *''Zeelandia'' (34 guns) - (

Pieter Constant Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

) 44 killed *''Middelburg'' (38 guns) - (

Jan Swart Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Num ...

) Destroyed *''Sphaera Mundi'' (41 guns) *''Gouden Ster'' (30 guns) - (

Pieter Cooreman Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

) Captain killed *''Hertog van York'' (26 guns) - (

Frederick Sweers Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederic ...

) *''Alcion'' (24 guns) - (

Cornelis Stolwijk Cornelis is a Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) and Johannes (Jan) used to be the most common given ...

) Sunk *''Popkensburg'' (24 guns) - (

Pieter Slolwyck Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

) *''Sint Salvador'' (6 guns)

Second battle of Tobago

The French fleet retreated but made a second attempt to capture Tobago at the end of the year, during the Second Battle of Tobago, which took place on 11 December 1677. This time, the French were successful. The French squadron sailed to the Cape Verde Islands, took the slaving island of Gorée (off Senegal) from the Dutch, then sailed fast to the Antilles. D'Estrées stopped briefly at

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

to find out what he could about the strength of the Dutch, then reached

on 6 December 1677.Blénac led the land force of 950 men, with an artillery train to besiege the Dutch fort. The mortars and cannon had to be dragged about to the top of a hill that overlooked the fort, which took three days. The third shell fired by the French hit the powder magazine, and the explosion destroyed the fort. 250 men died, including Admiral

and 16 officers. The French attacked at once and within an hour had seized what remained of the fort as well as four sinking ships. They took 600 prisoners. The French destroyed all the houses and plantation buildings on the island, deported the people and abandoned the island. This victory destroyed Dutch military power in the Antilles. D'Estrées next sailed to Martinique to prepare an attack on

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. Blénac raised a large contingent of

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...

s to support this expedition.

References

Sources

* * * * Conflicts in 1677

1677 Events January–March * January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy ''Phèdre'' is first performed, in Paris. * January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston. * February 15 ...

1677 in the Caribbean Tobago History of Trinidad and Tobago {{France-battle-stub