British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

invasion of Martinique took place in January 1759 when a large amphibious force under

Peregrine Hopson Peregrine Thomas Hopson (5 June 1696 – 27 February 1759) was a British army officer who commanded the 40th Regiment of Foot and saw extensive service during the eighteenth century and rose to the rank of Major General. He also served as Briti ...

landed on the French-held island of

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 ...

and unsuccessfully tried to capture it during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. Cannon fire from the British fleet was ineffective against the fortress at Fort-Royal due to its location high on the cliffs, and there were no suitable landing places nearby. Unknown to the British commanders, French governor Francis de Beauharnais had not been resupplied for some months, and even a brief siege would have led to the fort's capitulation. However, Moore and Hopson decided instead to investigate the possibility of attacking Martinique's main commercial port, Saint-Pierre. After a desultory naval bombardment on 19 January that again had little effect on the port's defences, they withdrew, and decided instead to attack Guadeloupe, home to a significant body of French privateers.Dull, pp. 138–139 The expedition was successful at Guadeloupe, which surrendered to them in May 1759. In 1762 a British force captured Martinique.

Background

The sugar islands in the Caribbean were of huge economic importance to both Britain and France and their loss would lead to serious financial trouble. French possessions in the Caribbean were thought to be poorly defended and late in 1758, a decision was made to attempt to capture the French-held islands and a force of nearly 5,000 men under Major-General

was assembled for this purpose. The bulk of the troops, including 700 marines, left

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in transports in November. Eight ships-of-the-line sent to reinforce the Leeward Squadron, under Commodore John Moore, acted as escorts. The convoy arrived in

Carlisle Bay Carlisle Bay is a small natural harbour located in the southwest region of Barbados. The island nation's capital, Bridgetown, is situated on this bay which has been turned into a marine park. Carlisle Bay's marine park is a popular spot on the ...

on the island of

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) ...

the following January where it was later joined by a battalion of

Royal Highlanders The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, accompanied by the fifth-rate HMS ''Ludlow Castle'' of 40 guns. Prior to leaving, Hopson twice had the troops practice debarkation in Carlisle Bay so each understood their position and the order in which they were to land.Beatson p. 313

Attack

On 13 January, the British set sail for Martinique and arrived two days later.Clowes p. 201 During the afternoon on 15 January, the fleet rounded

Diamond Rock Diamond Rock (french: rocher du Diamant) is a 175-metre-high (574 ft)Fort-Royal Bay, where it encountered two French warships anchored off Point Negro. These ships, the 74-gun ''Florissant'' and the frigate, ''Bellone'' immediately set sail and ran across the bay where, at 18:00, they hove to beneath the guns of the citadel. During the night, ''Bellone'' managed to sneak out with dispatches. She never reached France however, being captured en route by Admiral Charles Holmes' squadron on its way to Quebec. At 08:00 on 16 January 1759, the two 44-gun ships, and with the 50-gun , opened fire on the batteries in Cas des Navieres Bay, where it was intended to land the troops. At the same time, the 50-gun and the 60-gun attacked Fort Negro, three miles away.The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) p.439Beatson p. 313 The battery at Cas des Navieres was silenced when the magazine exploded, but the ships continued to direct their fire at the shore to prevent the enemy forming up and opposing a landing. In anticipation of an invasion, French troops had been stationed at many of the island's small bays and constructed earthworks to hinder any landing.Beatson p. 314 At 14:00, the British assembled three divisions of troops in boats, behind the stern of . At 16:00 the ships began a covering fire while the landing parties rowed towards the beach. Most of the troops were landed before nightfall and without encountering much opposition, made the highground above the fort on Point Negro. The British ships, which had been moved closer to the shore, came under heavy fire and were forced to withdraw. It was not until the following morning that the artillery and remaining troops were landed, the French meanwhile, had spent the night fortifying their positions. By 07:00 though, the British had advanced beyond the fort and had begun clearing the woods of enemy troops. Three hours later, they had established a battery on the high ground above the fort and by the afternoon, British soldiers had assembled on the hill overlooking the town.The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) p.440 Hopson however did not think it feasible to hold these position without further support from the navy. At 14:00 he sent a request to Moore, asking that either heavy cannon be landed on the shore near the town, or that the ships direct their fire upon the citadel while he simultaneously launched an attack. Moore could not comply with either request because contrary winds and currents prevented the ships getting within range of the town, and the boats landing the cannon would be exposed to an unacceptable level of fire. Moore offered to land the guns at Fort Negro and have his seamen drag them the three miles over rough terrain but following a council of war, it was decided to abandon the attack on Fort Royal and concentrate instead on the island's capital, Saint-Pierre. The British Fleet left Fort Royal Bay on the evening of 18 January and arrived off Saint-Pierre at 06:00 the next day. At 07:00 took soundings of the bay and at 08:00 the bomb ketches were ordered in to attack the town. At the same time ''Rippon'' put a battery 1 1/2 miles to the north out of action, taking heavy fire in the process.The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) p. 441Beatson p. 317 The lee-shore wind which had made entrance to the bay so easy, hampered ''Rippon's'' withdrawal and boats had to be sent in to tow her out. A further council of war was then held where the cost of capturing and holding the island was discussed. It was calculated that the resources required would be better employed in the taking Guadeloupe which was a haven for privateers preying on British merchant shipping.The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) p. 442 The troops were therefore subsequently evacuated and the squadron set sail for Guadeloupe on the morning 20 January. The attack began on 23 January but it was May 1759 before the entire island was under British control.The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) pp. 445 & 448

References

Bibliography

* Anderson, Fred. ''Crucible of War'', Faber and Faber, 2000 * *
Dull, Jonathan ''The French Navy and the Seven Years' War''
* * * McLynn, Frank. ''1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World.'' Pimlico, 2005 *

Simms, Brendan Brendan Peter Simms (born 1967, Dublin) is a Professor of the history of international relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. Early life Brendan Simms is the son of Anngret and David Simm ...

. ''Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire.'' Penguin Books, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinique, Invasion of (1759) Seven Years' War Battles involving Great Britain

Invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

Battles involving France 1759 in France 1759 in the Caribbean Invasions by Great Britain

1759 In Great Britain, this year was known as the ''Annus Mirabilis'', because of British victories in the Seven Years' War. Events January–March * January 6 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis. * January 11 &nda ...

Background

Attack

See also

References

Bibliography