The Portuguese conquest of French Guiana, also known as Conquest of Cayenne (
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
: ''Conquista de Caiena''), was a military operation against
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
, capital of the South American colony of
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, launched in January 1809 in the context of the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. The invasion was undertaken by a combined expeditionary force that included Portuguese (from Portugal and from
Colonial Brazil
Colonial Brazil ( pt, Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Durin ...
) and British military contingents.
The invasion was part of a series of attacks on French-held territory in the Americas during 1809, and due to commitments elsewhere, the British
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 F ...
was unable to send substantial forces to attack the fortified river port. Instead, appeals were made to the Portuguese government, which had
fled Portugal the year before during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
and was resident in Brazil, its largest
colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
. In exchange for providing troops and transports for the operation, the Portuguese were promised Guiana as an expansion of their holdings in Brazil for the duration of the conflict.
The British contribution was small, consisting solely of the minor warship
HMS ''Confiance''. ''Confiance'' however had a highly effective crew and an experienced captain in
James Lucas Yeo
Sir James Lucas Yeo, , (; 7 October 1782 – 21 August 1818) was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812. Born in Southampton, he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 10 and saw his first action in the Adriatic Sea. He distingu ...
, who was to command the entire expedition. The more substantial Portuguese contingent consisted of 700 regular soldiers of the colonial Army of Brazil, led by
Lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Manuel Marques de Elva Portugal, 550 marines of the Royal Brigade of the Navy detached in Brazil and several warships to act as transports and provide offshore artillery support. The French defenders were weakened by years of Royal Navy blockade and could only muster 400 regular infantry and 800 unreliable militia, formed in part from the territory's free black population. As a result, resistance was inconsistent and despite Cayenne's strong fortifications, the territory fell within a week.
It is considered to be the
baptism of fire
The phrase baptism by fire or baptism of fire is a Christian theological concept originating from the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11.
It also has related meanings in military history and popular culture.
Christianity
The term ''baptis ...
of the
Brazilian Marine Corps )
, colors=Red and white
, colors_label=Colors
, march=
, mascot=
, battles = Invasion of Cayenne (1809) Banda Oriental Conquest (1816)War of Independence (1821–1824)Confederation of the Equator(1824)Cisplatine War(1825–1828)Ragamuffin War(183 ...
, as there was a participation of the Royal Brigade of the Navy that would give origin to it.
Background
During the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, 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
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s that could strike against British trade routes at will, forcing the Royal Navy to divert extensive resources to protect their convoys.
[Gardiner, p. 75] However, the maintenance and support of these bases was a significant task for the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
. 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.
[Gardiner, p. 17] 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.
[James, p. 206]
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
Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral.
He had previously captai ...
, who focused his initial efforts on
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 th ...
, gathering a substantial force of ships and men 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). ...
in preparation for the planned invasion.
[Woodman, p. 242] While the main British forces concentrated in the
Leeward Islands
french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean
, coor ...
, smaller expeditionary forces were sent to watch other French colonies, including the small ship HMS ''Confiance'', deployed to the northern coast of South America under Captain
James Lucas Yeo
Sir James Lucas Yeo, , (; 7 October 1782 – 21 August 1818) was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812. Born in Southampton, he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 10 and saw his first action in the Adriatic Sea. He distingu ...
.
[Gardiner, p. 77] Supplementing this meagre force were reinforcements provided by Rear-Admiral
Sir Sidney Smith
Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith (21 June 176426 May 1840) was a British naval and intelligence officer. Serving in the American and French revolutionary wars and Napoleonic Wars, he rose to the rank of Admiral.
Smith was known for his of ...
, the commander of the Brazil Station who had negotiated with the Portuguese government, then situated in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, where they
had been forced to relocate in 1808 following the French invasion that began the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
.
Smith had secured the assistance of a Portuguese squadron, consisting of two armed brigs,
''Voador'' (24 guns) and
''Vingança'' (18 guns), an unarmed brig,
''Infante Dom Pedro'', and the unarmed cutter
''Leão''.
This force carried at least 550 regular Portuguese soldiers, supplemented by sailors and marines on board the ships, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Manuel Marques.
Yeo, who was to retain overall command of the operation, joined the Portuguese force off
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...
in early December 1808. On 15 December he attacked the coastal districts of
Oyapok and
Appruage, seizing both without resistance, in preparation for the advance on
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
, the capital of
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
.
[James, p. 209]
Invasion
The town of Cayenne is situated on an island in the mouth of the
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
and
Mahury Rivers. In 1809, its approaches were protected by a series of forts and gun batteries, while the town itself was dominated by a modern
star fort
A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, literally meaning ''Italian outline'') is a fortification in a style that evolved during the early modern period of gunpowder when the cannon came to domin ...
.
[James, p. 210] Acknowledging that his force was not large enough to invade the island directly, Yeo decided instead to attack a series of outlying forts on the Mahury River in an effort to draw out the French defenders.
On 6 January 1809, preparations were complete and Yeo launched an attack during the night, landing at Pointe Mahury at 03:00 on 7 January in five canoes despite heavy rains, which continued throughout the campaign. The surf was strong and all five canoes were wrecked on the beach, but there were no casualties. Yeo detached a Portuguese force under Major Joaquim Manuel Pinto against the Dégras de Cannes battery while he advanced on Fort Diamant with a force of seamen and marines. Both positions were rapidly carried, the British suffering seven men wounded to French losses of six killed and four wounded. Four cannons were seized, as were 90 French soldiers. Both fortifications were then garrisoned with soldiers from the squadron.
[Clowes, p. 285]
With the capture of the Mahury forts, the French in Cayenne risked being cut off from external help and besieged. In response, Governor
Victor Hugues
Jean-Baptiste Victor Hugues sometimes spelled Hughes (July 20, 1762 in Marseille – August 12, 1826 in Cayenne) was a French politician and colonial administrator during the French Revolution, who governed Guadeloupe from 1794 to 1798, emancipa ...
mustered most of the 600 troops available to him and marched on the Allied positions.
[Clowes, p. 286] Consolidating his forces at Dégras de Cannes, Yeo demolished Fort Diamant and sent scouts down river, where two further forts were discovered at Trio and the Canal de Torcy. The latter fort had been constructed to defend the approaches to Hugues' residence, which was situated on the canal. Yeo immediately ordered the Portuguese
cutters ''Leão'' and ''Vingança'' into the river to attack the forts, the Portuguese bombarding the positions for an hour while Yeo prepared assault forces. Yeo himself led the attack on the Trio fort while a Portuguese party attacked the fort on the canal. Both positions were captured and their 50 strong garrisons driven off.
[James, p. 211]
As Yeo secured his position from attack from the river, Hugues arrived at Dégras de Cannes. Despite attacking Lieutenant Colonel Marques' garrison immediately, Hugues was unable to defeat the Portuguese before Yeo returned, and was forced to retreat after a three-hour engagement.
A secondary force sent against Fort Diamant saw the British demolition party on the walls and, assuming the garrison there to be larger than expected, retreated without an assault. The following morning, as Hugues fell back on his residence, Yeo followed, using the river and canal to close with the position. Hugues had fortified his property with 100 men and two artillery pieces, and ordered his men to fire on a party of British sailors offering a truce. A second attempt was met with cannon fire, and although a third attempt via one of Hugues' slaves drew a response, the French general's overtures were only an attempt to stall the Allies while his men laid an ambush in the trees near their landing point.
At a signal from one of the artillery pieces, the French ambush party began a heavy fire on the troops advancing up the lane towards the house. Charging forward, Yeo led an attack on the ambushers at the head of his men and in hand-to-hand fighting seized the house and its artillery. Gathering his forces, Yeo then marched on Cayenne, expecting to meet Hugues at the Beauregard plain, where the French general had stationed his remaining 400 men.
[James, p. 212] Reaching the position on 10 January, Yeo sent two junior officers into Cayenne offering an armistice, which was accepted, Hugues recognising that he was outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. Over the next four days, Yeo's men took the surrender of the outlying French garrisons and units, with the entrance to Cayenne planned for 14 January.
''Topaze''
To Yeo's consternation, dawn on 13 January showed a sail approaching from the north. This vessel was the French
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
''Topaze'', a powerful 40-gun vessel that was significantly stronger than any of the British or Portuguese ships in the expeditionary force (the large ''Infante Dom Pedro'' having returned to Brazil some time earlier). ''Topaze'' had been sent from France under Captain
Pierre-Nicolas Lahalle
Pierre-Nicolas Lahalle ( Epreville, 1 April 1772 - Roscoff, 5 August 1828) was a French naval officer.
Career
In 1809, he captained the 40-gun frigate ''Topaze''. She was captured during the action of 22 January 1809
The action of 22 Janua ...
to reinforce the Cayenne garrison in December 1808. In addition to extra troops and military supplies, ''Topaze''
's main cargo was 1,100 barrels of flour, Cayenne suffering from severe food shortages due to the British blockade of the French Caribbean.
[James, p. 148] Lahalle was cautious on approaching Cayenne, and soon spotted ''Confiance'' at anchor off the harbour.
''Confiance'', as a 20-gun ship armed with short range
carronades
A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main fun ...
, was significantly weaker than ''Topaze''; more critically, she was also almost completely uncrewed, as Yeo had removed all but 25 men and two
midshipmen
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
for service with the expeditionary force on land. If Lahalle closed with the ship, the senior officer, Midshipman George Yeo, the captain's much younger brother, would have no option but to surrender, leaving the landing party cut off and at risk of total defeat. Reacting quickly, George Yeo mustered 20 local men, all free black civilians, and pressed them into service to complement his skeleton crew.
[James, p. 213] He then sailed from the harbour in an aggressive manner, as if to confront ''Topaze''. Lahalle was under instructions to avoid combat if it placed his cargo in jeopardy and assumed that such a small vessel would not approach his frigate unless heavier support was hidden nearby, unwilling to risk losing his ship, he turned and sailed north, rapidly outdistancing ''Confiance'' and disappearing over the horizon in the belief that the British had already captured Cayenne.
Nine days later, as he neared Guadeloupe, Lahalle was spotted by a genuinely larger British squadron and defeated at the
action of 22 January 1809
The action of 22 January 1809 was a minor naval engagement fought off the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe during the Napoleonic Wars. The action was fought as part of the blockade of Guadeloupe and neighbouring Martinique by a large British Ro ...
.
[James, p. 149]
French capitulation
With the French reinforcements driven off and its defences broken, a proposal for
capitulation was made to Hugues on January 10, which he accepted the next day when he met with Lieutenant-colonel Marques.
The terms of capitulation included, among other things, the departure, abord ships arranged by the invaders, of the French troops and
staff with
honours of war
The honours of war are a set of privileges that are granted to a defeated army during the surrender ceremony. The honours symbolise the valour of the defeated army, and grew into a custom during the age of early modern warfare. Typically a surren ...
, the passage to
mainland France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
aboard the same ships to other French individuals desiring to do so, and the preservation of the recently implemented
Napoleonic civil code in the colony by the new Portuguese administration.
[ On 20 April 1809 the warship ''Infante Dom Pedro'', commanded by the Brazilian captain Luiz da Cunha Moreira, arrived in the port of ]Morlaix
Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Leisure and tourism
The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhan ...
with Hugues and his staff.[
Entering Cayenne on 14 January, Yeo's Anglo-Portuguese force took Hugues' 400 regular soldiers into captivity and collected the arms of 600 white militia and 200 black irregulars, all of whom were allowed to return to their homes.] Included in the surrender were 200 cannon, all military and government stores, and all of the various villages and trading posts of French Guiana, which stretched from the Brazilian border to the Maroni River
The Maroni or Marowijne (french: link=no, Maroni, nl, Marowijne, Sranan Tongo: ''Marwina-Liba'') is a river in South America that forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname.
Course
The Maroni runs through the Guianan moist forest ...
, which marked the border with the British-held Dutch territory of Surinam.[Clowes, p. 287]
Casualties in the operation were light, the British losing a lieutenant killed and 23 men wounded, the Portuguese one man killed and eight wounded and the French 16 killed and 20 wounded. The French prisoners were embarked on the expeditionary force's ships and taken to Brazil, and the colony was handed over to the Portuguese government for administration, with the stipulation that it be returned to France at the end of the war.
''La Gabriele''
There was, in the region of Cayenne, a famous agricultural complex maintained by the French crown, formed by the Habitation Royale des Épiceries, better known as La Gabriele, by the Habitation de Mont-Baduel, by the Habitation Tilsit and by the Wood Factory of Nancibo, were the main ones examples of colonial establishments in Guyana, in extent, productivity and number of slaves. 0
The possession of La Gabriele would become one of the greatest benefits obtained by the Portuguese with the annexation of such a troubled colony. In addition to being one of the main sources of income for the colony, it brought together all the plant species coveted by the Portuguese. 0In April 1809, Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, responsible for the Brazilian vegetable gardens, sent the governor of the captaincy of Grão-Pará to provide transportation, from Cayenne to Belém and to other domains, "of the greatest possible amount of all spice trees". Together with them, they should follow "skilled gardeners", as long as they are not "contaminated with liberal ideology". In the same month, a new order determined the transfer of plants from the Pará garden to Rio de Janeiro, remembering that the search for "all kinds of cultures" was the "most essential point for Brazil" at that time. 0It was the French administrator of La Gabriele, Joseph Martin, who signed the list of plants and instructions for planting, in total, 82 species shipped in six boxes. 0
During the Portuguese occupation, various spices and fruits were sent to Brazil, such as nutmeg, cloves, breadfruit, in addition to walnut, camboeira, avocado and cayenne seedlings, much superior to sugar cane. then grown in Brazil. This collection would be one of the precursors to the creation of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. 0
Aftermath
Yeo's later career
Yeo was highly commended for his leadership during the operation, but his health had suffered during the extended campaigning in late December and was invalided to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
to recover. On his return to active service, he was presented with a diamond ring by the Portuguese Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
and knighted by both the Portuguese and British Royal families for his service in the campaign. He was subsequently made commander of the frigate HMS ''Southampton''. Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by the clasp "Confiance 14 Jany. 1809" attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British claimants.
Return to French rule
After Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's first abdication, in 1814, it was decided that the colony would be returned to French control in the Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
.[ Portugal and the restored Bourbon monarchy reached an agreement in the ]Final Act of the Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
, by which Portugal committed itself to return the territory to France, keeping the Oyapock River
The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the France, French Overseas departments of France, overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Amapá. ...
as its border with Brazil as defined by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...
, and that a date for return would be determined "as soon as circumstances allow it". On 8 November 1817, a French fleet arrived with Cayenne's new governor, Claude Carra Saint-Cyr ''For the French milliner, see Claude Saint-Cyr'', ''For the Marshal of France see Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr''
Claude Carra Saint-Cyr (born 28 July 1760 in Lyon, died 5 January 1834 in Vailly-sur-Aisne) was a French general and diplomat, noted ...
, to take formal repossession of the territory. The expedition was commanded by Alexandre Ferdinand Parseval-Deschenes
Alexandre Ferdinand Parseval-Deschenes (27 November 1790 – 10 June 1860) was a French admiral and senator.
Life
Born in Paris to an aristocratic family, Alexandre was the nephew of the mathematician Marc-Antoine Parseval and the Académici ...
, who then headed the French naval station in the colony for two years.
Notes
References
*
* Esparteiro, Comandante António Marques (1976) ''Catálogo Dos Navios Brigantinos (1640–1910)''. (Lisbon: Centro de Estudos de Marinha)
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portuguese conquest of French Guiana
Portuguese conquest
Conflicts in 1809
1809 in South America
1809 in the French colonial empire
1809 in the Portuguese Empire
19th century in French Guiana
Battles of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles involving Portugal
Battles involving Brazil
Battles involving the United Kingdom
19th-century history of the Royal Navy
January 1809 events
France–Portugal military relations
Invasions by Portugal