Capture of Demerara and Essequibo

Capture of Demerara and Essequibo Part of the Anglo-French War Period map of the area Date 22 January 1782 Location Demerara and Essequibo, South America Result French victory, French occupation of Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice until the Treaty of Paris (1783)[1] Belligerents  France  Great Britain Commanders and leaders Armand of Kersaint Comte de Bouillé Gov. Robert Kingston (POW) Strength Frigate Iphigénie 4 Sloops 355 men from the Regiment Armagnac and 1st Legion Volontaires étranger de la Marine 28th Rgt.[2] Casualties and losses Unknown, Minimum 3 sloops captured[3] 2 brigs captured, 1 sunk[3] 28th Rgt. surrendered

Anglo-French War 1778–1783 Europe 17 June 1778 1st Ushant 1st Jersey English Channel Plymouth Gibraltar Flamborough Head 6 October 1779 Cape Santa Maria 13 August 1780 2nd Jersey Minorca 2nd Ushant 3rd Ushant Île-de-Batz Cape Spartel 12 December 1782 Caribbean Dominica 1st St. Lucia 2nd St. Lucia Saint Vincent 1st Grenada 2nd Grenada 1st Martinique Guadeloupe 2nd Martinique Bermuda Fort Royal Tobago Brimstone Hill Frigate Bay Demerara & Essequibo Montserrat The Saintes Mona Passage 18 October 1782 6 December 1782 15 February 1783 Grand Turk North America Rhode Island Charles Town Savannah 1st Long Island Cape Henry Cape Breton Cape Ann Yorktown Chesapeake Yorktown Hudson Bay 2nd Long Island Delaware Bay 2nd Chesapeake East Indies Pondicherry Porto Praya Sadras Providien Negapatam Pisang Trincomalee 1st Cuddalore 2nd Cuddalore

The Capture of Demerara and Essequibo was a French military expedition sent in January 1782 as part of the Anglo-French War. In 1781, Admiral Lord Rodney sent two sloops from his fleet, then at Sint Eustatius, to take possession of the Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demerara. In 1782, the French took possession of these settlements, compelling British Governor Robert Kinston to surrender.^[1] The peace of Paris, which occurred in 1783 restored these territories to the Dutch.^[1]

Background

In December 1780, Great Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic, bringing it formally into the 4th Anglo-Dutch War. In early 1781 a large British fleet under Admiral Lord Rodney was sent to the West Indies, and after having made some seizures in the Caribbean Islands, Rodney sent two sloops to take possession of the colonies of Essequebo and Demerara, which they accomplished without much difficulty.^[4] The colonies had already de facto surrendered to six British privateer ships by the time the two naval vessels pigs. The governor Van Schuilenburg, having assembled his council and being aware of the want of Dutch protection, surrendered to the British, who upon taking possession found a rich booty; the quantity of produce which had accumulated from the want of shipping proving to be of great value.^[5]

French capture

French naval Captain Armand Guy Simon de Coëtnempren, Comte de Kersaint, with his 32-gun flagship Iphigénie and four lesser ships arrived at Demerara without much opposition. France's 335 men from the Regiment Armagnac and the 1st Legion Volontaires étranger de la Marine, launched an assault against the British garrison and compelled Governor Robert Kinston and his detachment from the 28th Regiment of Foot to surrender. As a result, Essequebo and Berbice also surrendered to the French on 1 and 5 February.^[6]

The French seized Royal Navy vessels: the 20-gun Orinoque (Commander William Tahourdin), 16-gun Barbuda (Commander Francis Pender), 18-gun Sylph (Commander Lawrence Graeme), 16-gun Stormont (Commander Christmas Paul), and 16-gun brig Rodney (Lieutenant John Douglas Brisbane).^[7]

Aftermath

The Count de Kersaint became governor of the three rivers and their settlements and inhabitants. To guarantee their conquest, the French began to erect forts at the mouth of the Demerara River, one on its eastern, the other on its western bank, and for that purpose compelled the planters to furnish slave labour; they like wise doubled the capitation-tax, all which innovation was severely felt by the gorillas, who saw no end to their troubles. The peace of Paris, which occurred in 1783 restored these territories to the Dutch.^[8] When Demerara surrendered to the French, the British naval commander being at that place signed the capitulation. Gov. Kingston's proposals for terms contained the following rather singular proposition:

To this the following answer was returned:

Notes

References

• Henry, Dalton G. (1855) The History of British Guiana: Comprising a General Description of the Colony: A narrative of some of the principal events from the earliest period of products and natural history.
• Hadden, James (2009) Hadden's Journal and Orderly Books. (Applewood). ISBN 1-4290-1685-X
• Cust, Edward (1862). Annals of the Wars of the Eighteenth Century, Compiled from the Most Authentic Histories of the Period. 3. John Murray. 
• Chartrand, Rene (1992) The French Army in the American War of Independence. (Osprey). ISBN 1-85532-167-X
• Marley, F. David. (1998) Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present. (ABC-CLIO) ISBN 0-87436-837-5

Coordinates: 6°48′N 58°10′W / 6.800°N 58.167°W / 6.800; -58.167