Key Facts
- Initial expedition size
- 3,149 soldiers
- Naval force
- 2 ships-of-the-line, 2 frigates, 2 sloops
- St Lucia captured
- 22 June 1803
- Tobago captured
- 1 July 1803
- Force for Dutch colonies
- ~1,300 men (incl. Royal Marines)
- Dutch colonies taken
- Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice (Sept 1803)
Strategic Narrative Overview
The British force captured St Lucia on 22 June 1803 after storming its principal fortress, Morne Fortunée, and took Tobago nine days later. Garrisons were left on the captured islands, reducing available strength. In August, Grinfield received orders to accept the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, whose inhabitants were dissatisfied with Batavian Republic rule and had requested British administration. Supplemented by Royal Marines, the reduced force sailed for the Dutch colonies.
01 / The Origins
The collapse of the Treaty of Amiens in May 1803 reignited hostilities between Britain and Napoleonic France. Britain moved quickly to strike at France's lucrative sugar islands in the Caribbean before French defences could be consolidated. Official orders reached the West Indies in mid-June 1803, directing British commanders to attack French colonial possessions. The expedition departed Barbados under William Grinfield and Samuel Hood, exploiting the strategic window created by the sudden resumption of war.
03 / The Outcome
Light winds delayed the British arrival off Georgetown until 18 September 1803, when a summons was sent to the Dutch governor. Terms of surrender were agreed on 20 September for Demerara and Essequibo. Berbice, governed separately, was taken without resistance on 27 September. Britain thus secured both the former French sugar islands and the Dutch Guiana colonies, consolidating significant colonial holdings in the region at the very outset of the Napoleonic Wars.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
William Grinfield, Samuel Hood.
Side B
2 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.