Key Facts
- Duration
- 1803–1810 (7 years)
- Colonies captured
- Saint Lucia, Tobago, Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice, Surinam, Aruba, Curaçao, Danish West Indies, Martinique, Guadeloupe
- French naval recapture
- Diamond Rock only, before French fleet returned to Europe
- Final control
- Entire West Indies under Britain, Spain, or neutral Haiti by end of 1810
Strategic Narrative Overview
British forces captured Saint Lucia and Tobago from France in 1803–1804, and seized Dutch Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice, and Surinam in the same period. A French naval squadron arrived in 1805 but managed only to retake Diamond Rock before withdrawing. Britain then captured Dutch Aruba and Curaçao and the Danish West Indies in 1806–1807. A rebellion in Santo Domingo (1808–1809), backed by Britain, expelled the French and restored Spanish control.
01 / The Origins
When Britain and France resumed hostilities in May 1803, the Caribbean became an immediate theatre of conflict. Britain sought to strip France and its allies of their lucrative West Indian colonies, denying them both resources and naval bases. The Royal Navy's dominance at sea gave British expeditionary forces the strategic ability to strike at French, Dutch, and Danish possessions throughout the region largely at will.
03 / The Outcome
The campaign concluded with British forces capturing Martinique in 1809 and Guadeloupe in 1810, prompting the capitulation of Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Saint Martin. By the close of 1810, the entire West Indies lay under British, Spanish, or Haitian authority. France and the Netherlands had been completely expelled from the region, consolidating British maritime supremacy in the Atlantic theatre of the Napoleonic Wars.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Side B
3 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.