Invasion of Martinique (1759)

For other attempts to capture the island, see Battle of Martinique.

Invasion of Martinique
Part of the Seven Years' War
Date 16–19 January 1759 Location Martinique, West Indies Result French victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Peregrine Hopson John Barrington John Moore	Francis V of Beauharnais
Strength
4,500-5000 regulars 10 ships of the line	250 regulars several thousand militia 1 damaged ship of the line

A British invasion of Martinique took place in January 1759 when a large amphibious force under Peregrine Hopson landed on the French-held island of Martinique and unsuccessfully tried to capture it during the Seven Years War. Cannonfire 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 defenses, they withdrew, and decided instead to attack Guadeloupe, home to a significant body of French privateers.

The expedition was successful at Guadeloupe, which surrendered to them in May 1759.

In 1762 a British force successfully captured Martinique.

See also

• Great Britain in the Seven Years War
• France in the Seven Years War

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. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008