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The Action of 9 July 1806 was a minor engagement between a French privateer frigate and British forces off Southern Ceylon during the Napoleonic Wars. French privateers operating from the Indian Ocean islands of Île Bonaparte and Île de France were a serious threat to British trade across the Indian Ocean during the Wars, and the British deployed numerous methods of intercepting them, including disguising warships as merchant vessels to lure privateers into unequal engagements with more powerful warships. Cruising near the Little Basses Reef on the Southern coast of Ceylon, the 34-gun privateer ''Bellone'' was sighted by the 16-gun British brig HMS ''Rattlesnake'', which began chasing the larger French vessel. At 15:15, a third ship was sighted to the south, which proved to be the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Powerful'', disguised as an East Indiaman. Although ''Bellone'' would normally be much faster than the large British warship, the light winds and ''Rattlesnake'' ==Background== During the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars that followed them, British dominance in the Indian Ocean was repeatedly challenged by the depredations of French vessels sailing from the isolated and well protected French colonies of Réunion (later Île Bonaparte) and Île de France.〔''The Victory of Seapower'', Gardiner, p. 92〕 Although French Navy cruisers were periodically stationed on the islands, the majority of ships that preyed on British commerce from the islands were privateers, independently funded armed ships issued with letters of marque giving them permission to attack military and civilian ships belonging to the enemies of France.〔''The Campaign of Trafalgar'', Gardiner, p. 43〕 French naval strategy in the Indian Ocean was so reliant on privateers that entire squadrons developed, including a powerful force under the wealthy privateer captain Robert Surcouf. Although most privateers were small, carrying only a few cannon, some could be very large, rivalling professional warships in size. One such ship was the ''Bellone'', which carried 34-guns, a crew of nearly 200 men and was commanded by Captain Jacques François Perroud, a notorious privateer who had caused significant damage to British trade in the Indian Ocean. In 1803, Perroud had gained significant notoriety with the capture of the valuable East Indiaman ''Lord Nelson'' on 14 August 1803.〔''The Campaign of Trafalgar'', Gardiner, p. 42〕 The principal target of the privateers were the East Indiamen, huge and well-armed merchant vessels operated by the Honourable East India Company, which controlled British mercantile operations to the east of Africa. These ships often weighed over 1,000 tons and carried as many as 30 cannon, although their crews were not military men and they could not usually resist a determined attack by a well-trained warship.〔Clowes, p. 337〕 Despite the size and power of these vessels, they were a primary target for French ships operating in the Indian Ocean as they often carried goods worth thousands of pounds: the annual convoy from China alone was worth over $8 million in 1804.〔''The Campaign of Trafalgar'', Gardiner, p. 32〕 To combat these ships, the British naval authorities at Madras tried a number of solutions, including blockades of the French island colonies which failed due to the huge distances involved, armed military convoys escorting the most valuable ships and small fast cruisers patrolling the most dangerous trade routes. One solution tried in 1806 was to disguise Royal Navy warships as the East Indiamen they superficially resembled in the hope of luring French ships into attacking them, unaware of their true identity.〔 In December 1805, two French squadrons departed Brest under orders to disrupt British trade in the Atlantic Ocean, beginning the Atlantic campaign of 1806. Several British squadrons were despatched in pursuit, including one under Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth originally assigned to blockade Cadiz. On 25 December, Duckworth discovered one of the French squadrons, under Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, in the mid-Atlantic and gave chase. For the next two days the squadrons sailed westwards across the Atlantic, until Duckworth abandoned the pursuit, believing that his dispersed squadron was in danger of piecemeal defeat by Willaumez's force.〔James, p. 189〕 In the aftermath of the pursuit, Willaumez turned towards the South Atlantic while Duckworth, in urgent need of supplies, turned northwest towards the British West Indies. Duckworth was concerned that Willaumez might attempt to pass the Cape of Good Hope and operate in the Indian Ocean, and so despatched one of his ships to augment Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew's small squadron at Madras. This ship was HMS ''Powerful'', a 74-gun ship of the line commanded by Captain Robert Plampin.〔Clowes, p. 187〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Action of 9 July 1806」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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