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The Capture of Grenada was an amphibious expedition in July 1779 by French forces of the comte D'Estaing against the British-held West Indies island of Grenada during the American War of Independence. Having landed on 2 July, the French forces assaulted British fortifications on Hospital Hill, overlooking the island capital Saint George's on the night of 3–4 July. Cannons captured there were turned against Fort George, and Governor Lord Macartney opened negotiations to surrender. Admiral d'Estaing controversially rejected Macartney's terms of capitulation, insisting on adoption of the harsh terms he had written. Macartney rejected these, choosing instead to surrender unconditionally. D'Estaing thereafter permitted his forces to loot the town, and Macartney was sent to France as a prisoner of war. French forces were reembarked on the fleet on 5 July when word arrived that a British fleet under Admiral John Byron was approaching. The two fleets battled the next day, with the French severely damaging several British ships. Both fleets then returned to their bases. Grenada was returned to British control at the end of the war, under the terms of the Treaty of Paris. ==Background== (詳細はFrance into the American War of Independence as an American ally in early 1778, French Admiral the comte D'Estaing arrived in the West Indies in early December 1778 in command of a fleet consisting of 12 ships of the line and a number of smaller vessels.〔Mahan, pp. 429–431〕 At about the same time a British fleet under Admiral William Hotham also arrived, augmenting the West Indies fleet of Admiral Samuel Barrington.〔Mahan, p. 429〕 The British then captured French-held St. Lucia, despite d'Estaing's attempt at relief. The British used St. Lucia to monitor the French on Martinique, where d'Estaing was based.〔Mahan, pp. 429–432〕 The British fleet was further reinforced in January 1779 by ten ships of the line under Admiral John Byron, who assumed command of the British Leeward Islands station.〔Colomb, p. 388〕 Throughout the first half of 1779 both fleets received further reinforcements, after which the French fleet was superior to that of the British.〔Colomb, pp. 388–389〕 Furthermore, Byron departed St. Lucia on 6 June in order to provide escort services to British merchant ships gathering at St. Kitts for a convoy to Europe, leaving d'Estaing free to act. D'Estaing and the French governor-general at Martinique, the marquis de Bouillé, seized the opportunity to begin a series of operations against nearby British possessions.〔Colomb, p. 389〕 Their first target, the isle of Saint Vincent, fell on 18 June, and d'Estaing turned his attention to other islands. He had hoped to capture Barbados, a key British possession, but after making no progress against the prevailing easterly trade winds, he turned his attention instead to Grenada.〔Colomb, pp. 389–390〕 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「Capture of Grenada (1779)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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