|
The French Capture of Saint Vincent took place on 16–18 June 1779 during the American War of Independence. A French force commanded by Charles Marie de Trolong du Rumain, landed on the West Indies isle of Saint Vincent, and quickly took over much of the British-controlled part of the island, assisted by the local Black Caribs who held the northern part of the island. British Governor Valentine Morris and military commander Lieutenant Colonel George Etherington disagreed on how to react, and ended up surrendering without significant resistance. Both leaders were subjected to inquiries over the surrender. The period of French control begun by the capture resulted in solidified Black Carib control over northern parts of the island. The area remained in Carib hands until the Second Carib War of 1795. ==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 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 major French base at Martinique, where d'Estaing was headquartered.〔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 slightly superior to that of the British.〔Colomb, pp. 388–389〕 Furthermore, Byron departed St. Lucia on June 6 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 Governor the marquis de Bouillé seized the opportunity to begin a series of operations against nearby British possessions. Their first target was the isle of Saint Vincent, just south of St. Lucia.〔Colomb, p. 389〕 The political situation on Saint Vincent was somewhat tense. The island was divided roughly in half between land controlled by white (principally British) planters and that controlled by the local Black Carib population. The line dividing these territories ran from the island's north-west to its south-east, and had been agreed in a treaty signed in 1773 after the First Carib War. Neither side had been happy with the compromise agreement, and its terms were a continuing source of friction.〔Craton, pp. 151–153〕 The British had, uniquely among its Caribbean possessions, had to establish a chain of outposts to protect the planter population.〔Morris, p. xv〕 Saint Vincent's colonial government and defences were in some disarray. Governor Valentine Morris had assumed office in 1776 when the isle was granted a separate government, and reported then that it had virtually no defences. In addition to the difficult relations with the Caribs, the British population was also sympathetic to the cause of colonial independence.〔 The French capture of Dominica in 1778 had raised constitutional questions surrounding the imposition of martial law, and the colonial assembly had consequently refused to appropriate funds for improving the island defences. Governor Morris had spent his own funds instead on improvements, contributing to financial difficulties he would run into later.〔O'Shaughnessy, pp. 187, 193〕 The only British military presence on the island was a garrison of about 450 men from the Royal American Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Etherington, most of whom were poorly trained recruits and about half of whom were unfit for duty. Etherington, rather than training and drilling his troops, or fully staffing the island's outposts, was employing significant numbers of them to clear land on an estate on the north-west side of the island.〔Shephard, pp. 36–38〕 Etherington's estate was on territory on the Carib side of the island, and its grant (for Etherington's service in the Seven Years' War, but made under circumstances the Caribs viewed as illegal) was a major source of annoyance to the Caribs.〔Craton, pp. 148, 190〕 Governor de Bouillé had established regular contact with the Caribs, and was supplying them with arms.〔Shephard, pp. 38–39〕 In late August 1778 French officials met with Carib leader Joseph Chatoyer, and in early September Governor Morris was confronted by Caribs bearing new French muskets on a tour of the border areas.〔Taylor, pp. 87–88〕 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 Saint Vincent」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|