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Childers Incident
The ''Childers'' Incident of 2 January 1793 marked the opening shots between British and French forces during the French Revolutionary Wars, the first phase of a 23-year-long war between the two countries. Following the French Revolution of 1789, diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the French Republic had steadily deteriorated and France was in political and social turmoil. One of the strongest hotbeds of republican activity was the principal Atlantic naval base of the French Navy at Brest in Brittany, the scene of a significant mutiny in 1790.
On 2 January a small British warship, the 14-gun brig HMS ''Childers'' under Commander Robert Barlow, was ordered to enter the Roadstead of Brest to reconnoitre the state of readiness of the French fleet. As ''Childers'' entered the Goulet de Brest, the vessel came under fire from French batteries flying the tricolour. Although Barlow clearly identified his brig as a neutral British vessel the fire continued until he was able to withdraw. Although ''Childers'' had been struck by a cannonball, none of the crew were wounded. The incident was of itself inconsequential, with minimal damage and no casualties on either side, but it marked a symbolic moment in the deterioration of relations between Britain and France in the approach to war, which broke out on 1 February 1793.
==Background==
Following the French Revolution of 1789 relations between the newly declared French Republic and its European neighbours sharply deteriorated. In April 1791, the Declaration of Pillnitz was jointly issued by the Austria and Prussia stating their support for King Louis XVI.〔Chandler, p. 369〕 In February 1792 Austria and Prussia formally allied and the French Legislative Assembly responded on 20 April 1792 by declaring war on Austria. This first conflict, known as the War of the First Coalition, began on land as other than France the principal European seapowers remained neutral. The arrest of the French king in August 1792 and the expansion of the war into Northern Italy brought about the start of the naval war in the Mediterranean Sea.〔James, p. 45〕
Britain had remained neutral throughout the first stages of the war. Although unsympathetic to the violence and upheaval of the French Revolution, Britain's Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger was unwilling to go to war alongside the absolutist monarchies of Eastern Europe.〔Chandler, p. 371〕 Nevertheless, the Royal Navy had made extensive preparations for war should it occur, starting with the Spanish Armament of 1790.〔Gardiner, p. 13〕 The French Atlantic Fleet however was in poor condition: the principal fleet base at Brest in Brittany had been the scene of a significant mutiny in 1790 and by 1791 desertion rates among French naval officers were running at more than 80%.〔Gardiner, p. 10〕 Despite its strong republican politics and command difficulties, the fleet itself was very strong, having been expanded and improved during the 1780s – indeed the tax rises to pay for the French Navy had been one of the causes of the original Revolution in 1789.〔Gardiner, p. 9〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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