Battle of Suriname

Overview

The invasion of Surinam was a British military campaign which resulted in the capture and occupation of the Dutch colony of Surinam in 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars. Surinam, defended by a weak Batavian garrison under the command of Abraham Jacob van Imbijze van Batenburg, was attacked by a British expeditionary force led by Samuel Hood and Sir Charles Green on 25 April. By 5 May, the British had captured the colony, and Green was appointed as the governor of Surinam.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The British seizure of Surinam in 1804 extended British colonial control over a strategically situated Dutch possession in South America during the Napoleonic Wars. The Batavian Republic garrison, described as weak, was unable to resist the expeditionary force of 2,000 troops led by Samuel Hood and Sir Charles Green. The campaign concluded within roughly ten days of the initial attack, with Green appointed governor of the occupied colony. The capture denied the Batavian Republic — a French client state — use of the territory and added Surinam to Britain's expanding network of occupied colonial holdings seized from Napoleon's continental allies.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)