Capture of Demerara and Essequibo

Overview

The capture of Demerara and Essequibo was a French military expedition carried out in January 1782 as part of the American Revolutionary War. In 1781 Admiral Lord Rodney sent two sloops from his fleet at Sint Eustatius to take possession of the Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demerara. In 1782 the French successfully took possession of these settlements, compelling British Governor Robert Kingston to surrender. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 restored these territories to the Dutch.

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

Significance

The capture of Demerara and Essequibo in January 1782 was a French expedition that seized Dutch colonial settlements on the South American mainland. The British had taken possession of Essequibo and Demerara in 1781, dispatching two sloops from Admiral Lord Rodney's fleet at Sint Eustatius for that purpose. The French operation the following year, led by Armand of Kersaint and the Comte de Bouillé with a force of 355 men, compelled British Governor Robert Kingston to surrender the settlements. The action was one of several colonial exchanges in the Caribbean and Atlantic theaters during the wider Anglo-French conflict tied to the American Revolutionary War. Its territorial effect proved temporary: the Treaty of Paris in 1783 restored Demerara and Essequibo to the Dutch, leaving the episode with no lasting change in colonial possession.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)