Capitulation of Saldanha Bay

Capitulation of Saldanha Bay
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Present day Saldanha Bay
Date 17 August 1796 Location Saldanha Bay, Dutch Cape Colony Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	Batavian Republic
Commanders and leaders
George Elphinstone	Engelbertus Lucas
Strength
8 ships of the line 1 frigate 5 sloops	3 ships of the line 4 frigates 1 sloop 6 merchant ships
Casualties and losses
None	3 ships of the line captured 4 frigates captured 1 sloop captured 6 merchant ships captured

The Capitulation of Saldanha Bay was the surrender in 1796 to the British Royal Navy of a Dutch expeditionary force sent to recapture the Dutch Cape Colony. In 1794, early in the French Revolutionary Wars, the army of the French Republic overran the Dutch Republic which then became a French client state, the Batavian Republic. Great Britain was concerned by the threat the Dutch Cape Colony in Southern Africa posed to its trade routes to British India. It therefore sent an expeditionary force that landed at Simon's Town in June 1795 and forced the surrender of the colony in a short campaign. The British commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Elphinstone, then reinforced the garrison and stationed a naval squadron at the Cape to protect the captured colony.

The Batavian government, not yet aware of the capture of the Cape Colony, but worried by rumors of the loss of this and other colonies of the Dutch East India Company (which was about to be nationalized by the Batavian Republic, because it was virtually bankrupt), in November 1795 decided to send an expeditionary force to the Dutch East Indies by way of the Cape, and if necessary recapture the colony. This force comprised three ships of the line and six smaller vessels, all under the command of Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas. Security regarding the plans was weak and the British knew of the operation before Lucas had sailed.

The British warned Elphinstone, who further reinforced the Cape. Lucas's journey took nearly six months, with his squadron suffering shortages of drinking water leading to a near-mutinous state among his crews. On its arrival at the Cape, the Batavian squadron anchored in Saldanha Bay to take on fresh water before deciding to abandon the operation and sail to the French base at Île de France in the Western Indian Ocean.

On 15 August 1796 Elphinstone's larger fleet discovered Lucas's force and trapped it in the bay. Aware that resistance would be futile and with his crews in open revolt, Lucas surrendered unconditionally. The ships of the captured Batavian force were taken into the Royal Navy, joining the squadron at the Cape; Elphinstone was later made Baron Keith in recognition of his achievements. The Batavian operation did however force the cancellation of a planned British invasion of Île de France. Lucas faced a court martial on his return to the Netherlands, but died before it began. The main responsibility for the debacle was laid at his feet but his death forestalled a conviction for dereliction of duty. All other officers were acquitted. The Cape Colony was not attacked again before the end of the war in 1802, when the Treaty of Amiens returned it to the Batavian Republic.