Battle of Jean-Rabel

Battle of Jean-Rabel
Part of the Haitian Revolution and the War of the First Coalition
Map of Saint-Domingue with the location of the action marked.
Date 15–21 April 1797 Location Jean-Rabel, Saint-Domingue (Haiti) 19°55′06″N 73°12′00″W / 19.91833°N 73.20000°W / 19.91833; -73.20000 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
William Ogilvy Hugh Pigot	Commander Simon Billiette (a.k.a. Billiet)[1]
Strength
ships of the line HMS Thunderer and HMS Valiant. Subsequently a squadron of three frigates and two smaller vessels.	frigate Harmonie
Casualties and losses
None	Harmonie destroyed 9 merchant ships captured

The Battle of Jean-Rabel consisted of two connected minor naval engagements of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Haitian Revolution. The first engagement saw an overwhelming British Royal Navy force consisting of two ships of the line attack and destroy a French Navy frigate in Moustique Inlet near the town of Jean-Rabel on the Northern coast of the French colony of Saint-Domingue (which later gained independence as Haiti). The second engagement took place four days later when a force of boats launched from a British frigate squadron attacked the town of Jean-Rabel itself, capturing a large number of merchant ships in the harbour that had been seized by French privateers.

The engagements came during a campaign for supremacy in the Caribbean Sea as warships and privateers launched from French colonies sought to disrupt the lucrative trade between Britain and the British colonies in the West Indies. In the spring of 1797, most British forces in the region were deployed in the Leeward Islands against the colonies of Spain, which had recently entered the war on the French side. As a result, the waters of the Northern Caribbean were lightly defended, resulting in an increase in the activity of French privateers.

The destruction of Harmonie and the elimination of the privateer base at Jean-Rabel contributed towards a reduction in privateer activity in the region and cemented British control of the Northern Caribbean sea lanes, although British forces were unable to make an impact on French control of Saint-Domingue itself, and withdrew from the island later in the year.