Portuguese conquest of French Guiana
| Portuguese conquest of French Guiana | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Caribbean campaign of 1803–1810 | |||||||||
Disembarkation in Cayenne 1809 Álvaro Martins, 1977 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United Kingdom | France | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Manuel de Elva James Yeo | Victor Hugues | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
1,250 1 sloop-of-war 3 brigs 1 cutter |
1,290 1 frigate | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
2 killed 30 wounded |
16 killed 20 wounded 490 captured | ||||||||
The Portuguese conquest of French Guiana, also known as Conquest of Cayenne (Portuguese: Conquista de Caiena), was the capture of the French colony of Cayenne by Anglo-Portuguese forces in January 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars. It formed part of the Caribbean campaign of 1803–1810, a British-led campaign against the colonies of France and its allies during the conflict. As Britain was unable to sent substantial forces to attack Cayenne due to military commitments elsewhere, the British requested the Portuguese government, which had fled from Portugal to Brazil in November 1807, to launch an attack on the colony.
Britain promised the Portuguese that they would control Cayenne for the duration of the conflict in exchange for carrying out the requested invasion. The Portuguese authorities in Brazil agreed and mustered an invasion force consisting 700 regular soldiers and 550 marines of Royal Marine Brigade under Lieutenant-colonel Manuel de Elva, which were to be transported by a four-ship squadron. The British were only able to contribute the Royal Navy sloop-of-war HMS Confiance under Captain James Lucas Yeo to the invasion force. However, as Yeo was an experienced officer he was placed in command of the entire force.
To counter the invasion, the French could only muster 400 French Imperial Army regulars, 600 unreliable white militiamen and 200 Black irregulars. Weakened by years of British blockades, Cayenne's inhabitants were demoralised and the defending troops proved unable to put up an effective resistance when Portuguese troops landed on 6 January, despite the colony's extensive fortifications. By 14 January, the Portuguese had captured Cayenne, and continued to occupy it until returning the colony to France in 1817. The Brazilian Marine Corps considers the invasion to be its baptism of fire due to the Royal Marine Brigade's participation.