Surrender of Saint Barthélemy (1801)
| Surrender of Saint Barthélemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars | |||||||||
1801 map of Saint Barthélemy by Samuel Fahlberg | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| United Kingdom | Sweden | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Thomas Trigge John Duckworth |
Hans Henrik Anckarheim (POW) Georg Henrik Johan af Trolle (POW) Johan Reinhold Ögnelod (POW) | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 16 ships | 53 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| None |
Several captured Several ships seized | ||||||||
The surrender of Saint Barthélemy occurred from 19 to 21 March 1801, where the Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy surrendered to a British fleet during the French Revolutionary Wars as a result of Sweden joining the Second League of Armed Neutrality. The British fleet arrived on 19 March, and after assembling a council of war, the Swedes decided to surrender, which occurred on 21 March.
Background
When Sweden joined the Second League of Armed Neutrality, and news of this reached London in 1801, Britain's Secretary of War Henry Dundas issued secret orders to British commanders in the Leeward Islands to occupy the Danish West Indies and Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy along with seizing all Danish, Swedish and Russian goods found there.[1]
Surrender
On 19 March, a fleet of 16 British ships under Rear-admiral John Duckworth arrived off the island. The island's governor Hans Henrik Anckarheim proceeded to assemble a force consisting of 18 regular soldiers (all of whom were ill) and 35 militiamen from Gustavia, the countryside and the island's garrison. Two British officers, Captain King and Brigadier-General Fuller, disembarked on the island in order to know if the Swedes would surrender. In response, Anckarheim convened a council of war consisting of several colonial officials and leading citizens of Gustavia, who agreed unanimously that the island should be surrendered, since it had no chance of resisting the British.[2] Realising that his troops were too few in number and facing widespread discontent and a lack of loyalists on the island, Anckarheim agred to surrender to the British.[3]
Aftermath
On 21 March, the colony formally surrendered to Lieutenant-general Thomas Trigge and Duckworth. Anckarheim became a prisoner of war along with his predecessor, Major Georg Henrik Johan af Trolle, and all the ships in Gustavia harbour were seized by the British.[4] The island's colonists were required to swear allegiance to George III but were granted the right not to fight against Sweden in any future conflicts.[5][4] Anckarheim was allowed to stay on the island and act as place de major, unlike af Trolle, who was sent to Antigua along with other captured officials and officers; af Trolle was allowed to return in June 1801.[6]
Following the British occupation of the island, Colonel Wilson became the new governor, with the occupational administration being maintained by a council using Swedish law.[4] Anckarheim requested that Wilson allow Saint Barthélemy's colonists freedom of movement, which was granted. However, on the next day Wilson issued new regulations which restricted freedom of movement to those who became Swedish subjects prior to 1794 in an effort stop contraband trade being carried out by naturalised Swedish merchants.[7] The island was returned to Sweden on 10 July 1802 following the Treaty of Amiens ending the French Revolutionary Wars.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Wilson 2019, p. 15.
- ^ Högström 1888, p. 17.
- ^ Högström 1888, pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b c Högström 1888, p. 18.
- ^ a b "St Barth under Sverigetiden | S:t Barthélemysällskapet" (in Swedish). 2017-03-11. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
- ^ * Tingbrand, Per (2001). Who Was Who in St. Bartholomew during the Swedish epoch?. Swedish St. Barthélemy Society. ISBN 91-88812-80-4.
- ^ Pålsson 2016, p. 62.
Works cited
- Högström, Erik Olof Emanuel (1888). S. Barthelemy under svenskt välde [St. Barthelemy under Swedish rule] (in Swedish). Almqvist & Wiksells.
- Pålsson, Ale (2016). Our Side of the Water: Political Culture in the Swedish colony of St Barthélemy 1800–1825 (PDF). Stockholm Studies in History. Stockholm University. ISBN 9789176493557.
- Wilson, Victor (2019). "Contraband Trade under Swedish Colours: St. Barthélemy's Moment in the Sun, 1793–1815". Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions. Cambridge University Press.