Cassard expedition
The Cassard expedition was a sea voyage by French Navy captain Jacques Cassard in 1712, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Departing in early March 1712 from the port of Toulon with a fleet of eight ships, 3,000 seamen, and 1,200 soldiers, his first destination was the Portuguese colony on the island of Santiago in the Cape Verde Islands, which he ruined completely. He took so much loot that he had to leave part behind, worth a million of francs.[1]
After this, he headed to the Caribbean and raided the British-controlled islands of Montserrat and Antigua in the West Indies,[2] and the Dutch South American colonial outposts of Surinam, Berbice, and Essequibo. He then proceeded to raid Dutch St. Eustatius, and also succeeded, although with some difficulty, at gaining control of Curaçao, the strongest Dutch settlement in the Caribbean. In many of the places he landed, officials paid a ransom to avoid pillage; this was not always successful, as Cassard sometimes ignored the terms of the agreements he made. After stopping on the French island of Martinique, he returned to France with a loot worth between nine and ten million francs. Cassard's exploits won him the Order of Saint Louis.[1]
References
- ^ a b Bescherelle, Louis-Nicolas (1895). Histoire des marins illustres de la France, de l'Angleterre et de la Hollande (in French). E. Ardant. pp. 53–60. Retrieved 23 November 2018 – via Gallica.
- ^ Statham, E.P. (1910). "Chapter XV Jacques Cassard". Privateers and Privateering. Hutchinson & Co. Retrieved 23 November 2018 – via Project Gutenberg.
Further reading
- Norman, Charles Boswell. The corsairs of France. pp. 139–150
- Rodway, James. History of British Guiana
- History of the Caribbean
- Conflicts in 1712
- History of Cape Verde
- History of Santiago, Cape Verde
- History of Montserrat
- History of British Antigua and Barbuda
- History of the Netherlands Antilles
- History of Curaçao
- History of Sint Eustatius
- History of Suriname
- History of Guyana
- Battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
- Battles involving France
- Battles involving Great Britain
- Battles involving Portugal
- Battles involving the Netherlands
- Wars involving Guyana
- Wars involving Suriname
- European colonization of the Americas
- 18th century in the Caribbean
- 1712 in the Caribbean
- 1712 in South America
- 1713 in the Caribbean
- 1713 in South America
- Conflicts in 1713
- 1712 in France
- 1713 in France
- 1712 in the British Empire
- British Guiana