Battle of Jean-Rabel 1797
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 April 1797 – 21 April 1797 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1797 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Haiti | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Haitian Revolution, War of the First Coalition | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 19.9183, -73.2000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Jean-Rabel (revision 1370444142), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of La Bombarde 1794 · 23 km
- Capture of Fort Rocher 1654 · 52 km
- Battle of Gonaïves 1794 · 75 km
- Battle of Plaisance (1802) 1802 · 85 km
- Battle of Ravine-à-Couleuvres 1802 · 93 km
- Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot 1802 · 103 km
Other battles of the War of the First Coalition
- Battle of Wetzlar 1796
- Battle of Würzburg 1796
- French expedition to Ireland (1796) 1796
- Second Battle of Dego 1796
- Siege of Hüningen (1796–1797) 1796
- Battle of Diersheim (1797) 1797
- Battle of Faenza 1797
- Battle of Fishguard 1797
- Battle of La Favorita 1797
- Battle of Neuwied (1797) 1797
All 84 battles of the War of the First Coalition →
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