Everything about Battle Of Bantry Bay totally explained
The
Battle of Bantry Bay was a naval engagement fought on
11 May 1689 during the
Nine Years' War. The Allied fleet was commanded by
Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington; the French fleet by
François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault. Apart from the inshore operations at
La Rochelle in 1627-28, the Battle of Bantry Bay was the first time English and French navies had met in fleet action since 1545.
The battle near the southern Irish coast was somewhat inconclusive but the French, endeavouring to supply King
James II in his attempt to re-establish his throne, had managed to unload their supplies for James's Irish campaign. But although the French failed to follow up their tactical success with strategic gain, Château-Renault had inflicted considerable damage on the English fleet.
Background
Following the '
Glorious Revolution' in 1688, King James II lost his throne to William, Prince of Orange. William, now King William III of England, reigned jointly with his wife
Mary. James fled to France and was given succour by his co-religionist, King
Louis XIV, but the erstwhile King of England was determined to regain his throne.
Louis aided James in this endeavour for two reasons: firstly, he fervently believed in the
Stuart king’s God-ordained right to the English throne; secondly, and primarily, the war in Ireland would divert William's energy and forces away from the
Spanish Netherlands – a theatre which would later become the main focus for both William's and Louis's efforts during the conflict.
While in France, James built up an army to support his Lord Deputy in Ireland, the
Earl of Tyrconnell. James had already sent financial help but it wasn't until March 1689 that he was ready to sail in person to lead the campaign. After landing in
Kinsale with 100 French officers and about 2,500 mixed troops, James and Tyrconnell – whom he now made a duke – travelled to
Dublin. James hoped to quickly establish control over Ireland before pressing on to Scotland or England, but this was impossible while Protestant strongholds in northern Ireland remained outside his control. The campaign therefore, urgently required supplies and equipment from France, but English Parliamentarians, acutely worried of the situation developing in Ireland, were determined to use the
Royal Navy and frustrate James’s designs.
Battle
The newly appointed commander-in-chief of the English main fleet,
Arthur Herbert, didn't go to sea until the beginning of April, leaving behind a number of ships which had mutinied for overdue pay. Herbert's fleet of 19 ships sailed on
4 April; it was off
Cork by
12 April, seeking to intercept enemy vessels. The French fleet, consisting of 24 third- and fourth-rate vessels, two frigates, a number of
fireships, and transports carrying weapons and supplies for James’s campaign, left the port of
Brest on
6 May.
Aftermath
The fleets withdrew: Château-Renault returned to Brest on
18 May, seizing on the way seven Dutch merchant vessels bound from the
West Indies. Herbert sailed for the
Scilly Isles, before reaching
Spithead, via
Plymouth, on
22 May. Moreover, the King knighted two of Herbert’s captains,
John Ashby who had led the van, and
Cloudesley Shovell, and ordered a gratuity of ten shillings a head for the seaman. James, meanwhile, had begun the
Siege of Londonderry, the capture of which would open communications with
Jacobite forces in Scotland. Three French frigates under Captain Duquesne were assigned to support him. In response, the Scottish parliament commissioned two small cruisers, the
Pelican and the
Janet to oppose the French squadron, but, on
20 July, they were both taken by Duquesne in the
North Channel.
The Allies now began to build up their naval strength in the Channel; the fleet would soon comprise 34 English and 20 Dutch ships of the line, with four frigates and 17 fireships. After rendezvousing with victuallers, the Anglo-Dutch squadrons patrolled south of Kinsale to prevent further French supplies reaching Ireland. However, when the French Brest fleet – now joined by
Tourville’s squadron of 20 rated vessels and four frigates – set sail on
15 August, it cruised in the
Bay of Biscay, posing no threat to England or English communications with Ireland. The French, therefore, were unable to prevent Admiral
Rooke relieving the siege of Londonderry on
10 August, or, forestall Marshal
Schomberg's army from England landing near
Carrickfergus on
23 August. With Schomberg's reinforcements, the Williamite army opposing James in Ireland now amounted to some 40,000 troops.
Further Information
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