Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 16043 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 26

(x) Documents
Mauritius campaign of 1809–11
1810 (7 April) A.L.S. from Admiral Edward Pellew (later Viscount Exmouth) to Rear Admiral Sir Richard Keats. The letter, written from Plymouth, outlines the proposals of a landing a military force on the island of Mauritius, " ... I will send you a parcel on all I have on Mauritius. The Indian Generals required 10,000 men, half Europeans half Sepoys - I think 5000 good troops & 2 or 3000 Black troops would do ... I am perfectly satisfied a landing may be made good inside point Canoniers from whence to Port NW is a fine land plain - extending between two or three miles before it reached the foot of the mountains ...Whatever you do must be done by December before this month all is safe ... There are many other landings but they will all impose the task of marching over dreadful ravines & mountains ..." and is signed "Ed Pellew". Addressed to London with faint straight-line "plymouth" and manuscript rate mark with London arrival c.d.s. on the flap. The address panel is endorsed "Isle of France". Some light soiling but a very good letter discussing the invasion plan. Photo

The outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, following the brief Peace of Amiens that had ended the French Revolutionary Wars, placed the Indian Ocean trade routes under threat from Dutch cruisers operating from Cape Town and the Dutch East Indies and French ships based on Isle de France and the newly renamed Île Bonaparte. By 1808, most the Dutch colonies had been neutralised in a series of brief but successful campaigns; the Cape by Sir Home Riggs Popham in January 1806 and the Dutch island of Java by Sir Edward Pellew in a campaign that ended in December 1807.



In September, October and November 1810, British forces arrived from Madras, Bombay and the Cape of Good Hope, warships joining Rowley's squadron off Isle de France and soldiers gathering at Rodriguez. Sailing from Rodriguez on 22 November, the 70 vessels of the invasion fleet reached Grand Baie on 29 November. The French made no attempt to resist the landing either at sea or on land and Keating was able to rapidly advance on the capital.



Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (1757 – 1833) Pellew was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1804. He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station. It took six months to sail out to Penang, so he took up the appointment in 1805. On his return from the east in 1809,



Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (1757 – 1834) was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium. For more information please view Terms and Conditions for Buyers.

Sold for
£450