British Capture of Guadeloupe
Between January and May 1759, a British naval and land expedition under Admiral Moore and General Hopson (later Barrington) besieged and captured the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the most productive sugar colony in the French empire. The campaign was costly — tropical disease killed thousands of British soldiers — but the capture of so wealthy a prize was an enormous economic blow to France and an equally enormous asset in Britain's hands. Guadeloupe's capture immediately became a bargaining chip in debates about war aims. Pitt and the merchant interests argued for keeping the island — its sugar revenues were potentially worth more than all of Canada. Others, including many colonists on the North American seaboard, preferred Canada: a French Guadeloupe re-entered the sugar market would drive down prices, while a French-free Canada would open vast territories for expansion. This debate — 'Canada or Guadeloupe?' — was one of the most consequential of the entire war. At the Peace of Paris in 1763, Britain returned Guadeloupe to France but retained Canada — a decision with incalculable long-term consequences. Had Guadeloupe been kept, the strategic calculus of the American Revolution might have been very different; France might have had less incentive to intervene on the American side in 1778.
- Year: 1759 CE
- Category: Military
