Macau Incident (1799) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Macau Incident |
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| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars | |||||||
 Map of the mouth of the Pearl River. The Wanshan Archipelago labelled "Ladrone In". |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 Spain France |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Captain William Hargood | Rear-Admiral Ignacio Maria de Álava | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Two ships of the line, one frigate | Two ships of the line, four frigates | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | None | ||||||
The Macau Incident was a naval encounter that happened near Macau on 27 January 1799. It involved a group of French and Spanish warships and a British Royal Navy escort squadron. The event took place in the Wanshan Archipelago (also called the Ladrones Archipelago) in the South China Sea.
This incident was part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The French and Spanish ships wanted to stop a very important British merchant convoy. This convoy was getting ready to sail from Qing Dynasty China. This was not the first time they tried this. In 1797, at the Bali Strait Incident, a French frigate squadron chose not to attack six British merchant ships heading to China.
By early 1799, the French ships had spread out. Two of them went to the Spanish Philippines. There, these French ships joined with the Spanish squadron from Manila. Together, they sailed to attack the British China convoy gathering at Macau.
The British commander in the East Indies, Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier, was worried. He knew the China convoy was vulnerable. So, he sent more warships to help the only Royal Navy escort there. This escort was the ship of the line HMS Intrepid, led by Captain William Hargood.
The reinforcements arrived on 21 January, just six days before the French and Spanish ships showed up. Even though they had fewer ships and guns, Captain Hargood sailed out to meet the enemy. A chase began through the Wanshan Archipelago. Eventually, both sides lost sight of each other. Both sides later said the other had avoided a fight. However, the French and Spanish ships were the ones who left. Captain Hargood then successfully escorted the China convoy safely away.
Why it Happened: The Background
The trade from the East Indies was super important for Great Britain in the 1700s. Large, well-armed merchant ships called East Indiamen carried valuable goods. These ships weighed between 500 and 1,200 tons.
One of the most valuable parts of this trade was the yearly convoy from Canton, a port in Qing Dynasty China. Every year, many East Indiamen would gather at Whampoa Anchorage. They would then begin a six-month journey across the Indian Ocean and Atlantic to Britain. This convoy was called the "China Fleet." The goods it carried were worth a huge amount of money. For example, a convoy in 1804 carried goods worth over £8 million!
The British had a large navy squadron in the East Indies. It was led by Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier. By 1799, Rainier's command covered a massive area of ocean. He had to protect British ports and watch out for enemy warships. The main threats were the French at Île de France (now Mauritius) and the Spanish at Manila.
The French had been the biggest danger. In 1796 and 1797, a strong French squadron under Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey attacked British ships. On 28 January 1797, Sercey's ships found six East Indiamen in the Bali Strait. These ships were on their way to China. In the Bali Strait Incident, the British ships were saved by quick thinking. They pretended to be Royal Navy warships. This trick worked, and Sercey decided not to attack them.
Sercey's group of ships later broke up because it was too expensive to keep them together. By late 1798, Sercey was in Batavia with only two ships. These were the 20-gun corvette Brûle-Gueule and the 40-gun frigate Preneuse. The Preneuse had just arrived from a difficult trip. Its captain had even had to punish some of his crew for not obeying orders.
Sercey also learned that two more French frigates would not be joining him. So, he decided to team up with the Spanish ships at Manila in the Spanish Philippines. His frigates arrived there on 16 October 1798. The Spanish ships had been badly damaged in a typhoon in April 1797. They had been under repair for almost two years. When British frigates raided Manila in January 1798, no Spanish ship was ready to fight them.
The Encounter at Macau
Rear-Admiral Rainier soon found out that the French and Spanish ships had joined forces. At Macau, the merchant ships were being protected by HMS Fox, HMS Carysfort, and the 64-gun HMS Intrepid. Captain William Hargood was in charge of this escort.
However, Fox and Carysfort were sent away in November 1798. Rainier had many of his ships busy in the Red Sea because of the recent French invasion of Egypt. So, he quickly ordered two more ships to replace them. These were the 38-gun HMS Virginie and the 74-gun HMS Arrogant. These extra ships sailed through the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. They arrived at Macau on 21 January 1799.
The French and Spanish squadron left Manila on 6 January 1799. It was led by Rear-Admiral Ignacio Maria de Álava. His squadron included the 74-gun ships of the line Europa and Montañés. It also had the frigates Santa María de la Cabeza and Santa Lucía, plus the French ships Preneuse and Brûle-Gueule.
Alava's squadron crossed the South China Sea in three weeks. They arrived near Macau in the Wanshan Archipelago on 27 January 1799. Their plan was to attack the ships at Macau and in the Pearl River mouth. Alava knew Intrepid was there from Danish merchants. But he did not know that Rainier's extra ships had arrived.
Captain Hargood immediately sailed out to face Alava. Both groups of ships first lined up for battle and sailed towards each other. Virginie was at the front of the British line. What happened next is still debated.
Hargood said that the French and Spanish ships then turned and ran away. He reported they went into the Wanshan Archipelago and anchored as night fell. Then they left before morning. He believed they were afraid of a fight that would have ended badly for them.
However, Alava reported in the Manila Gazette that Hargood was the one who retreated. He claimed Europa chased Hargood closely into the Wanshan Archipelago. Alava said he would have kept attacking. But damage to the ropes on Montañés allowed Hargood to escape. Alava did not explain why his squadron then left without attacking the British China Fleet. This fleet was anchored and seemed unprotected at Macau.
What Happened Next: The Aftermath
Historian C. Northcote Parkinson thought that "neither squadron was really eager for a fight." However, he said the French captain Lhermitte was "disgusted" and Sercey was "furious" about what happened. Richard Woodman believed the French threw away a chance to capture a valuable convoy. They also missed a chance to become the dominant naval power in Asian waters.
Alava went back to Manila. The French ships sailed to Batavia and then returned to Île de France. There, Preneuse was found by a British blockade squadron on 11 December 1799. This squadron included HMS Tremendous and HMS Adamant. Preneuse was forced onto the shore and destroyed. Sercey later went back to France. He left the French Navy and became a farmer on Île de France.
Captain Hargood sailed from Macau with the China Fleet on 7 February. They passed safely into the Indian Ocean. Alava did send Europa and the frigate Fama back to Macau in May. But it was too late and they did not achieve anything.
Rear-Admiral Rainier made sure the 1800 China Fleet was well protected. No more attacks were made on British ships from China before the Peace of Amiens in 1802. Later, in 1804, during the Napoleonic Wars, a strong French squadron attacked the China Fleet. This happened at the Battle of Pulo Aura. But the East Indiamen managed to trick the French into leaving after a short fight.
