War of The Spanish Succession - West Indies and South America

West Indies and South America

The war on the high seas and in the West Indies was a largely economic war. The treasure fleets of Spain and Portugal were targeted by their opponents, and colonial outposts were subjected to raids that were often executed by either privateering fleets outfitted for profit by merchants and nobles, or they included a combination of public and private financing of their efforts. These fleets would target poorly defended settlements, and either pillage them for their valuables, or demand ransom, which was often paid in goods and slaves, sometimes to the benefit of the victor's own plantations. The only permanent change of control occurred on St. Kitts, which held both French and English plantations.

In some colonies, defensive preparations in anticipation of the conflict had begun as early as 1699, given knowledge of Charles II's poor health. Christopher Codrington, the British governor of the Leeward Islands, immediately organized a campaign to push the French off St. Kitts on learning in July 1702 of the war declarations. He followed up this minor success (the French governor surrendered in the face of overwhelming force) with a failed attempt to capture Guadeloupe in 1703, although he did significant economic damage before retreating. The French retaliated in 1706 with a raid on St. Kitts; one attempt to do the same on Nevis failed, but a later one succeeded, led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. D'Iberville, who died later that year of a tropical disease while planning an attack on Charles Town in the Carolinas, was accused of enriching his own plantations with slaves taken in the raid at the expense of the other investors in his expedition.

French, English, and Spanish fleets were all active in the West Indies. In the fall of 1701 both France and England sent fleets there; the French fleet of Château-Renault was, at 28 ships of the line, larger than any previous European fleet seen in the Caribbean. He and Admiral John Benbow, commander of the smaller British fleet, avoided one another, and Château-Renault eventually escorted home the Spanish treasure fleet from Vera Cruz that met its end at Vigo Bay. Benbow remained on station, and in August 1702 engaged Jean du Casse in an extended action off the coast of South America in which he suffered a mortal wound.

Jean-François Duclerc, a French privateer, targeted Rio de Janeiro and its lucrative gold shipments in 1710. However, his raid failed, and he was imprisoned and later killed in Rio. The French responded to the indignity with a second, successful raid in 1711.

In 1712, French Admiral Jacques Cassard embarked on an expedition that raided British-held Montserrat and a series of Dutch colonial outposts, including St. Eustatius, Curaçao, and Suriname.