Qualla: Battle of Port Louis https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:25 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/k/9/g/f/battle-of-port-louis-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Port Louis https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis Battle of Port Louis: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis/ Photo credit Ikmo-ned, CC BY-SA 4.0. On the evening of 11 December 1799, Contre-amiral Pierre Cesar Charles de Sercey stood on the beach near Port Louis, Mauritius, and watched the last ship of his command burn. The frigate Preneuse, a 40-gun warship that had been the sole significant French naval presence in the Indian Ocean, was ablaze at the mouth of the Tombeau River, set alight by British boarding parties who had rowed through shore battery fire to reach the wreck. Her captain, Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite, had been taken prisoner. The flames that consumed the hull also consumed what remained of French naval power east of the Cape. Sercey, a commander with nothing left to command, would soon book passage home to France and retire from the service he had spent three years trying to sustain at the far edge of empire.

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Image: Ikmo-ned | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/9/g/f/battle-of-port-louis-wp/k9gf-battle-of-port-louis-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Port Louis: Six Frigates Against an Ocean https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The story of Preneuse's destruction begins three years earlier, when the French Navy dispatched six frigates to the Indian Ocean under Sercey's command, hoping to challenge British Royal Navy dominance in the East Indies. The squadron was based at Port Louis on Ile de France, the...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/9/g/f/battle-of-port-louis-wp/k9gf-battle-of-port-louis-six-frigates-against-an-ocean.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Port Louis: The Night Fight at Algoa Bay https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis/ Photo credit Johan Jacob Bennetter, Public domain. Ordered to raid British shipping off Southeast Africa, l'Hermite sailed from Port Louis in August 1799 and on 20 September discovered a small British squadron anchored in Algoa Bay on the South African coast. The force consisted of the storeship HMS Camel and the sloop HMS Rattle...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/9/g/f/battle-of-port-louis-wp/k9gf-battle-of-port-louis-the-night-fight-at-algoa-bay.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Port Louis: A Chase Through Heavy Seas https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. Word of Preneuse's condition reached the British commander at the Cape, who sent the 50-gun HMS Jupiter in pursuit. On 9 October, Jupiter found Preneuse and gave chase through a gale. The sea conditions were so severe that Captain William Granger could not safely open his lower g...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/9/g/f/battle-of-port-louis-wp/k9gf-battle-of-port-louis-a-chase-through-heavy-seas.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Port Louis: Fire on the Tombeau https://qualla.com/battle-of-port-louis/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. In early December, l'Hermite brought his damaged frigate home to Port Louis. But the entrance was blockaded by HMS Tremendous, a 74-gun ship of the line under Captain John Osborn, and HMS Adamant, a 50-gun vessel under Captain William Hotham, sent specifically to intercept Preneu...

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]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/k/9/g/f/battle-of-port-louis-wp/k9gf-battle-of-port-louis-fire-on-the-tombeau.mp3 0:06 5 full