1794-06-04: (British Troops Capture Port-au-Prince, Occupying Haiti’s Capital as Part of Britain’s Opportunistic Campaign to Seize French Colonies During the…
1794-06-04: (British Troops Capture Port-au-Prince, Occupying Haiti’s Capital as Part of Britain’s Opportunistic Campaign to Seize French Colonies During the Revolutionary Wars): On June 4, 1794, British troops captured Port-au-Prince, occupying Haiti’s capital as part of Britain’s broader campaign to seize French colonial possessions during the Revolutionary Wars. The British occupation was an opportunistic land grab, aided by the white planters who preferred British rule to the French Republic’s abolition of slavery. The occupation would not last. Louverture’s forces, combined with the devastating toll of yellow fever on European soldiers unaccustomed to the Caribbean climate, would eventually force the British to negotiate a withdrawal and renounce their territorial claims.