Raid on Batavia (1806)

Raid on Batavia
Part of the Java campaign of 1806–1807
The Frigates Sir Francis Drake and Terpsichore Attacking the Dutch Frigate Phoenix and Other Shipping in Batavia Roads, 1806, Thomas Luny
Date 27 November 1806 Location Batavia, Dutch East Indies Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Holland
Commanders and leaders
Edward Pellew	F. W. C. van de Sande
Strength
4 ships of the line 2 frigates 1 brig	1 frigate 1 corvette 6 brigs 22 merchant ships 1 gun battery
Casualties and losses
1 killed 4 wounded	1 frigate destroyed 1 corvette captured 6 brigs destroyed 20 merchant ships destroyed 2 merchant ships captured

The raid on Batavia was a successful attempt by a large Royal Navy force to destroy the Dutch squadron based in Java on 27 November 1806 during the Java campaign of 1806–1807. The British Commander-in-Chief, East Indies, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, led a force of four ships of the line, two frigates and brig to the capital of Java at Batavia (later renamed Jakarta), in search of the squadron, which posed a threat to British shipping in the Straits of Malacca and was reported to consist of a number of ships of the line and several smaller vessels.

Eventually, the British discovered the Dutch ships of the line had already sailed eastwards towards Griessie over a month earlier, and Pellew only discovered the frigate Phoenix and six smaller warships in the bay, all of which were driven ashore by their crews to avoid engaging Pellew's force. The wrecks were subsequently burnt and Pellew, unaware of the whereabouts of the main Dutch squadron, returned to his base at Madras for the winter. The raid was the third of series of actions intended to eliminate the threat the Dutch squadron posed to British trade.

The raid reduced the effectiveness of Batavia as a Dutch base, but the continued presence of the main Dutch squadron at Griessie concerned Pellew and he led a second operation the following year to complete his defeat of the Dutch. Three years later, with the French driven out of the western Indian Ocean, British forces in the region were strong enough to prepare an expeditionary force against the Dutch East Indies, which effectively ended the war in the east.