Battle of Blaauwberg

Battle of Blaauwberg
Part of the War of the Third Coalition

An illustration of British troops storming the Cape of Good Hope
Date8–18 January 1806
Location33°45′22″S 18°27′56″E / 33.75611°S 18.46556°E / -33.75611; 18.46556
Result British victory
Territorial
changes
British occupation of the Dutch Cape Colony
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Batavian Republic
 France
Commanders and leaders
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland David Baird
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Home Riggs Popham
Batavian Republic Jan Willem Janssens
Strength
5,399
4 ships of the line
2 frigates
3 brigs
9 troopships
2,061
1 ship of the line
1 frigate
Casualties and losses
15 killed
189 wounded
36 drowned[1]
337–700 killed, wounded, captured or missing
1 ship of the line scuttled
1 frigate scuttled[2][3]

The Battle of Blaauwberg (also known as the Battle of Cape Town) was a successful British amphibious operation during the War of the Third Coalition which lasted from 8–18 January 1806 and resulted in the capture of the Dutch Cape Colony. After defeating their Batavian opponents, the British signed a treaty under the Treaty Tree in Woodstock, Cape Town which established Britain's control over the Cape Colony. The colony later became a permanent part of the British Empire following the Congress of Vienna that marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814.[4] Due to establishing permanent British rule over the Cape Colony, the battle would have many ramifications for southern Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A bi-centennial commemoration of the battle was held in January 2006.

  1. ^ Paton, Historical Records of the 24th Regiment (1892), p. 89; also reproduced in Records of the Cape Colony from February 1793 (1899), vol. 5, p. 260
  2. ^ Blue Berg: Britain Takes the Cape. [South Africa]: M.R.D. Anderson
  3. ^ Baird to Castlereagh, 12 Jan. 1806, in Records of the Cape Colony from February 1793 (1899) vol. 5, p. 273
  4. ^ "English Settlement in South Africa | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 17 February 2024.