Episode 1 of 4
Forte's independent commerce raiding
- When
- autumn 1798 – early 1799
- Where
- Bay of Bengal off Calcutta
After Malartic sold Prudente, Forte raided British shipping in the Bay of Bengal, leaving it largely undefended in early 1799.
Sercey sent Forte and Prudente commerce raiding in autumn 1798 with some success in the Bay of Bengal. Governor Malartic countermanded subsequent orders, seized Prudente, sold her to a privateer concern, and ordered Forte to operate independently. With the bay largely undefended at the start of 1799, the exceptionally large and powerful Forte preyed on British merchant shipping off Calcutta.
Sources
- Action of 28 February 1799 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-21
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.