August 22, 1810, 2pm. The British Captain Samuel Pym leads an attack on the ships of Frenchman Guy-Victor Duperré. A week earlier, the British captain had managed to take control of the Grand Port, on Ile de France. Responding to a call from the Navy, Duperré was to rescue that port as it was strategic to Napoleonic France.

The Grand Port Battle happened between squadrons of the French Navy and the Royal Navy. It happened over 7 days to take control of the Grand Port Bay. This was one of the most important conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars.

Four of the five French ships were finally able to break the blockade created by the British and anchored at a hard to reach point the island. It was full of rocks and reefs, so only an extremely experienced navigator could pass. After becoming aware of it, Pym ordered his frigates to attack the French anchored ships. However, they ended up getting stuck in the shallow channels of that area. It was a trap.

The conflict intensified. Two British ships could not move and were soon dominated. A third did not actually get stuck but was attacked by the French and defeated forces. The last one tried to escape but was captured.

The defeat suffered by the British was the worst of all the Napoleonic Wars and compromised the plans to dominate the trade routes of the Indian Ocean.

Things would not stay like this, however. Months later, in December, a substantially larger British force, led by Captain Albemarle Bertie, invaded Île de France. Then, the island changed back to Mauritius, the original name before the French occupation.