French Guiana is an overseas region of France which is bordered by Brazil and Suriname. The proper noun “French” attached to Guiana is due to colonial times when there were another four Guianas: Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and British. The Capital of French Guiana is Cayenne. It is located by the Cayenne and Mahury Rivers, and in 1809 it was heavily fortified with forts and gun batteries.
On this day January 12th, 1809, the invasion of Cayenne took place whereby the city was captured from the French. This took place during the reign of Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars. The French Navy was stretched thin, blockaded by the British Navy, and the French sent word to France in 1808 stating that they were under duress, low on supplies, and needed help. The British Navy intercepted these messages. Recognizing that the French had low morale and were weak, the British decided to seize the opportunity and attack.
The British manpower in this invasion was considerably small, one warship commanded by James Lucas Yeo. Yeo also commanded the entire invasion, along with 1,250 Brazilian soldiers versus 400 regular French Infantry and a quickly put together militia of another 800. Cayenne was conquered in a week. There was very little bloodshed in this invasion, killing less than 30 people in total. After Napoleon was relinquished of his power, it was decided that Cayenne be returned to France. On November 8th, 1817, the French formally took back control upon the arrival of Claude Carra Saint-Cyr.