George Brydges Rodney, having occupied the island for Great Britain in 1781, urged the commander of the landing troops, Major-General Sir John Vaughan, to seize "Mr. Smith at the house of Jones - they (the Jews of St. Eustatius, Caribbean Antilles) cannot be too soon taken care of - they are notorious in the cause of America and France". The war was disastrous for the Dutch economy.

Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic on 20 December 1780. Even before officially declaring war, Britain had outfitted a massive battle fleet to take