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|combatant2={{flagdeco|Netherlands}} [[Kingdom of Holland|Holland]]
|commander1={{flagdeco|United Kingdom|civil}} [[Edward Pellew]]
|commander2={{flagdeco|Netherlands}}
|strength1=4 ships of the line <br> 4 frigates <br> 4 smaller warships
|strength2=3 ships of the line <br> 3 frigates <br> 1 corvette <br> 12 smaller warships <br> 24 merchant ships
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In 1803 at the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars, [[Linois' expedition to the Indian Ocean|a French squadron]] under Rear-Admiral [[Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois|Charles Linois]] was already operating in the Indian Ocean against British commerce, initially based at Isle de France.<ref name= "WJ3:212">James, Vol. 3, p. 212</ref> Linois's principal target was the China Fleet, a large annual convoy of valuable [[East Indiamen]] merchant ships and smaller "country ships" that sailed from [[Guangzhou|Canton]] early in the year and crossed the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope, then passing northwards to Europe. In 1804, this convoy was worth over £8 million and included 29 ships which—due to the sudden news of the outbreak of war—were entirely unprotected by the Royal Navy during the first leg of its journey across the [[South China Sea]].<ref name="RW194">Woodman, p. 194</ref> Although Linois was not aware of the weakness of the convoy's defences, he knew of its importance and value and determined to intercept it, using [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] on the island of [[Java]] as his main base. Ultimately Linois failed to defeat the convoy, withdrawing after some initial skirmishing at the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]], but the importance of Batavia as a base against British shipping was confirmed.<ref name="WLC338">Clowes, p. 338</ref>
The British commander in the Indian Ocean, Rear-Admiral [[Peter Rainier (Royal Navy officer, born 1741)|Peter Rainier]], was preoccupied with protecting merchant shipping off India during 1804 and 1805 to be able to risk an expedition to the [[Java Sea]]. His successor, Rear-Admiral [[Edward Pellew|Sir Edward Pellew]] was distracted by the continued operations of Linois's squadron and attacks from frigates based at Isle de France to take any action against the Dutch before the beginning of the monsoon season at the end of 1805, at which point the threat posed by [[hurricanes]] prevented any major seabourne operations. However, by early 1806, the departure of Linois into the Atlantic Ocean allowed Pellew and his squadron in [[Madras]] to consider offensive operations against enemy harbours.<ref name="RG81"/> In addition to the threat from cruising French squadrons, the Dutch maintained their own force on Java, under
Control of the Indian Ocean was essential for the British war effort, because the British economy relied heavily on trade with the holdings of the Honourable East India Company in India and with other ports in the east, particularly in China.[4]
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