It is not known why Lamellerie fled from such an inferior force and allowed one of his ships to be captured without opposition: modern historian Richard Woodman describes his conduct as "astonishing, given the weakness of the opposition and the strength of his own combined force", but in a separate work suggests that Lamellerie's orders precluded any engagement until his force was safely off the coast.
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At an undetermined point in the cruise, L'Hermite would be joined by a larger squadron under Captain Jérôme Bonaparte, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's brother.
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A French fleet had departed Toulon in March 1805 under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, gathered Spanish ships from the Spanish Mediterranean ports and then crossed the Atlantic, under orders to disrupt British trade in the region and seize British colonies.
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Sailing from Lorient in October 1805 with one ship of the line, two frigates and a corvette, Commodore Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite was under orders to intercept and destroy British traders and slave ships off the West African coast and await reinforcements under Jérôme Bonaparte which were to be used in the invasion and capture of one of the British trading forts for use as a permanent French naval base from which further raiding operations could be conducted.