16. The war was fought in the Indian Ocean
After the Dutch entered the war the British moved quickly to reduce the Dutch Spice colonies in the Indian Ocean, as well as the Dutch Cape Colony in South Africa. An expedition against the Cape Colony was thwarted by a French fleet in the spring of 1781. The Dutch colonies themselves were defended by troops of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the armed East Indiamen ships, which were also admirably equipped for the transportation of troops and war supplies. Nonetheless the British quickly captured the Dutch port of Negapatam, and followed that success with an attack on Trincomalee, a fortified Dutch possession with a fine harbor on the east coast of Ceylon.
The capture of Ceylon in 1782 gave the British a fortified base from which to launch actions against additional Dutch possessions, as well as those of the French, in the Indian Ocean and the subcontinent itself. The French fleet which had stopped the British from capturing the Cape Colony moved into the Indian Ocean to help defend French interests there, and in August 1781 captured Trincomalee from the British. The British attempted to recapture the harbor and port in a fleet action known as the Battle of Trincomalee in September, and though the naval battle was largely inconsequential the battered British fleet was forced to withdraw for repairs, and Ceylon remained in French hands.