SAINTES, BATTLE OF THE

(April 12, 1782), in the U.S. War of Independence, major British naval victory in the West Indies, ending the French threat to British possessions in that area. Setting out from Martinique on April 8, a French fleet of 35 warships and 150 merchantmen under the Count de Grasse intended to descend upon Jamaica with Spanish help. They were intercepted at the Saintes Passage, between the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe, by a British fleet of 36 ships commanded by Admiral Sir George Rodney. After preliminary skirmishing, the main action took place on April 12, when a shift in the wind altered the course of two French ships, causing gaps in their line of battle that were quickly entered by the British. The French fleet was thus scattered and the ensuing British victory at the Saintes helped restore that country's naval prestige. As a result, in the Treaty of Paris (Sept. 3, 1783) Britain regained most of its islands in the West Indies.