Surcouf Captures Kent: French Corsair's Glory
Robert Surcouf commanded an 18-gun privateer when he spotted a 38-gun British East India Company ship off the Seychelles in 1800. La Confiance had 190 men. Kent had 437. Surcouf boarded anyway. His crew took the ship in 45 minutes. He captured £131,000 in cargo. The French wrote a song about it. The British pretended it never happened.
October 7, 1800
226 years ago
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