| Action of 8 May 1802 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofBarbary–Portuguese conflicts | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Algiers |  Portugal | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Raïs Hamidou | Luís Seguin Deshon † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1frigate[1][3] 40–44[1][3] guns 150 janissaries[2] 300 crew[2] | 1frigate 36[1][3]–44 guns 282–300[1] men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 36 killed[2] 40 wounded[2] | 50 killed[2] 67 wounded[2] Remaining crew captured | ||||||
Theaction of 8 May 1802 was asingle-ship action which took place in theMediterranean Sea, when a 36-gun Portuguesefrigate, commanded by the Frenchcapitão de mar e guerra João Luís de Seguin Deshon, was captured by a 44-gun Algerian frigate, commanded by theprivateerRaïs Hamidou.
In the year in which theTreaty of Amiens was concluded, 1802, the Portuguese sent to theStrait of Gibraltar a strongsquadron, which in April was constituted by oneship of the line, two frigates and twobrigantines.[1]
Due to anoutbreak oftyphus that was raging on board of the Portuguese ships, only theCisne remained onpatrol in the Strait area, despite also having part of thegarrison on board sick or convalescent.[3] On 5 May, the crew spotted an unknown frigate, which was approaching the Portuguese ship during the night. Only atdawn, and already very close range it would be recognized as a privateer frigate of Algiers.[3]
On 8 May, the frigateNossa Senhora do Bom Despacho, nicknamed theCisne ("Swan"), of 36 guns and 300 men of garrison, commanded by thecapitão de mar e guerra Luís Seguin Deshon, was cruising in the Mediterranean.[1]
Raïs Hamidou, who was commanding a frigate armed with 40–44[1][3] guns in the Mediterranean, encountered a Portuguese frigate with 36[1][3]–44 guns and a crew of 282–300[1] men.
Employing aruse de guerre, Hamidou put an English flag he had captured onto his ship, tricking the Portuguese into believing they were facing an English ship,[1] and approached theCisne fromwindward, making signals that he wanted to communicate with her.[1] Confident, the Portuguese let her approach without taking any precautions.[1] Suddenly the xebec-frigate, supposedly English but in reality Algerian, approached directly the Portuguese frigate, anchored, and fired one or two artillery volleys,[3] at the same time that its garrison launched itself intoboarding, making a terrible tumult.[1][3] The combat only lasted around an hour and a half.[3]
Caught completely by surprise, the Portuguese could offer little resistance.[1] The commander and some of the crew were killed.[1] The remaining officers, soldiers and sailors were taken prisoner (or enslaved)[4][5][6][7] and taken to Algiers along with the ship,[1] while the cannons and the frigate were incorporated into the Algerian Navy. The frigate's name was changed fromCisne toEl Portukiza ("The Portuguese").[8]
Hamidou would go on to capture another frigate nearGibraltar.[9] This angered theDey, Mustafa, who exiled Hamidou for two years.[7]
In addition to the limitations of the garrison of theCisne, the fact that the frigate of Algiers was armed with 44 guns, and was the best and largest ship that the Dey had, with its commander being Raïs Hamidou, the most famous and well known Algerian privateer, cannot serve as an excuse for what happened.[3] Despite this event, Portugal kept its ships on patrol in the area, and at the end of September, the frigateUlisses patrolled the area betweenCape Spartel and theAlgarve, as there was news that a frigate from Algiers, possibly the same one that had captured theCisne, was sailing nearCape St. Vincent.[3]
Later, on 6 July 1810, atruce was signed between Portugal and the Dey of Algiers according to which, in exchange for the payment of a large compensation and the delivery of 79 Algerians who were imprisoned inLisbon, he undertook to release 581 Portuguese and 34 slaves who were captives in Algiers.[1] The liberation was carried out in three groups, and was completed on 23 June 1812.[1]