 by the frigates HMS Sybille and HMS Fox and commanded by Captain Edward Cooke . After completing his mission Cooke decided to investigate the state of readiness of Spanish forces in Manila himself . He was also intrigued by reports that a ship carrying treasure was due to sail from Manila , which would make a valuable prize . Sailing in Sybille and accompanied by Captain Pulteney Malcolm in Fox , Cooke reached the Spanish capital on 13 January 1798 .   Anchored in Manila Bay , Cooke pretended that his ships were French vessels and successfully lured successive boatloads of Spanish officials aboard , taking them prisoner in turn . Once he had determined from his captives the state of defences in Manila , that the treasure ship had been unloaded at Cavite and that the Spanish squadron was undergoing extensive repairs and thus unavailable for operations , he sent a raiding party against a squadron of gunboats in the mouth of the Pasig River . Capturing the gunboats in a bloodless attack , Cooke then released his prisoners and sailed southwards , unsuccessfully assaulting Zamboanga before returning to Macau .   = = Background = =   In 1796 , after three years of the French Revolutionary Wars , Spain and the French Republic signed the Treaty of San Ildefonso . The secret terms of this treaty required Spain to renounce its alliance with Great Britain and subsequently to declare war on its former ally . In the East Indies this shift of political allegiance meant that the dominant British forces in the region were faced with the threat of attack from the Spanish Philippines to the east . Britain dominated the East Indies in 1796 , controlling the trade routes through the Indian Ocean from the ports of Bombay , Madras and Calcutta . Dutch Ceylon , the Dutch Cape Colony and parts of the Dutch East Indies had been captured in 1795 , and the French presence in the region had been confined to Île de France and a few subsidiary islands in the Western Indian Ocean .   Some of the most important trade routes began at Canton and Macau in Qing Dynasty China . Early in each year a large convoy known as the " China Fleet " , composed of large East Indiaman merchant ships in the employ of the British East India Company , sailed westwards to Europe from Macau laden with tea and other commercial cargo . This convoy was economically significant to Britain : one convoy in 1804 was valued at over £ 8 million ( the equivalent of £ 600 @,@ 000 @,@ 000 as of 2016 ) . In January 1797 the convoy had been attacked by the French squadron in the East Indies , comprising six frigates commanded by Contre @-@ amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey . In the ensuing Bali Strait Incident the commander deceived Sercey into believing that the unescorted convoy contained disguised ships of the line and the French admiral retreated , only learning of his error on his return to Île de France . There was considerable concern in India that Sercey might try again in 1798 , or that the Spanish , who maintained a powerful squadron at Cavite , might make an attempt of their own .   Rainier 's initial impulse on learning in November 1796 of the impending declaration of war between Britain and Spain was to draw up plans for a major invasion of the Philippines , centred on Manila in repetition of the successful British capture of Manila in 1762 . Co @-@ operating with the Governor @-@ General of India Sir John Shore and Colonel Arthur Welleley among others , a substantial naval and military forces were earmarked for the operation which was in the advance planning stages , when unexpected news arrived in India in August 1797 announcing the Treaty of Campo Formio which brought the War of the First Coalition to an end . Britain now faced France and Spain alone , while emissaries from the Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore , an old opponent of Britain in Southern India , were seeking French assistance with a renewed outbreak of hostilities . The resources planned for the operation against Manila were therefore retained in India and the operation cancelled , but the protection of the China Fleet was still essential and Rainier diverted some of his squadron eastwards to China .   A number of merchant ships had gathered at Bombay in the spring of 1797 in preparation for the trip to Macau to load trade goods and join the China Fleet . To escort this force , Rainier provided the 40 @-@ gun frigate HMS Sybille , captured from the French at the Battle of Mykonos in 1794 , and the 50 @-@ gun HMS Centurion , which sailed with the convoy in July , taking passage through the Straits of Malacca , joined there by the ships of the line HMS Victorious and HMS Trident and the 32 @-@ gun frigate HMS Fox under Captain Pulteney Malcolm for the final voyage to Macau . The convoy arrived without incident on 13 December 1797 , although the crews had been substantially weakened by tropical illnesses .   = = Cooke 's raids = =   = = =
Ġby Ġthe Ġfrig ates ĠHMS ĠSy b ille Ġand ĠHMS ĠFox Ġand Ġcommanded Ġby ĠCaptain ĠEdward ĠCooke Ġ. ĠAfter Ġcompleting Ġhis Ġmission ĠCooke Ġdecided Ġto Ġinvestigate Ġthe Ġstate Ġof Ġreadiness Ġof ĠSpanish Ġforces Ġin ĠManila Ġhimself Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġalso Ġintrigued Ġby Ġreports Ġthat Ġa Ġship Ġcarrying Ġtreasure Ġwas Ġdue Ġto Ġsail Ġfrom ĠManila Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwould Ġmake Ġa Ġvaluable Ġprize Ġ. ĠS ailing Ġin ĠSy b ille Ġand Ġaccompanied Ġby ĠCaptain ĠP ult ene y ĠMalcolm Ġin ĠFox Ġ, ĠCooke Ġreached Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġcapital Ġon Ġ13 ĠJanuary Ġ17 98 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAnch ored Ġin ĠManila ĠBay Ġ, ĠCooke Ġpretended Ġthat Ġhis Ġships Ġwere ĠFrench Ġvessels Ġand Ġsuccessfully Ġlured Ġsuccessive Ġboat loads Ġof ĠSpanish Ġofficials Ġaboard Ġ, Ġtaking Ġthem Ġprisoner Ġin Ġturn Ġ. ĠOnce Ġhe Ġhad Ġdetermined Ġfrom Ġhis Ġcaptives Ġthe Ġstate Ġof Ġdefences Ġin ĠManila Ġ, Ġthat Ġthe Ġtreasure Ġship Ġhad Ġbeen Ġunloaded Ġat ĠCav ite Ġand Ġthat Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġsquadron Ġwas Ġundergoing Ġextensive Ġrepairs Ġand Ġthus Ġunavailable Ġfor Ġoperations Ġ, Ġhe Ġsent Ġa Ġraiding Ġparty Ġagainst Ġa Ġsquadron Ġof Ġgun boats Ġin Ġthe Ġmouth Ġof Ġthe ĠPas ig ĠRiver Ġ. ĠCapt uring Ġthe Ġgun boats Ġin Ġa Ġblood less Ġattack Ġ, ĠCooke Ġthen Ġreleased Ġhis Ġprisoners Ġand Ġsailed Ġsouth wards Ġ, Ġunsuccessfully Ġassaulting ĠZ ambo anga Ġbefore Ġreturning Ġto ĠMac au Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBackground Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ17 96 Ġ, Ġafter Ġthree Ġyears Ġof Ġthe ĠFrench ĠRevolutionary ĠWars Ġ, ĠSpain Ġand Ġthe ĠFrench ĠRepublic Ġsigned Ġthe ĠTreaty Ġof ĠSan ĠI ld ef onso Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecret Ġterms Ġof Ġthis Ġtreaty Ġrequired ĠSpain Ġto Ġren ounce Ġits Ġalliance Ġwith ĠGreat ĠBritain Ġand Ġsubsequently Ġto Ġdeclare Ġwar Ġon Ġits Ġformer Ġally Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies Ġthis Ġshift Ġof Ġpolitical Ġallegiance Ġmeant Ġthat Ġthe Ġdominant ĠBritish Ġforces Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġwere Ġfaced Ġwith Ġthe Ġthreat Ġof Ġattack Ġfrom Ġthe ĠSpanish ĠPhilippines Ġto Ġthe Ġeast Ġ. ĠBritain Ġdominated Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies Ġin Ġ17 96 Ġ, Ġcontrolling Ġthe Ġtrade Ġroutes Ġthrough Ġthe ĠIndian ĠOcean Ġfrom Ġthe Ġports Ġof ĠBombay Ġ, ĠMad ras Ġand ĠCal cut ta Ġ. ĠDutch ĠCe ylon Ġ, Ġthe ĠDutch ĠCape ĠColony Ġand Ġparts Ġof Ġthe ĠDutch ĠEast ĠIndies Ġhad Ġbeen Ġcaptured Ġin Ġ17 95 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠFrench Ġpresence Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġhad Ġbeen Ġconfined Ġto ĠÃ İ le Ġde ĠFrance Ġand Ġa Ġfew Ġsubsidiary Ġislands Ġin Ġthe ĠWestern ĠIndian ĠOcean Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠSome Ġof Ġthe Ġmost Ġimportant Ġtrade Ġroutes Ġbegan Ġat ĠCant on Ġand ĠMac au Ġin ĠQing ĠDynasty ĠChina Ġ. ĠEarly Ġin Ġeach Ġyear Ġa Ġlarge Ġconvoy Ġknown Ġas Ġthe Ġ" ĠChina ĠFleet Ġ" Ġ, Ġcomposed Ġof Ġlarge ĠEast ĠInd iam an Ġmerchant Ġships Ġin Ġthe Ġemploy Ġof Ġthe ĠBritish ĠEast ĠIndia ĠCompany Ġ, Ġsailed Ġwest wards Ġto ĠEurope Ġfrom ĠMac au Ġlad en Ġwith Ġtea Ġand Ġother Ġcommercial Ġcargo Ġ. ĠThis Ġconvoy Ġwas Ġeconomically Ġsignificant Ġto ĠBritain Ġ: Ġone Ġconvoy Ġin Ġ18 04 Ġwas Ġvalued Ġat Ġover ĠÂ£ Ġ8 Ġmillion Ġ( Ġthe Ġequivalent Ġof ĠÂ£ Ġ600 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġas Ġof Ġ2016 Ġ) Ġ. ĠIn ĠJanuary Ġ17 97 Ġthe Ġconvoy Ġhad Ġbeen Ġattacked Ġby Ġthe ĠFrench Ġsquadron Ġin Ġthe ĠEast ĠIndies Ġ, Ġcomprising Ġsix Ġfrig ates Ġcommanded Ġby ĠCont re Ġ@ - @ Ġam iral ĠPierre ĠC Ã©s ar ĠCharles Ġde ĠSer ce y Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġensuing ĠB ali ĠStrait ĠIncident Ġthe Ġcommander Ġdeceived ĠSer ce y Ġinto Ġbelieving Ġthat Ġthe Ġun esc orted Ġconvoy Ġcontained Ġdisguised Ġships Ġof Ġthe Ġline Ġand Ġthe ĠFrench Ġadm iral Ġretreated Ġ, Ġonly Ġlearning Ġof Ġhis Ġerror Ġon Ġhis Ġreturn Ġto ĠÃ İ le Ġde ĠFrance Ġ. ĠThere Ġwas Ġconsiderable Ġconcern Ġin ĠIndia Ġthat ĠSer ce y Ġmight Ġtry Ġagain Ġin Ġ17 98 Ġ, Ġor Ġthat Ġthe ĠSpanish Ġ, Ġwho Ġmaintained Ġa Ġpowerful Ġsquadron Ġat ĠCav ite Ġ, Ġmight Ġmake Ġan Ġattempt Ġof Ġtheir Ġown Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRain ier Ġ' s Ġinitial Ġimpulse Ġon Ġlearning Ġin ĠNovember Ġ17 96 Ġof Ġthe Ġimpending Ġdeclaration Ġof Ġwar Ġbetween ĠBritain Ġand ĠSpain Ġwas Ġto Ġdraw Ġup Ġplans Ġfor Ġa Ġmajor Ġinvasion Ġof Ġthe ĠPhilippines Ġ, Ġcent red Ġon ĠManila Ġin Ġrepetition Ġof Ġthe Ġsuccessful ĠBritish Ġcapture Ġof ĠManila Ġin Ġ17 62 Ġ. ĠCo Ġ@ - @ Ġoperating Ġwith Ġthe ĠGovernor Ġ@ - @ ĠGeneral Ġof ĠIndia ĠSir ĠJohn ĠShore Ġand ĠColonel ĠArthur ĠW elle ley Ġamong Ġothers Ġ, Ġa Ġsubstantial Ġnaval Ġand Ġmilitary Ġforces Ġwere Ġear marked Ġfor Ġthe Ġoperation Ġwhich Ġwas Ġin Ġthe Ġadvance Ġplanning Ġstages Ġ, Ġwhen Ġunexpected Ġnews Ġarrived Ġin ĠIndia Ġin ĠAugust Ġ17 97 Ġannouncing Ġthe ĠTreaty Ġof ĠCamp o ĠForm io Ġwhich Ġbrought Ġthe ĠWar Ġof Ġthe ĠFirst ĠCoalition Ġto Ġan Ġend Ġ. ĠBritain Ġnow Ġfaced ĠFrance Ġand ĠSpain Ġalone Ġ, Ġwhile Ġem iss aries Ġfrom Ġthe ĠTip u ĠSultan Ġof Ġthe ĠKingdom Ġof ĠM ys ore Ġ, Ġan Ġold Ġopponent Ġof ĠBritain Ġin ĠSouthern ĠIndia Ġ, Ġwere Ġseeking ĠFrench Ġassistance Ġwith Ġa Ġrenewed Ġoutbreak Ġof Ġhostilities Ġ. ĠThe Ġresources Ġplanned Ġfor Ġthe Ġoperation Ġagainst ĠManila Ġwere Ġtherefore Ġretained Ġin ĠIndia Ġand Ġthe Ġoperation Ġcancelled Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġprotection Ġof Ġthe ĠChina ĠFleet Ġwas Ġstill Ġessential Ġand ĠRain ier Ġdiverted Ġsome Ġof Ġhis Ġsquadron Ġeast wards Ġto ĠChina Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠA Ġnumber Ġof Ġmerchant Ġships Ġhad Ġgathered Ġat ĠBombay Ġin Ġthe Ġspring Ġof Ġ17 97 Ġin Ġpreparation Ġfor Ġthe Ġtrip Ġto ĠMac au Ġto Ġload Ġtrade Ġgoods Ġand Ġjoin Ġthe ĠChina ĠFleet Ġ. ĠTo Ġescort Ġthis Ġforce Ġ, ĠRain ier Ġprovided Ġthe Ġ40 Ġ@ - @ Ġgun Ġfr igate ĠHMS ĠSy b ille Ġ, Ġcaptured Ġfrom Ġthe ĠFrench Ġat Ġthe ĠBattle Ġof ĠMy k on os Ġin Ġ17 94 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġ50 Ġ@ - @ Ġgun ĠHMS ĠCent urion Ġ, Ġwhich Ġsailed Ġwith Ġthe Ġconvoy Ġin ĠJuly Ġ, Ġtaking Ġpassage Ġthrough Ġthe ĠStra its Ġof ĠMal acca Ġ, Ġjoined Ġthere Ġby Ġthe Ġships Ġof Ġthe Ġline ĠHMS ĠVict orious Ġand ĠHMS ĠTrident Ġand Ġthe Ġ32 Ġ@ - @ Ġgun Ġfr igate ĠHMS ĠFox Ġunder ĠCaptain ĠP ult ene y ĠMalcolm Ġfor Ġthe Ġfinal Ġvoyage Ġto ĠMac au Ġ. ĠThe Ġconvoy Ġarrived Ġwithout Ġincident Ġon Ġ13 ĠDecember Ġ17 97 Ġ, Ġalthough Ġthe Ġcrews Ġhad Ġbeen Ġsubstantially Ġweakened Ġby Ġtropical Ġillnesses Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCooke Ġ' s Ġraids Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ=