French troops, who had been abandoned by Napoleon Bonaparte who left for France never to return, had been defeated by British and Ottoman forces, and had retreated to Alexandria where they were besieged.

The text of the Capitulation is printed in full in Robert Wilson's History of the British expedition to Egypt.

Under Article 16 of the capitulation "the Arabian manuscripts, the statues, and the other collections which have been made for the French Republic, shall be considered as public property, and subject to the disposal of the generals of the combined army."

At the Capitulation, the British discovered the French warships Cause, Egyptienne, Justice and Régénérée, and two former Venetian frigates in the harbour of Alexandria.

[2][Note 1] Admiral Lord Keith commander of the naval forces, gave the value of Régénérée for prize money purposes at £16,771 13s 6d.