The primary object of the British expedition and fleet of 109 ships during the year 1800 was the conquest of Belle Île but the French defences appeared too strong.

Under the superintendence of Sir Edward Pellew, the British effected a landing at a small opening near Cape Prior.

Early on the morning of 26 August a considerable body of Spanish attacked the British on the heights of Brion and Balon but they were repulsed.

[11] The embarkation of the troops and artillery was effected, and soon after this failure on the coast of Galicia, another expedition, equally unsuccessful was directed on October against the city of Cadiz.

The assault had to be abandoned due to an outbreak of yellow fever among British troops,[12] After the unsuccessful attempt to capture Ferrol, the British Prime Minister William Pitt said in the House of Commons that: "If Great Britain had a naval station so easy to defend as Ferrol, due to its location, it would have been surrounded by a thick silver wall".