The British government, working with the exiled Stadtholder William of Orange, ordered the seizure of Batavian assets including colonies of the former Dutch Empire.

To achieve the seizure of the colony, the British government instructed Lord Hobart, Governor of Madras to use the forces at his disposal to invade and capture the Batavian-held parts of the island.

[2] News of the conflict took some months to reach the East Indies, where British and French naval forces had fought an inconclusive campaign for control of the Indian Ocean trade routes since 1793.

[5] Upon receiving the news of the hostilities between Britain and the Batavian Republic, Lord Hobart, Governor of Madras, conferred with Rainier and ordered the invasion of Ceylon.

[8] A Major Agnew was sent ashore at Colombo to negotiate and his attempts to persuade van Angelbeek to allow 300 British troops to land at Fort Oostenberg, which overlooked Trincomalee, were successful.

[10] For two days attempts were made to convince the Batavian commander, the British position partially undermined by the destruction of Diomede in Trincomalee harbour after striking an uncharted rock.

With resistance broken, Batavian trading posts along the Ceylon coastline surrendered in quick succession, Batticaloa to the 22nd Regiment of Foot on 18 September, Jaffna to Stuart directly on 27 September after a landing in force, Mullaitivu to a detachment of troops from 52nd Regiment of Foot in HMS Hobart on 1 October, and the island of Mannar on 5 October.

[13] In September, Rainier took most of his squadron eastwards to operate against Batavia, leaving Captain Alan Gardner in command of the blockade of Colombo, the last remaining Batavian territory on the island.

The garrison was issued with a demand requiring their surrender or to expect an immediate assault, and storming parties were prepared, but on 15 February van Angelbeek agreed to capitulate and Stuart took possession of the city peacefully.