After the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the islands were handed back to the Dutch, but in the meantime the East India Company had uprooted a lot of the spice trees for transplantation throughout the British Empire.

The presence of these sparked European colonial interest in the sixteenth century, starting with Portugal who virtually held a monopoly on the spice trade.

After 1667 under the Treaty of Breda, both agreed to maintain the colonial status quo and relinquish their respective claims, which continued well in the eighteenth century.

The British had started by invading the French Indian Ocean islands of Ile de France and Île Bonaparte in 1809.

[7] In 1806 Herman Willem Daendels became Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and sought to defend the region against the British.

Using forced labour Daendels reinforced the garrisons, improved defences and built the Great Post Road in Java to counter a potential British threat.

In the middle of 1809 the Colonial Governor of India, 1st Earl of Minto wanted to set up two squadrons to conquer the Moluccas.

[12] They departed from Madras and sailed via Singapore, where Captain Richard Spencer informed Cole that over 700 regular Dutch troops may be located in the Bandas.

[13] A number of East India Company agents were in tow partially to look at the idea of uprooting all of the spice trees namely nutmeg and clove which they had done on a small scale during the islands previous occupation in the 1790s.

Both Dover and Cornwallis anchored off the town of Ambon situated at the bottom of a small bay beneath a line of low hills.

[10] The British launched their attack on 16 February – the squadron at the same time occupied the attention of the Dutch by a vigorous cannonade.

The troops aided by seamen and marines led by a Captain Court were landed on the right of the bay unnoticed by the Dutch, capturing two batteries that overlooked the port and Fort Victoria.

A summons was then given to the Dutch Governor Colonel Filz for the surrender of the island, and after a few hours the articles of capitulation were agreed upon.

The Dutch commander committed suicide by taking poison after he realised that he had surrendered to what was a relatively weak British force.

She had on board 10,000 dollars, the payroll of which were for the Dutch garrison at Banda Neira as well as provisions, a doctor, nurse, and twenty infants, on their way to conduct a vaccination campaign.

[8] Finally on 26 June Dover captured the island of Manado, where Fort Amsterdam was protected by two heavy batteries.

The main defence on the islands was Fort Belgica which is a fairly significant position built in the stereotypical Vauban pentagon and surrounded by a ditch.

In addition there were ten batteries (exclusive of the two forts) and as Spencer had predicted, there were 700 regular Dutch troops and 800 native militia.

[9] The operational concept was to approach Banda Neira after dark on 8 August and disembark the landing force of about 400 sailors, marines, and European infantry in small boats.

About 100 yards from the shore and directly opposite a Dutch battery consisting of ten 18-pounders the boats grounded on a coral reef.

[21] As negotiations were taking place the Caroline, Piedmontaise, and Barracouda attempted to enter the harbour but were fired on by Dutch batteries.

The British used the guns of Fort Belgica to return fire and threatened to destroy the nearby town if the governor did not surrender but he complied.

After crossing a ditch, the British stormed the fort using scaling ladders on the flank of the bastion, and carried it after some sharp fighting.

The Dutch fought back for a few hours, but after experiencing severe damage to the fort and rising losses it was then assaulted by a surprise attack from the rear by a Royal Marine detachment from Kalamata led by Lieutenant Cursham.

[13] For his services, Cole was knighted in May 1812, awarded a specially minted medal, and given an honorary doctorate by the University of Oxford.

The islands then remained part of the Dutch East Indies, a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, until Indonesia's independence in 1945.