A fleet of the British East India Company set forth to capture the Dutch settlements on Sumatra including Padang.

Henry Botham, one of the directors, commandeered the fleet, which was led by Captain John Clements who had with them over 100 company soldiers.

[7] Two days later after much consulting with his captains, van Heemskerk fearing he was about to be overwhelmed and with no support, surrendered all of the west coast outposts without a fight.

The expedition was a huge success for the company - the seizure of the Dutch factories as a whole netted the British some 500,000 florins in goods and money.

The fortress at Padang remained in British hands till the end of the war, when in May 1784, following the Treaty of Paris the same year, the town was to be returned to VOC control.