The Last Invasion of Britain

    Although the Norman attack of 1066 was the last successful invasion of Britain, European powers made other efforts, some more serious than others, to rule the British. The attempts of Hitler (the most recent would-be invader), Napoleon, and Philip II of Spain are all well known. Yet while each of these tyrants posed a serious threat, none of them actually managed to put troops ashore on the British mainland. The last actual invasion, which took place in southwest Wales in 1797, seemed threatening enough at the time, but in the long view of history it now appears almost farcical.
In 1797, Napoleon was indeed a general, but he was campaigning in central Europe and had virtually nothing to do with the attack on Britain authorized by the French Directory (as the revolutionary government was then called). The Directory gave the go-ahead to Colonel William Tate, an Irish-American officer, to land troops in Wales. The expedition was hardly a serious attempt to conquer Britain, however, since only 1200 troops were sent, and there seems to have been no plan for a follow-up force.

    It is believed that the Directory viewed this "invasion" both as a way to scare the British and to keep the troublesome Tate occupied with matters far from Paris. In any case, the attacking force landed a little west of the town of Fishguard, and the site of their landing is commemorated in the stone obelisk at left. The invasion force proved to be a hapless bunch, many of the warriors being little more than released jailbirds. After a looting spree, some were too drunk to fight, and a few of the more lovable invaders spent their time playing with a Welsh child. Within two days, the invasion had collapsed, and Tate's force surrendered.
The most remembered Briton who resisted the invaders is Jemima Nicholas, who captured twelve soldiers single-handed with her pitchfork, and who is depicted in a mural commissioned for the 1997 bicentennial of the campaign. One lasting effect of the invasion came from the terror that it inspired in London: the Bank of England issued one-pound notes to forestall a financial panic, and paper currency has been common in Britain ever since.

To see other photos of Fishguard, press here.