Leeward Islands Station


The Leeward Islands Station and originally known as the Barbadoes and Leeward Islands Station was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, Leeward Islands from 1743 to 1821.

History

During the 18th and 19th centuries Antigua served as the headquarters of first the Commander in Chief Barbadoes and Leeward Islands Station then later the Commander in Chief of the Leeward Island Station which was the British navy's important base in the Eastern Caribbean area during the Napoleonic Wars The three most strategically important islands the British utilized on the Leeward Islands Station were Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia and these were the islands they used as naval bases. The Station, was formed in October 1743 as a separate command to the older Jamaica Station to contribute to a permanent British naval presence in the area to protect Britain's sugar producing islands and its convoys. During the Seven Years' War a number of large scale naval actions were conducted by the Royal Navy from this Caribbean base, one of its major engagements was the Battle of the Saintes. The station was in existence from 1743 to 1821 when it was abolished the last commander-in-chief was transferred to the larger North America Station.

Commander-in-Chief, Barbadoes and Leeward Islands

Notes:Incomplete list
Included: