and sent to the West Indies in 1666 to defend them against the English. The intendant at Rochefort, ), told the minister that La Barre was a poor choice as leader of this expedition since he had no stomach for war. On 7 October 1666 La Barre presented himself to the council on Martinique and registered his commission, dated 26 February 1666, to command the vessels and maritime forces of the islands. Soon after he called an assembly of the senior officers and leading inhabitants of the island to hear their complaints concerning commerce and to respond on behalf of the company. La Barre rightly thought that Nevis was the most important English base in the Leeward Islands. In November 1666 the war council turned down his proposal to attack and capture Nevis. A letter patent from the king date 1 February 1667 confirmed La Barre as lieutenant-general of the French armies, islands and mainland of America. On 4 February 1667 a fleet under La Barre arrived at Montserrat. La Barre learned that the garrison of the English Governor Roger Osborne included many Irish Catholics of dubious loyalty, and decided to land a few days later. His land force included 500 militiamen from Saint Christophe under governor Claude de Roux de Saint-Laurent and 500 regular troops of the Navarre and Normandie regiments led by Marshall Saint Léon. The force advanced inland in search of the English force, which they could not find, but they did capture Osborne's wife and other civilians, forcing the governor to sue for peace. The French took large quantities of armaments, slaves, horses and cattle. 2,000 Irish residents of Montserrat agreed to become subjects of France under the Sieur de Praille as interim governor. In April 1667 La Barre's ship Armes d’Angleterre engaged in a desperate battle with the English ship Colchester. The Armes d'Angleterre with 24 guns and a crew of 110 defeated the larger Colchester with 44 guns and 300 men in an engagement off the point of Nevis. La Barre was wounded and returned to Martinique. The Dutch commander Abraham Crijnssen heard that an English squadron commanded by Sir John Berry had entered the Caribbean, and sailed to Martinique to discuss plans with the French. La Barre proposed joint action against the English, which became more urgent when word arrived that Saint Christopher Island was being blockaded by Berry. La Barre and the