The
Mediterranean campaign of 1798 was a series of major naval operations surrounding a French expeditionary force sent to
Egypt under
Napoleon Bonaparte during the
French Revolutionary Wars. The
French Republic sought to capture Egypt as the first stage in an effort to threaten
British India, and thus force
Great Britain to make peace. Departing
Toulon in May 1798 with over 40,000 troops and hundreds of ships, Bonaparte's fleet sailed southeastwards across the
Mediterranean Sea. They were followed by a small British squadron under Rear-Admiral
Sir Horatio Nelson, later reinforced to 13
ships of the line, whose pursuit was hampered by a lack of scouting
frigates and reliable information. Bonaparte's first target was the island of
Malta, which was under the government of the
Knights of St. John and theoretically granted its owner control of the Central Mediterranean. Bonaparte's forces landed on the island and rapidly overwhelmed the defenders, securing the port city of
Valletta before continuing to Egypt. When Nelson learned of the French capture of the island, he guessed the French target to be Egypt and sailed for
Alexandria, but passed the French during the night of 22 June without discovering them and arrived off Egypt first.