The inhumanity with which the prisoners had been treated, together with the supineness of the provincial authorities in the matter of _M. du_ Clerc’s death, roused, as might have been expected, much indignation in France. The celebrated Du Guay-Trouin proposed to undertake an expedition to _Brazil_, to assert the national honour. The force placed at his disposal consisted of fifteen vessels in all, the two largest carrying seventy-four guns each. The French admiral set sail from _La Rochelle_ on the 9th of June 1711; but he did not arrive off _Bahia_ until the 27th of the following August, and it was the 11th of September before he reached his destination. The preparation of so extensive a naval force, although it was got ready with as much secrecy as possible, could not be unknown to the Portuguese Government; and accordingly the departure of the Brazilian fleet had been expedited, under a strong convoy. The fleet had reached _Rio_ early in September; and thus the arrival of the French might have been looked for. Yet, after the lapse of some days, the Portuguese admiral, Da Costa, concluding that he had received a false alarm, relanded the men whom he had placed on board of the ships for the protection of the city, and relapsed into a false security. On the 10th, it was known that the enemy’s fleet had passed Cape _Frio_; and on the morning of the 12th, in the midst of a thick fog, their artillery was heard at the bar of the magnificent bay. The French, who were led by an officer acquainted with the port, passed the forts with the loss of three hundred men, and by noon were off the city. The incapable admiral, who had not had sufficient patience to persevere in the measures necessary to withstand an invasion of which he had ample warning, now lost his presence of mind. The commanders of his vessels received orders to cut their cables and to set fire to their ships when they had run them on shore. The French commander took advantage of the ensuing night to make his preparations; and on the following morning he took possession of the island of _Cobras_, which the Portuguese were preparing to abandon. On the 14th he landed his troops, three thousand three hundred in number, not including five hundred suffering from scurvy, who were soon able to resume their duties. The governor renewed his tactics of the preceding year. Although his force was double that of the French, he allowed the latter to pursue their measures without the slightest opposition. He probably looked for a similar result, should the French admiral follow the example of Du Clerc in allowing his men to engage in a street fight; but the latter was warned by the fate of his countrymen.