# Tropical Storm of August 1809 (1–3 August 1809)

URL: https://allhistories.com/dominica/timeline/1809-tropical-storm-of-august-1809
Location: Dominica and the northern Leeward Islands
Themes: main-event

The first decade of the nineteenth century was an unusually stormy one for Dominica. The island had suffered two deadly hurricanes in September 1806, and its plantation society, still at war with France and fearful of the Maroon camps in the interior, had limited means to rebuild roads, bridges and estate works after each disaster. Between 1 and 3 August 1809 a tropical storm crossed the northern Lesser Antilles, affecting Dominica, Guadeloupe, Tortola and Montserrat. Historical reanalysis of Atlantic storms compiled by Michael Chenoweth, summarised on Wikipedia, attributes 62 deaths to the system across the islands it struck. Heavy rain on Dominica's steep, forested mountains caused rivers to rise rapidly, damaging provision grounds on which enslaved people depended for food, and coastal shipping suffered losses in the open roadsteads of Roseau and Prince Rupert Bay. Although smaller than the 1806 hurricanes, the storm added to the cumulative damage to Dominica's economy in the years when the British slave trade had just been abolished and labour could no longer be replenished from Africa. Food shortages after such storms pushed more enslaved people to flee to the Maroon camps in the forests, contributing to the tensions that erupted into open conflict in 1812. At this point in the timeline (1–3 August 1809), the King of Great Britain (from 1801 of the United Kingdom) was George III (10 January 1784 – 29 January 1820); the Governor of Dominica was Edward Barnes (3 July 1809 – 15 April 1812).

## Why it matters
The 1809 storm is one of a chain of disasters that weakened Dominica's estates and food supply on the eve of the Second Maroon War.

Ruler at the Time: [George III (1784–1820)](https://allhistories.com/dominica/rulers/george-iii-1784)

Governor of Dominica: Edward Barnes

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1800s Atlantic hurricane seasons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1800s_Atlantic_hurricane_seasons)
- [Wikipedia — History of Dominica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Dominica)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Dominica hurricanes](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Dominica+hurricanes)
- [Wikipedia — Maroons, Slavery And Emancipation (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Dominicans_(Dominica))