 Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis, active in the Caribbean from the beginning of the war, was able to convince King Louis XIV of France to let him try a daring attack on the richest city of the region, Cartagena, in present-day Colombia.He received command of a fleet of seven capital ships, three frigates, and some smaller vessels.The squadron left from Brest, France, on January 7, 1697, and arrived at Saint-Domingue in the West Indies on March 3.