 Arriving on the island in September 1795 in an already weakened state, the 80th Foot had lost half of its strength by the time it was forced to return to Britain in January 1796.Following the French conquest of the Netherlands the Batavian Republic had been established in 1795, taking over the various Dutch colonial possessions, and declaring war on Great Britain.The British quickly seized control of the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch and in 1796 the 80th Foot arrived in the territory, taking part in an operation to capture a Dutch naval squadron in August of that year.