 This plan was also indicated by the numbers of troopships assembling in Toulon, although these vessels did not leave harbour during the operation.Historian Adolphe Thiers has suggested that the objective may have been a demonstration of force against Rome, following the lynching of French ambassador Nicolas Bassville there two years earlier.Martin was reluctant to leave Toulon until he could be certain that the lax British blockade of the port had been temporarily retired.