The suspicion reached England, also, and that country, then on the side of
Portugal, sent out a fleet to blockade Brest, where the vessels of the
expedition then lay, and prevent its sailing. But Admiral Trouin was not
the man to be caught in a trap, and he hurried his ships out of port
before they were quite ready, leaving the British an empty harbor to seal
up. The work of preparation was finished at Rochelle, whence the fleet
sailed in June, 1711. It consisted of seven line-of-battle ships, their
number of guns varying from seventy-four to fifty-six, six frigates, and
four smaller vessels, and had on board five thousand picked men,--a
formidable force to send against a colonial city.
The powerful fleet made its way safely over the sea, and reached the
vicinity of the northern Brazilian port of Bahia on August 27. Trouin had
some thought of beginning his work here, but his water-supply was getting
low and he felt obliged to hasten on. On the 11th of September he found
himself off the Bay of Rio de Janeiro, with the city and its environing
hills in full view.
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