René Chartrand was born in Montral and educated in Canada, the United States and the Bahamas. A senior curator with Canada's National Historic Sites for nearly three decades, he is now a freelance writer and historical consultant for cinema and historic sites restorations. He has written numerous articles and books including almost 20 Osprey titles and the first two volumes of Canadian Military Heritage. Also a student of wines, he currently lives in Hull, Quebec, with his wife and two sons.

Paul Chappell has had a keen interest in military history for a number of years, which has proved invaluable in his illustrating. His previous work for Osprey includes Men-at-Arms 292 King George's Army 1740-1793: (3). Paul currently lives with is family in Minnesota in the United States.

Two centuries ago, the West Indies were a booming set of islands where vast fortunes were made. By the late 1790s, the West Indies attracted four-fifths of British overseas capital investments and provided over one-eight of the government's £31.5 million total net revenue to the Treasury. These figures explain the tremendous numbers of naval and military forces deployed to protect these valuable Caribbean territories. This fascinating volume by Réne Chartrand examines these forces, including a wealth of illustrations and photographs and eight full page colour plates by Paul Chappell.