Intelligence and commercial stakes before Pulo Aura

The annual China Fleet gathered at Canton to sail home through India, collecting other merchant vessels along its route. The convoy described here included sixteen East Indiamen, eleven country ships, a Portuguese merchantman from Macau, and a vessel that had traded at Botany Bay. Ganges was intended to deter pirates and could offer little protection against a French squadron. News of renewed war reached Canton before naval reinforcements reached India. French intelligence reported the convoy's departure, while British-planted reports suggested Royal Navy warships were accompanying it. Cargo valued at roughly eight million pounds at the time gave Dance a strong incentive to preserve the convoy. Command passed to him as an officer with more than forty-five years of service, sailing in Earl Camden.