England and France were at war from 1792 to 1802 in the French Revolutionary Wars, and after a brief period of peace, returned to war in 1803 with the Napoleonic Wars. By 1805, tensions between the British and French were at their highest pitch, and many Britons feared an imminent invasion by the French. Beachy Head was considered a likely beachhead where soldiers might land in the anticipated French invasion of England, and British soldiers were stationed at Beachy Head as part of the British countermeasures. The 1690 Battle of Beachy Head, in which the English navy was defeated by the French, was often discussed in eighteenth century histories of invasion. Beachy Head as a location, therefore, called France to mind as a threat.