In 1692 and 1693 there were massive harvest failures in France, leading to acute famine and epidemics. From 1693 to 1694 over 2 million people died. Therefore France needed to import large quantities of grain from neutral countries like Poland, Sweden and Denmark. On May 29, 1694, Jean Bart was instructed to sail to Norway, to escort a huge fleet of 120 ships full of grain to France. The convoy didn't wait for the arrival of Bart's squadron and left under the protection of 3 neutral warships (2 Danish and one Swedish).