Write an article that answers the following question: Who had conflict of interests when it comes to merchants?
When news of the European war reached Asia, English, French and Dutch colonial governors and merchants quickly took up the struggle. In October 1690 the French Admiral Abraham Duquesne-Guitton sailed into Madras to bombard the Anglo-Dutch fleet; this attack proved foolhardy but extended the war into the Far East. In 1693 the Dutch launched an expedition against their French commercial rivals at Pondichéry on the south-eastern coast of India; the small garrison under François Martin was overwhelmed and surrendered on 6 September. The Caribbean and the Americas were historically an area of conflict between England and Spain but the two were now Allies while outside North America French interests were far less significant. Saint Kitts twice changed hands and there was sporadic conflict in Jamaica, Martinique and Hispaniola but mutual suspicion between the English and Spanish limited joint operations. The Allies had the naval advantage in these isolated areas, though it proved impossible to keep the French from supplying their colonial forces. By 1693, it was clear the campaigns in Flanders had not dealt a decisive blow to either the Dutch Republic or England and so the French switched to attacking their trade. The Battle of Lagos in 1693 and the loss of the Smyrna convoy caused intense anger among English merchants who demanded increased global protection from the navy. In 1696, a combination of regular French naval forces and privateers went to the Caribbean hoping to intercept the Spanish silver fleet; this was a double threat since capture of the silver would give France a major financial boost while the Spanish ships also carried English cargoes. This failed but combined with de Pointis' expedition of 1697 demonstrated the vulnerability of English interests in the Caribbean and North America; their protection in future conflicts became a matter of urgency.