Asia was launched in 1780 and made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She participated in three actions, two against the French and one against the Dutch. She left the EIC's service in 1799 and traded between London and Lisbon until 1802 when new owners from Embden renamed her Reine Louise de Prusse and returned her to trading with the East Indies. Asia is last listed in Lloyd's Register for 1808 on the London-Batavia trade.
Asia, under the command of Captain Robert Maw, sailed from Portsmouth on 13 March 1781, bound for Bombay and China as part of a convoy of Indiamen accompanying a British squadron under CommodoreGeorge Johnstone.[4] At about the same time as the British sailed, a French squadron under the command of Bailli de Suffren left France. Both squadrons were en route to the Cape of Good Hope, the British to take it from the Dutch, the French aiming to help defend it and French possessions in the Indian Ocean, including Rodriguez Island, Ile Bourbon (Réunion), Île de France (Mauritius), and Pondicherry.
The British stopped at São Tiago to take on water, with Asia arriving on 10 April.[1] The French squadron attacked the British on 16 April in the battle of Porto Praya. Due to the unexpected nature of the encounter, neither fleet was prepared to do battle, and the result was an inconclusive battle in which the French warships sustained more damage than did the British. Though the battle was inconclusive, it did enable the French to forestall the British attack on the Cape. The British sailed on to the Cape, with Asia arriving there on 21 July. At the Cape, Johnstone captured five Dutch East Indiamen at the battle of Saldanha Bay. The British Indiamen then sailed on, directly, or indirectly, to India.
Asia sailed to Johanna, which she reached on 3 September.[1] The convoy left Johanna on 21 or 22 September, but ran into an adverse monsoon that drove the vessels to the coast of Arabia; the four Indiamen Asia, Latham, Locko, and Osterley were driven further, to Kissen Bay, near the Bab-el-Mandeb. The Indiamen were carrying the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot. They remained there for some six weeks as the indigenes were friendly and the vessels could procure fresh food. The Highlanders entertained the indigenes with bagpipe music, and danced the Highland Fling; the indigenes reciprocated with a war dance involving shields and spears. The Indiamen arrived at Mocha on 4 December. Asia's log book puts her at "Qishm" on 5 December. Whether this was Qeshm, and she was not with the other three, or "Kissen Bay", is currently an open question. They then sailed out of the Red Sea, with Asia reaching Bombay on 4 March, two days before the others. A voyage that would take a coppered vessel not facing adverse winds about two and a half weeks had taken the four Indiamen five and a half months.[5]
Asia left Bombay on 8 August in company with the Indiamen Locko. Essex, and Osterley, and the country ship Shah Byram Gore. As the squadron was sailing through the Strait of Malacca, on 9 September the ships encountered the 38-gun French frigate Pourvoyeuse, which was under the command of Captain de Lannuguy-Tromelin.[6] After an engagement the next day that lasted some two and a half hours and in which Osterley had two men killed, and Locko and Essex had several men injured from exploding cartridges, Pouvoyeuse withdrew.
On 5 October Asia reached Whampoa anchorage.[1] On 4 January 1783, Locko, Osterley, and Asia left Whampoa. On 22 January Locko parted company with Essex and Osterley in the straits of Lombon by one account, and on the 23rd near Caremata ((1°37′S108°53′E / 1.617°S 108.883°E / -1.617; 108.883), by another account.[7]Locko and Asia then parted company on 30 January at "St Clement's Bank Peels Morcop".[7] These are probably "St Clement's Reef" and "Pulo Mancap", at the lower end of the Karimata Strait.[lower-alpha 1]
After the return to Britain of the four captains of the Indiamen that participated in the action on 10 September 1782, the EIC awarded them prizes. Robert Maw received a silver salver made in 1787 by Joseph Heriot, of London, and inscribed "The Gift of the Hon’ble East India Company to Robert Maw Esq’r Commander of the Asia East Indiaman for gallantly defending the said ship against a French frigate of 44 guns in the Straights of Malacca September, 1782."[9]
EIC voyage #2 (1785-86)
Captain John Davy Foulkes left Portsmouth on 10 March 1785, bound for Benkulen and China. Asia reached Bencoolen on 2 July. She then sailed to Padang, which she reached on 5 Aug, before returning to Bencoolen on 19 August. Asia arrived at Whampoa on 30 October. She left on 5 March 1786, reached St Helena on 24 June, and arrived at Blackwall, London, on 20 September.[1]
EIC voyage #3 (1788-89)
Captain Foulkes left Portsmouth on 5 April 1788, bound for Bombay and China. Asia reached Johanna on 6 July and arrived at Bombay 20 days later. She reached Batavia on 25 November, and arrived at Whampoa on 8 February 1789. She reached St Helena on 25 June and arrived at Blackwall on 3 September.[1]
EIC voyage #4 (1791-92)
Captain Foulkes left The Downs on 26 April 1791, bound for Madras and Bengal. Asia reached Madeira on 9 May and arrived at Madras on 10 September. On 8 November she arrived at Diamond Harbour. Asia returned to Madras on 3 March 1792, and sailed to Benkulen, which she reached on 18 April. She then reached St Helena on 26 August and arrived at Blackwall on 2 November.[1]
EIC voyage #5 (1794-95)
Captain John Davy Foulkes received a letter of marque on 6 December 1793.[2]
The British government held her at Portsmouth, together with a number of other Indiamen in anticipation of using them as transports for an attack on Île de France (Mauritius). It gave up the plan and released the vessels in May 1794. It paid £1,500 for having delayed her departure by 72 days.
Foulkes sailed Asia from Portsmouth on 2 May 1794, bound for Madras and Bengal. She reached Madras on 11 September and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 15 October. Homeward bound, she passed Saugor on 16 December. By 31 January 1795 she was at Madras again, and then by 24 May she was at St Helena.[1] Between 14 and 18 June Asia participated in the capture of seven Dutch ships off St Helena.
When HMSSceptre arrived at St Helena in May she brought the news that France had invaded the Netherlands in January. Furthermore, under an order dated 9 February 1795, Royal Navy vessels and British letters of marque were to detain Dutch vessels and cargoes and bring them into British ports that they might be detained provisionally. Then on 2 June the British East India Companypacket shipSwallow arrived from the Cape of Good Hope with the news than a convoy of Dutch East Indiamen had left the Cape, sailing for the Netherlands.
Captain Essington, of Sceptre formed a squadron to try and intercept the Dutch. Providentially, the General Goddard, an East Indiaman under the command of Captain William Taylor Money, was resting at St Helena while on her way back to England. The small squadron intercepted eight Dutch vessels, which surrendered on 15 June. The EIC ships Busbridge, Captain Samuel Maitland, and Asia arrived on the scene and helped board the Dutch vessels. There were no casualties on either side. The British then brought their prizes into St Helena on 17 June.
By 13 September Asia had reached the River Shannon and by 27 October she was at Blackwall.[1]
Because the capture of the Dutch vessels had occurred before Britain declared war on the Batavian Republic, the vessels became Droits to the Crown. Still, prize money, in the amount of two-thirds of the value of the Dutch ships amounted to £76,664 14s. Of this, £61,331 15s 2d was distributed among the officers and crew of Sceptre, General Goddard, Busbridge, Asia, and Swallow. The remainder went to the garrison at St Helena, and various vessels in the St Helena roads.[10] Thirty-three years later, in July 1828, there was a small final payment.[lower-alpha 2]
EIC voyage #6 (1796-98)
Captain Foulkes left Portsmouth on 12 April 1796, bound for Madras, Bengal, Bombay, and China. By 21 July Asia was at Simon's Bay, and she reached Madras on 16 November. On 20 December she was at Trincomalee before returning to Madras on 4 January 1797. She arrived at Kedgeree on 1 February. She then followed the Indian coast to Anjengo, which she reached on 17 April, and then Mahé on 30 April and Bombay on 7 June. She reached Penang on 3 September, and arrived at Whampoa on 20 December. Asia reached St Helena on 5 August 1798, and arrived at Blackwall on 9 November.[1]
Later career
In 1799 Beatson & Co., London, purchased Asia to sail between London and Lisbon. The Register of Shipping for 1802 shows her master as L. Strong, her owner as Beatson & Co., and her trade as London transport.[3]
Then on 31 February 1802 Beatson sold her to buyers in Embden, who renamed her Reine Louise de Prusse.[12] She returned to the Far East trade. Lloyd's Register for 1804 gave her trade as London-Batavia.[13] She was last listed in Lloyd's Register for 1808 in the London-Batavia trade. Her subsequent career and fate are unknown.[12]
Notes
↑ These areas or places are difficult to identify today. One set of coordinates places Pulo Mancap at 3°5′S110°11′E / 3.083°S 110.183°E / -3.083; 110.183),[8] but there is no island (pulao) there. Pulo Mancap may simply be a designation for the SW corner of Borneo. The same source identifies Pulo Mancap Shoal a little to the south, approximately where earlier sources had placed St Clement's Bank.
↑ A first-class share was worth £4 3s 6d; a fourth-class share was worth 3s 1d.[11]
Warley, launched in 1796, was one of the British East India Company's (EIC), larger and more famous East Indiamen. She made nine voyages to the East between 1796 and 1816, most direct to China. In 1804 she participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. In 1816, the company sold her for breaking up.
The ship Cumberland was launched in 1802 as a 3-decker East Indiaman. She made seven voyages between India and England from 1802 to 1815 for the British East India Company. Her most notable voyage was her second when she fought in the Battle of Pulo Aura against a French squadron. In 1818 the Chilean government arranged for her purchase. When she arrived in Chile the Chileans took her into their navy as San Martín. As part of the First Chilean Navy Squadron she participated in 1818 in the defeat of a Spanish expeditionary force. She was wrecked off the coast of Peru in 1821.
Exeter was a three-decker East Indiaman built by Perry and launched in 1792. She made eight voyages to the East Indies for the East India Company (EIC). More unusually, on separate voyages she captured a French frigate and participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. She was sold for breaking up in 1811.
General Goddard was an East Indiaman launched in 1782 that made six voyages to the East Indies for the Honourable East India Company. After she was sold, she made one journey to the West Indies, where the Spanish captured her in November 1799. Her most notable exploit occurred on her fifth voyage, when she participated on 15 June 1795 in the capture of seven Dutch East Indiamen.
Ocean was an East Indiaman, launched in 1800, that made four trips for the Honourable East India Company. She is most famous for her participation, in 1804, in the battle of Pulo Aura. She foundered in 1811 while on her fifth trip.
Osterley was a three-decker East Indiaman, launched in 1780, that made seven trips for the British East India Company between 1781 and 1800. She was present at two battles, and an engagement in which four Indiamen and a country ship engaged a French frigate. On her last trip a French frigate captured her in a single-ship action, but sent her on her way. Osterley eventually returned to Britain in 1800. Her subsequent fate is unknown.
Locko was originally the French East Indiaman Modeste, built in France. The Royal Navy captured Modeste in 1778, while she was on the return leg of her maiden voyage, whereupon individuals associated with the British East India Company (EIC) purchased her. She entered the EIC's service in 1780, then performed three voyages for the EIC. On the first voyage she was present at the Battle of Porto Praya, and led an inconclusive attack by five merchant vessels on a French frigate. The second and third voyages were much less eventful. Locko's owners disposed of her on her return in 1788 from her third voyage.
The action of 10 September 1782 was a minor engagement between five merchant vessels — four East Indiamen of the British East India Company and a country-ship — on the one side, and a French frigate on the other. The action resulted in only a few casualties and was inconclusive. What was noteworthy was that the Indiamen sought out the French man-of-war and attacked it; it would have been more usual for the merchantmen to have avoided combat as they had little to gain from a battle.
Houghton was launched in 1782 and made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1794 she was part of an EIC squadron that had some success against French privateers and naval vessels in the Sunda Strait, and then in 1796 she participated as a transport in the British capture of St Lucia. She was sold in 1799 and her owner took her out to India to work in the tea trade between India and China. She foundered in 1803.
Albion was an East Indiaman of the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold to the British government in 1810 for service as a troopship. She was lost at sea in 1816.
Alfred was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold. She participated in two notable incidents in which East Indiamen bluffed superior French naval forces from engaging. In January 1797, on her third voyage, in the Bali Strait Alfred and five other Indiamen sent off a French squadron of six frigates without a shot being fired. In February 1804, at Pulo Aura, during her sixth voyage she participated in a notable engagement with a French squadron. After her last voyage for the EIC Alfred served as a storeship and a hulk.
Airly Castle, was built by William Barnard at Deptford and launched in 1787. She made eight voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1788 and 1808. In 1795 she participated in the capture of seven Dutch East Indiamen near St Helena. After her eight voyages she may have served briefly as a general transport before she was sold for breaking up in 1810. She was not broken up but instead served as a transport for several years.
Canton was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1791 and 1811. She was sold and served for a while as a West Indiaman, transport, and storeship. Her hulk was sunk in 1829 to form a dry dock at Limehouse. She was finally broken up in 1898.
Busbridge was launched in 1782 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages for the EIC before she was broken up. In June 1795, during her sixth voyage, she participated in the capture of eight vessels of the Dutch East India Company. She was laid up for several years on her return from her seventh voyage and sold for breaking up in 1805.
Lord Camden was launched in 1783 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company. She made five voyages for the EIC before her owner sold her.
Carnatic was launched in 1787. She made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold for breaking up in 1802.
Essex was launched in 1780 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). On her first voyage she was present at an inconclusive battle with the French, and later at a second inconclusive engagement with a French frigate. In 1798 she was sold to be hulked or broken up.
True Briton was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost without a trace in 1809 during her eighth voyage.
Bombay Castle was launched in 1792 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1807 for breaking up. In addition to carrying cargo for the EIC, she transported troops in one campaign, participated in a naval action in which she helped capture a French frigate, and played a leading role in an encounter between the French Navy and a fleet of East Indiamen in which the East Indiamen succeeded in bluffing the French to withdraw.
Dorsetshire was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). In each of her first, second, and third voyages she was involved in a notable action. The remainder of her voyages appear to have proceeded without incident. She ceased sailing for the EIC in 1823 and was broken up c.1827.
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
Lubbock, Basil (1950) [1922]. The Blackwall frigates. Boston: Charles E. Lauriat Co. ISBN978-1174635083.
Spens, J. (1836). Memoir of the life and character of the late lieut.-colonel John Campbell, by a retired officer [J. Spens].
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