| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Betsy (or Betsey) |
| Owner | |
| Builder | Lancaster [3] |
| Launched | 1793 |
| Fate | Wrecked c.October 1803 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 206, [1] or 208, or 220 [4] (bm) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Armament | 14 × 6-pounder guns [1] |
Betsy (or Betsey) was launched at Lancaster in 1793 as a West Indiaman. In 1801 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) to bring back rice at the behest of the British government. On her return she became a Baltic trader. She was lost in 1803.
Betsy entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1793 with Gill, master, Cobham, owner, and trade: Lancaster—Dominica. [1] By 1797 Betsey was sailing out of Liverpool for Martinique. Betsy is missing from Lloyd's Register in 1798, but she reappeared in 1799 with W. Elliot, master, J. Potts, owner, and trade: Lancaster—Tortola. [4]
Lloyd's Register for 1800 showed C. Hooper replacing W. Elliot as master, and her trade changing from London—Tortola to London—India. [5] Her owners had tendered her to the EIC to bring back rice from Bengal. She was one of 28 vessels that sailed on that mission between December 1800 and February 1801. [6]
On 24 January 1801, Captain Charles Hooper sailed from Falmouth, bound for India. Betsy was at the Cape of Good Hope on 19 April, and arrived at Calcutta on 7 July. Homeward bound, she left Kedgeree on 19 September, reached Saint Helena on 31 December, and arrived at Gravesend on 12 March 1803. [7]
The 1802 Lloyd's Register shows Betsy's master changing from Hooper to G. Talby, and her trade from London—India to London—Jamaica. the 1803 Lloyd's Register showed her trade changing from London—Jamaica to London—Baltic. Betsy is no longer listed in the 1804 volume.
However, the Register of Shipping for 1804 showed her with a new owner, Horncastle, and her trade as London—Petersburg. It also bore the annotation "Lost". [2]
Betsey was wrecked in the Gulf of Finland whilst on a voyage from London to Saint Petersburg, Russia. [8] Lloyd's List reported on 11 October 1803 that Betsey, Talby, master, had been lost near Revel while sailing from Petersburg to London. [9]
Citations
References
| Shipwrecks |
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|---|---|
| Other incidents | |
Experiment was launched in 1798 at Stockton-on-Tees, England. Between late 1800 and 1802 she made a voyage to India for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1803 she transported convicts to Port Jackson. In 1805, on her way home the French captured her, but the British recaptured her. In 1808 she became a West Indiaman. Still, in 1818 or so she sailed out to India. Experiment was condemned at Batavia in 1818 and sold there in 1819 for breaking up.
Backhouse was launched at Hull in 1799 as a West Indiaman. Mather & Co. purchased her in 1800 and then employed her on two whaling voyages to the Southern Whale Fishery. They sold her in 1805 and her new owner sailed her to the West Indies. In September 1806, as she was homeward-bound, her crew burned her as she was too leaky to continue.
Perseverance was built in 1797 at Stettin or Sweden and came into British hands in 1799. She made one voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC), and was lost in July 1803.
Tuscan was built at Hull in 1793. She reportedly made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1798, but she returned to British hands c.1805. She was wrecked at Memel in November 1823.
Georgiana was launched in 1791. She served as a merchantman, packet ship for the British East India Company (EIC), a whaler, a warship of the navy of the United States of America, and a merchant vessel again. She was sold after being condemned in 1818 as leaky.
Nutwell was launched at Great Yarmouth in 1800. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she became a West Indiaman, trading with Jamaica, until the 1806 Great Coastal hurricane overturned her.
Active was a French ship launched in 1793. She came into British hands circa 1799 as a prize. Peter Everitt Mestaer purchased her and named her Active. She made one voyage to India for the British East India Company (EIC), which held a monopoly at the time on trade between Great Britain and India or China. From 1802 she was a London-based merchantman, trading first with Hamburg and then more generally. She was last listed in 1815.
Earl St Vincent was launched in 1798 at Gatcombe, on the Severn. She initially traded between Bristol and Jamaica. She then made one voyage as an "extra ship", i.e., under voyage charter, for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she again traded with the West Indies until she was captured in 1806.
Amazon was launched in France in 1775 under another name and taken in prize in 1780. British owners named her Amazon and she became a West Indiaman. In 1782 an American letter-of-marque, a former British Royal Navy frigate, captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She then became Dumfries. She may have been renamed again. She reappeared as Amazon in 1790, and traded between London and Smyrna. In 1798 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1797 and 1798. She then made three voyages as a slave ship between 1800 and 1804. Her subsequent history is currently obscure.
Sir John Borlase Warren, was launched in 1800. She traded with the West Indies after having made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1808 though she was immediately recaptured. Her crew abandoned her in 1812 but she was recovered. She foundered in 1815.
Suffolk was launched in 1800. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She grounded in 1802 but was refloated. She then made a voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. On her return she became a West Indiaman. A Spanish privateer captured her in 1805.
Eliza was built in Spain in 1794 under another name and taken as a prize circa 1800. She then made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she made one voyage to Timor as a whaler. She next became a West Indiaman. In 1810 she apparently was sold to Portuguese interests and who continued to sail her under the name Courier de Londres. She is last listed in 1814.
John and James was built in France in 1791 under another name and taken in prize in 1796. New owners renamed her and initially sailed her as a West Indiaman. She then made a voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Next, she became a slave ship, making three voyages between West Africa and the West Indies. Finally, she became a whaler, but was lost in 1806 to a mutinous crew.
Loyalist was launched in 1793. Between 1796 and 1803 she made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then sailed as a West Indiaman until she was condemned in 1809 as unseaworthy.
Minerva was launched in 1795 at Lancaster as a West Indiaman. In 1801 she was captured but immediately recaptured. Between 1802 and 1808 she made five voyages as a slave ship. She was last listed in 1816.
Aurora was launched at Chester in 1793 as a West Indiaman. During her career first the French (twice) and then the United States captured her, but she returned to British hands. Between 1801 and 1808 she made four voyages as a slave ship. She continued to trade widely until 1831.
Ganges was launched in 1799 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) bringing rice from Bengal for the British government. She then became a West Indiaman until the French navy captured her in 1805.
Several ships have been named John:
Harriot (or Harriott}was launched in Liverpool in 1786. For many years she was a West Indiaman, sailing between Liverpool and Barbados. In 1796 a French frigate captured her, but the British Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She became a slave ship. At the beginning of her of her first slave trading voyage a French privateer captured her, and again the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She made five slave trading voyages in all. Thereafter she traded with South America. She was last listed in 1814 with stale data.
Harriot was launched at Rotherhithe in 1787 as a West Indiaman. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), the first as Harriot and the second as Harriet. After the voyages for the EIC she returned to sailing to the West Indies until circa 1801. She then became a London-based transport until she was last listed in 1813.
