Cadiz Dispatch (1785 ship)

Last updated

History
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameCadiz Dispatch
BuilderLiverpool
Launched1785
FateCondemned 1795
General characteristics
Tons burthen100, [1] or 101 (bm)

Cadiz Dispatch was launched at Liverpool in 1785. Until 1791 she traded between London and Spain. From 1791 she made two voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On the second she was subject first to a maritime incident and then to an unsuccessful insurrection by her captives. Still, she delivered her captives to St Vincent. She was condemned in 1795 at Tortola on her way home.

Contents

Career

Cadiz Dispatch first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1786, but with little information. [1]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1786CaptainLondon–CadizLR
1787M'Carthy
E.Harris		CaptainLondon–CadizLR

On 19 September 1788 Lloyd's List (LL) reported that Cadiz Dispatch, Harris, master, had developed a leak while at anchor in the bay. Some of the cargo was damaged. She was on a voyage from London to Cadiz. [2]

Until 1791 she traded between London and Spain. Then in 1792 she started in the slave trade.

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1791E.Harris
I.Higgins		M'Carthy
Joseph Burke		London–Cadiz
London–Africa		LR

1st voyage transporting enslaved people (1791–1792): Captain I. Higgins sailed from London on 1 March 1791. Cadiz Dispatch acquired captives in Gabon. She arrived at Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica on 18 April 1792 with 140 captives. She arrived back at London on 7 July 1792. [3]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1792I.Higgins
T.Baldy		J.Burk
S.Farmer		London AfricaLR
1793T.BaldyS.FarmerLiverpool–AfricaLR

Cadiz Dispatch last appeared in LR in 1793. [4]

2nd voyage transporting enslaved people (1792–1795): Captain Baldy sailed from London on 31 October 1792. [5] LL reported on 7 December that Cadiz Dispatch, Baldy, master, had been on her way from Rotterdam to Africa and the West Indies when she developed a leak at latitude 46° 48' North. [6] She had arrived at Plymouth on 4 December but the wind was too strong for her to enter the harbour; she arrived at Portsmouth on 7 December with five feet of water in her hold.

On 13 September 1793, LL reported that in May Cadiz Dispatch, Baldy, master, had 132 captives aboard who had carried her away, i.e., taken possession of her. It also reported that Baldy and his crew, the chief mate excepted, had been saved. [7] [8] The insurrection failed, [9] but it is not clear how British slave traders regained control of Cadiz Dispatch. Apparently they did so while she was still in Africa. She received a new master and gathered more captives.

Cadiz Packet, Kitson, master, arrived at St Vincent from Africa in December 1794 with 158 captives. [5]

In 1793, 17 British vessels in the triangular trade were lost, six of those vessels were lost on the African coast. [10] It is not clear if this data includes Cadiz Dispatch as although her captives captured her on the coast, the vessel itself arrived at St Vincent, and was not lost until she was on the homeward leg of her voyage, and that to the perils of the sea. Still, during the period 1793 to 1807, war, rather than maritime hazards or resistance by the captives, was the greatest cause of vessel losses among British enslaving vessels. [11]

Fate

In June 1795 LL reported that Cadiz Dispatch, Kitson, master, was condemned at Tortola as she was on her way from St Vincent to London. The vessel and her cargo were advertised for sale. [12]

Cadiz Dispatch's owners sued their insurers for the loss of the vessel. However, the insurers refused payment on the grounds that the owners had not complied with the requirement that they provide evidence from previous owners that the master, in this case Baldy, had made one prior voyage as a master, or two voyages as chief mate or surgeon. The court, on appeal upheld the insurers, and declared the insurance void. [13]

Citations

  1. 1 2 LR (1786), Seq.No.C513.
  2. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2022. 19 September 1788. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105232987.
  3. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Cadiz Dispatch voyage #80723.
  4. ↑ LR (1793), Seq.No.C3.
  5. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Cadiz Dispatch voyage #80724.
  6. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2460. 7 December 1792. hdl:2027/mdp.39015008870928.
  7. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2542. 13 September 1793. hdl:2027/mdp.39015050998239.
  8. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 72.
  9. ↑ Taylor (2009), p. 208.
  10. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
  11. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 58.
  12. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2721. 2 June 1795. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105233118.
  13. ↑ Park (1842), p. 480.

Related Research Articles

Britannia, was a vessel launched in 1783 at Saltcoats, possibly under another name. She made four voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She grounded at Liverpool in 1793 after the first. A French privateer captured her in 1795 during the second, and took her to Guadeloupe where the Republican Government almost certainly freed the captives. She returned to British ownership and made two more voyages as a slave ship. A French privateer captured her during her fourth voyage.

Princess Royal was launched at Liverpool in 1790. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in 1794 at the beginning of her fifth enslaving voyage.

Experiment was launched on the River Thames in 1789. She made seven voyages for Calvert & Co. as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, carrying captives from the Gold Coast to Jamaica. A French squadron captured her in 1795.

Hercules was launched at the Province of Georgia in 1777. She appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1782 as a West Indiaman. From 1786 she made three voyages from London as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost in 1792 as she was returning to England after having delivered captives at Jamaica.

African Queen was built at Folkestone in 1780, though almost surely under a different name. In 1792, she became a Bristol-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made two complete voyages transporting enslaved people. On the first of these voyages she suffered a high mortality, both among her captives and her captains and crew. A privateer captured her in 1795 as she was on her way to Jamaica with captives while on her third voyage transporting enslaved people.

Old Dick was launched at Bermuda in 1789. She sailed to England and was lengthened in 1792. From 1792 on she made two full voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her second she recaptured two British merchant ships. She was lost in 1796 at Jamaica after having landed her third cargo of captives.

Dispatch was built in Bermuda in 1784 and came to England possibly as early as 1786. In 1792 she made a voyage as a slave ship carrying slaves from Africa to the West Indies in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was then briefly a privateer before returning to the slave trade. The French captured her in 1795 while she was on her third slave trading voyage.

Duke of Buccleugh, was launched at Yarmouth in 1783. In 1789 she became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made five complete enslaving voyages. On her fifth she had to repel an attack by a French privateer in a single ship action. A French privateer captured her in September 1797 after she had delivered her captives on her sixth voyage.

Prince was launched at Bristol in 1785 as Alexander and then made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Her owners changed her name to Prince in 1787. As Prince, she made six more complete voyages as an enslaving ship. She sailed on enslaving voyages for owners in Bristol, Liverpool, and London. She foundered in 1800 as she was returning to England from her ninth, having delivered captives to Jamaica.

Nimble was built in Folkestone in 1781, possibly under another name. In 1786 Nimble was almost rebuilt and lengthened. Between 1786 and 1798 she made nine voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. Between 1799 and 1804 she made four voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her first voyage as to gather captives she detained a neutral vessel, an action that resulted in a court case. On her second voyage to gather captives, a French privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. She was wrecked in 1804 or so after she had delivered her captives to St Thomas.

Mentor was the former HMS Wasp. The British Royal Navy sold Wasp in 1781 and she became the mercantile Polly, which traded with Africa. In 1784 Polly became the slave ship Mentor. Mentor made eight full slave-trading voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She carried captives from The Gambia to the West Indies. French privateers captured her in late 1795 as she was on her way from West Africa to the West Indies on her ninth voyage.

Betsey was launched in 1790 at Liverpool as a slave ship. She made six complete voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her second such voyage she, together with five other slave ships, bombarded Calabar for more than three hours to force the local native traders to lower the prices they were charging for captives. A French privateer captured her in 1799 after she had delivered her captives on her seventh voyage.

Little Joe was launched in 1784 in Liverpool as a slave ship. She made six complete voyages from Liverpool in the Atlantic triangular slave trade in enslaved people. On her seventh voyage a French privateer captured her, but a British letter of marque recaptured her. She did not return to the slave trade and was last listed in 1795.

Echo was launched in 1791 in Liverpool as a slave ship. She made two complete voyages from Liverpool in the Atlantic triangular slave trade. On her third voyage a French privateer captured her, but a British letter of marque recaptured her. She did not return to enslaving and was last listed in 1796.

Tom was launched in 1780 in America, possibly under another name. She first appeared in British records in 1792. From 1792, Tom participated as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made two complete voyages from Liverpool. French frigates captured her in 1794, while she was on her third voyage, but before she could acquire any captives.

Bell was launched in 1788 in Liverpool. Between 1788 and 1795 she made five voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in 1798 on her sixth enslaving voyage after she had embarked her captives. In 1798, the Royal Navy destroyed her.

Ranger was launched in 1791 in New Providence and immediately came to Britain. She generally traded between Liverpool and New Providence. She underwent grounding in 1795 and in 1796 her owners had her repaired, lengthened, and converted from a brig to a ship. A French privateer captured her in August 1797 after a single-ship action. In a process that is currently obscure, Ranger returned to British ownership circa 1799. She then became a West Indiaman. From 1803 on she became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete voyage transporting enslaved people. Then French privateers captured her after she had embarked captives in West Africa but before she could deliver them to the West Indies. A United States citizen purchased her at Guadeloupe and renamed her Delaware. In 1805 the Royal Navy recaptured her. She was returned to her British owners who sailed her between Ireland and Newfoundland. She was last listed in 1814.

Ranger was launched in Liverpool in 1789. She made four complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French privateer captured her in 1796 in a single ship action during her fifth voyage transporting enslaved people. She was recaptured, but thereafter disappears from online records.

Nassau was launched at New Providence in 1784. From 1785 to 1792 she sailed from London to New Providence, Philadelphia, Jamaica, Smyrna, and Quebec. A new owner in 1792 moved her registration and homeport to Bristol to sail her as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete slave trading voyage. A French squadron captured and burnt her in 1794 as she was on her way to Africa on her second such voyage.

Chaser first appeared under that name in British records in 1786. She had been launched in 1771 at Philadelphia under another name, probably Lord North. Lord North became Cotton Planter, and then Planter, before she became Chaser. Between 1786 and 1790 Chaser made four voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She then became a merchantman. In 1794 a privateer captured her but the Spanish recaptured her. She became a Liverpool-based Slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In 1796 she was condemned in West Africa on her first voyage in the triangular trade before she could embark any enslaved people.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.