| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Ceres |
| Namesake: | Ceres - the Roman goddess of agriculture |
| Owner: |
|
| Builder: | Thomas Fishburn, Whitby |
| Launched: | 11 March 1794 |
| Fate: | Last listed in 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 44247⁄94 [1] or 455 [2] [3] [4] (bm) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 25 men [5] |
| Armament: | |
Ceres was launched at Whitby in 1794. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she remained a London-based transport. She was last listed in 1816.
Ceres enters Lloyd's Register in 1795 with T. Hedley, master, Leighton, owner, and trade London—Botany Bay. [2]
EIC voyage #1 (1795-1797): Captain Thomas Hedley sailed from Portsmouth on 9 August 1795, bound for New South Wales and China. Ceres reached Rio de Janeiro on 18 October and left on 22 October. On her way Ceres stopped at Île Amsterdam. There she rescued two English and two French sailors, (the leader being Pierre François Péron), who had been marooned there three years earlier. The French brig Emélie had left them there to gather seal skins. (This was after the outbreak of war between Britain and France, something of which Emélie was unaware.) HMS Lion captured Emélie before she could retrieve them. Hedley rescued the men, but left the skins behind. [6]
Ceres arrived at Sydney Cove on 24 January 1796 with her cargo of provisions. [7] On 24 January 1796, the American vessel Otter, Captain Ebenezer Dorr, arrived from Île Amsterdam with a cargo of skins that he had found there. When Péron found out about this, he took Hadley with him as witness and met with Dorr to lay claim to the skins. Péron and Dorr came to an agreement that included Péron joining Otter as First Mate, and sailing with her until she would reach China. There they would sell the skins and divide the proceeds. [6]
Ceres left on 3 April, bound for China. [8] Ceres arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 12 May. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar, reached St Helena on 20 November, and arrived at Long Reach on 14 February 1797. [7]
There is a report that on 21 November 1797 Ceres sighted the island of Sonsorol while sailing from Port Jackson to China. [9] Unfortunately, readily available online resources can provide no more information about what would represent Hedley and Ceres's second voyage to the region.
EIC voyage #2 (1801-1802): Captain Thomas Todd (or Toad) received a letter of marque on 3 December 1800. [5] Thomas Hall tendered Ceres 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. [3]
Todd sailed from Falmouth on 10 January 1801, bound for Bengal. Ceres reached Calcutta on 16 June. Homeward bound, she was at Culpee on 21 August, Saugor on 15 September, and St Helena on 31 December. She reached Deptford on 6 March 1802. [7] On 30 March 1802 the Court of Directors of the United Company of Merchants trading with the East Indies (the EIC), announced that on 22 April they would offer for sale 37,000 bags of rice brought by the Hind, Hope, Minerva, Ceres, and Bellona. [10]
The data in the table below comes from either Lloyd's Register (LR), or the Register of Shipping (RS). Either source is only as accurate and complete as a vessel's owner choose to keep it. Thus gaps in coverage and contradictions occur in the data.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1804 | Richardson | T. Hall | London—Amsterdam | RS |
| 1805 | T. Headley | Leighton | London—Botany Bay | LR |
| 1806 | Richardson Wallow | Hall | Cork | LR |
| 1807 | J. Wallow | T. Hall | Cork transport | LR |
| 1810 | Jenkins | T. Hall | London transport | LR |
| 1815 | Jenkins | T. Hall | London transport | LR |
| 1816 | Jenkins | T. Hall | London transport | LR |
Citations
References
Bellona was a three-decker merchantman launched in 1782 at Limehouse by Woolcombe for Boyd & Co. She then traded for a decade before, in 1792, commencing a series of four voyages for the British East India Company as an "extra ship", that is, on a charter contract. During the first of these voyages she transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales. French privateers captured her and the British Royal Navy recaptured her, the Royal Navy seized her once, and then finally a French privateer captured her in February 1810 and scuttled her.
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.
Exeter was launched at Calcutta in 1793. She made three voyages from Calcutta to England for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost in August 1806 in a hurricane while returning to London from Jamaica.
Fame was built at Bristol in 1779 as a West Indiaman. Between 1797 and 1799 she made one or two voyages to India for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made two voyages to Africa as a slave ship. On her return from Africa she resumed her trading with Jamaica. She is last listed in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1807.
Betsy 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, but was lost in 1803.
Queen was launched at Quebec in 1795. She made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) and then became a West Indiaman, trading between London and West Indies. She was last listed in 1813.
Hind or Hinde was launched at Hull in 1800. After a voyage to Russia she made one voyage for the British East India Company. She then became a West Indiaman. She was wrecked in April 1815.
Anna was launched at Calcutta in 1793. She was often called Bengal Anna to distinguish her from BombayAnna. Bengal Anna made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost on the coast of Chittagong c.1811, after participating in a military expedition.
Bridgewater was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC), which engaged her for six voyages. She then made two more as an "extra ship", that is, under voyage charters, and was lost at sea homeward bound from Bombay on the eighth voyage.
Caledonia was launched at Calcutta in 1795. She may have served as a transport in a British expedition to Ceylon and the Moluccas in 1795. She then made three voyages to England for the British East India Company (EIC). She was trading in India in 1803 when a fire destroyed her, with great loss of life.
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.
Varuna was launched at Calcutta in 1796. She made four voyages as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC), and then spent two years as a troopship. She returned to India in 1806. She was lost in 1811, probably in a typhoon.
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.
Melville Castle was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold in 1802 to Dutch owners and wrecked with great loss of life later that year on her first voyage for them.
Dublin was launched in 1784 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), to India and China. On her last voyage for the EIC she recaptured a country ship. Her owners sold Dublin in 1800 and she became a West Indiaman, but apparently was lost on her first voyage.
Duke of Montrose was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then briefly became a troop transport, sailing to the West Indies. She was sold in 1811 for breaking up.
Rose was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages between 1787 and 1800 for the British East India Company (EIC). She also participated as a transport for a military expedition to the West Indies. She then made one more voyage for the EIC, bringing rice back to England from Bengal. Next she sailed as a general trader, but also made one voyage seal hunting. She was last listed in 1820.
Weather-induced crop failures in Britain in 1799 and 1800 forced the British Government to import rice from Bengal to counter popular unrest. The wheat harvests of 1799 and 1800 were about one-half and three-quarters of the average, respectively. The price of bread rose sharply, leading to bread riots; some of rioters invoked the French Revolution.
Minerva was launched as an East Indiaman in 1786. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and one carrying rice from Bengal for the British government. She is last listed in 1805 but with stale data from 1802.
Duke of Buccleugh was an East Indiaman launched in 1788. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1802.