Cornwallis was built probably at Surat around 1789, or possibly Demaun in 1790. Her name was originally Britannia, but it was changed to Cornwallis shortly before her completion.[1] She served for some years in India as a country ship, before transferring her registry to Britain in 1797. She then served in private trade between Britain and India until 1809 or so when she transferred her registry back to Bombay. Thereafter she served as a country ship, though in both 1810 and again in 1817 she performed a voyage to Britain for the British East India Company. Thereafter she apparently continued to serve as a country ship with homeport of Bombay. She burnt there in June 1841 as she was about to take a cargo of cotton to China.
Cornwallis was admitted to British Registry on 12 May 1797 as a private vessel employed in the trade between Britain and India.[9] On 24 June 1797 the cost of fitting her out in Britain was £7475 2s 10d.[14]
Cornwallis entered Lloyd's Register in the supplemental pages to the 1800 volume. The entry notes that she had undergone a "good repair" in that year.[10]
She served as a transport or troopship to support Major-General Sir David Baird's expedition in 1800 to the Red Sea.[15] Baird was in command of the Indian army that was going to Egypt to help General Ralph Abercromby expel the French there. Baird landed at Kosseir, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. He then led his troops army across the desert to Kena on the Nile, and then to Cairo. He arrived in time for the battle of Alexandria.
The Register of Shipping for 1809 agrees with Lloyd's Register for 1809 in almost all particulars, but gives the name of Cornwallis's master as R. Eleston.[11]
Cornwallis then disappears from the registers. She had shifted her registry to Bombay, India. She appears on a list of ships belonging to or sailing out of Bombay as of 1 January 1811.[4] At the time her owner was Nasserwanjee Monackjee.[4][5] Another source gives the name of her owner in 1811 as possibly Porcher & Co.[2]
In 1810 Cornwallis made the first of two voyages for the EIC. She left Bombay on 17 June, reached St Helena on 3 September, and arrived at Long Reach on 16 November.[5]
She participated as one of the transports in the British reduction of Java, under the auspices of Lord Minto. She was in the second division, which left Malacca on 7 June 1811.[17]
She may have sailed to China either before or after her role in the invasion. During this period her master was Robert Graham.[2]
On 25 August 1815 Cornwallis, Graham, master, sailed for London from the Cape of Good Hope. On 30 September she sailed from St Helena. On 26 November she arrived at Gravesend, Kent.
In 1813 the EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.[18] On 23 January 1816 her agents applied for a licence authorizing Cornwallis to trade between the United Kingdom and the East Indies. She received the licence on 24 January.[19]Cornwallis, Graham, master, sailed from Gravesend 23 February 1816, bound for Bombay.
Cornwallis also sailed to Bengal in 1816 from China.
Her second voyage for the EIC occurred in 1817. Captain Thomas Brown sailed Cornwallis from Calcutta on 25 March. She was at Diamond Harbour on 10 May, and Madras on 10 July. She reached the Cape of Good Hope on 27 October, and arrived at Spithead on 17 January 1818.[5]
More voyages to China followed in 1818, 1822, 1825, 1826, and 1827 (two). Robert Graham was again her master until 1825, when D. Hardie replaced him. Hardie remained her master into 1829. P. Keys was Cornwallis's master between 1831 and 1833.[2]
Cornwallis was reported as still sailing out of Bombay in 1838,[8] and in 1841. In 1841 the name of her master was James Clark.[6]
Fate
In June 1841 Cornwallis was in Bombay harbour with a cargo of cotton for China when she caught fire. There was "a strong impression that this fine old ship was willfully set on fire."[20]
Notes
↑ Three sources give the location as Surat.[4][7][8][1] Two sources give it as Daman or Demaun.[5][3] One source gives Bombay, but that source distinguishes only two locations, Bombay and Calcutta.[9] The shipping registers simply report "India".[10][11]
↑ Three sources give the year as 1788.[12][6][1] Two sources give it as 1789.[10][11] Three sources give it as 1790.[4][7][8][5]
↑ "Ships burnt and destroyed" (November 1847) Nautical Magazine: A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs. Vol.16, p.588.
Related Research Articles
Coromandel was the French prize Modeste, captured in 1793 and refitted at Chittagong, British India. She made two voyages transporting convicts to Port Jackson, the first for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1805, but she had returned to British hands before 1809. An American privateer captured her in 1814, but this time the British Royal Navy recaptured her within days. She foundered in Indian waters on 6 February 1821.
Porcher was launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from Bengal to England. A French privateer captured her in 1802, which gave rise to a case in French courts about the validity of the capture given the impending Treaty of Amiens. The French courts condemned her in prize and new owners in Bordeaux named her Ville de Bordeaux. The British recaptured her in 1804. Thereafter she traded between England and India as a licensed ship. In 1809 she sailed to England where in 1810 new owners renamed her Cambridge. As Cambridge she made three voyages for the EIC as an extra ship. In 1818 she was again sold with her new owners continuing to sail her to the Far East as a licensed ship. She then made two more voyages to India for the EIC. In 1840 she was sold to an American trading house at Canton, and then to the Qing Dynasty, which purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. The British Royal Navy destroyed her on 27 February 1841 during the Battle of First Bar at the onset of the First Opium War.
Baring was launched at Calcutta in 1805 as Alexander Brodie. Her owners sold her to Portuguese interests that named her Asia Felix. They in turn sold her to British owners in 1809. The British owners renamed her Baring. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1811 and 1812.
Caroline was launched at Calcutta in 1805. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter, she became a London-based transport, sailing between England and India under a licence from the EIC. She was wrecked in 1816.
Juliana was launched at Salkia, opposite Calcutta, in 1814. She spent almost all of her career trading between England and India. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC), in 1824–25; she ended this voyage in Quebec, becoming, with her consort, the first vessels to arrive at Quebec from China. She wrecked at Cape Town in 1839 while carrying immigrants from England to Sydney, New South Wales.
Hope was launched in 1804 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She continued to trade around India until a French frigate captured her in 1808. She apparently returned to English hands and was renamed Madras Merchant. She was then sold in 1816 at Manila.
Arran was launched at Calcutta in 1799. In 1800 she sailed to Britain for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return voyage she suffered a major outbreak of illness while between England and the Cape. She then traded between England and India and around India until she was lost in June 1809 while sailing to Basra from Bengal.
Medway was launched at Fort William, Calcutta in 1801. She immediately sailed to Britain under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). There her owners sold her. She traded with Madeira and the Americas before she foundered in 1812.
Upton Castle was launched at Bombay in 1793. She spent her career as a "country ship", that is trading in the Far East. She made some voyages to England, including at least one, in 1809, under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She also participated in two military campaigns as a transport. The French Navy captured her in 1804, but she returned to British hands before 1809. A fire in 1817 destroyed her.
For the British expedition to the Red Sea (1801) the British government hired a number of transport vessels. The transports supported Major-General Sir David Baird's expedition in 1801 to the Red Sea. Baird was in command of the Indian army that was going to Egypt to help General Ralph Abercromby expel the French there. Baird landed at Kosseir, on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea. He then led his troops army across the desert to Kena on the Nile, and then to Cairo. He arrived in time for the battle of Alexandria. Captain Hardie of Shah Kaikusroo was appointed Commodore of the fleet of country ships.
Margaret was launched at Calcutta in 1804 and cost 59,000 sicca rupees to build. Shortly after her launch she sailed to England for the British East India Company (EIC). Captain Benjamin Fergusson sailed from Calcutta on 3 December 1805. She was at Saugor on 14 February 1806. She reached Saint Helena on 29 April and arrived at The Downs on 24 June.
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.
Lord Castlereagh was launched in 1803 at Cochin and spent her entire career as a country ship based in Bombay. She made several voyages to China, during the first of which she was present at the battle of Pulo Aura. She also made a few voyages to England, including one for the British East India Company (EIC). She participated as a transport in the British Invasion of Isle de France. She was lost in 1840 at Bombay coming into harbour.
Melville was launched at Calcutta in 1802 and apparently traded as a country ship in the East Indies until 1814. Then she sailed to England under the name Lady Campbell and proceeded to sail between London and India, with three of her voyages being on behalf of the British East India Company (EIC). She is last listed in 1829.
Aurora was launched in 1790 at Calcutta. The first 10 years of her career are currently obscure. In 1801 she made a voyage to England for the British East India Company (EIC), and then was briefly registered in England. She returned to India to continue to sail as a "country ship" until she was sold to Portuguese or Spanish owners in 1811. She returned to British ownership circa 1816 and made a second voyage for the EIC, this time from China to England. She returned to English registry and made one voyage to India under a license from the EIC. She then switched to sailing between Liverpool and Quebec and was lost in the Atlantic around 1822.
HMS Camel was launched in 1812 at Calcutta as Severn. She sailed to England where the navy purchased her for use as a troopship and transport. She had an uneventful naval career and the navy sold her in 1831. Her new owner returned her to her name of Severn. She made one voyage to Bengal and back for the British East India Company (EIC). She continued to trade with India but disappeared circa 1841.
Lady Lushington was launched in 1808. Then in 1809 the British East India Company (EIC) chartered her. She made four voyages to India for the EIC and several others while under a license from the EIC. She was on a voyage to India under a license from the EIC when she was wrecked on 10 August 1821.
Surat Castle was launched at Surat in 1788 as a country ship, that is, a vessel that traded around and from India, staying east of the Cape of Good Hope. She originally was intended for the cotton trade with China. From 1796 to 1817 she made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made one more voyage under a license from the EIC. She made one more voyage to India, this time under a licence from the EIC and then disappeared from easily accessible online sources after her sale in 1819.
David Scott was launched at Bombay in 1801. She was a "country ship", i.e., she generally traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1802 and 1816 she made five voyages between India and the United Kingdom as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she traded between Britain and India under a license from the EIC. A fire destroyed her at Mauritius on 12 June 1841.
Lord Collingwood was launched in 1806 at South Shields. She initially served as a transport. Then from 1816 on she started sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). In 1828 her crew abandoned Lord Collingwood at sea.
References
Bulley, Anne (2000). The Bombay Country Ships, 1790–1833. Routledge. ISBN978-0700712366.
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1814). Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping. H.M. Stationery Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1816). Parliamentary Papers. Vol.10.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Milburn, William (1813). Oriental Commerce: Containing a Geographical Description of the Principal Places in the East Indies, China, and Japan, with Their Produce, Manufactures, and Trade. Vol.1. Black, Parry & Company.
Phipps, John (1840). A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time ... Scott.
Anon. (1809) Reports and Papers on the Impolicy of Employing Indian Built Ships in the Trade of the East-India Company, and of Admitting Them to British Registry: With Observation on Its Injurious Consequences to the Landed and Shipping Interests, and to the Numerous Branches of Trade Dependent on the Building and Equipment of British-built Ships. (Blacks and Parry).
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