| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Dart |
| Launched | 1787, Plymouth |
| Fate | Condemned 1802 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 210, [1] or 234, or 250 [2] (bm) |
| Complement | |
| Armament | |
Dart was launched at Plymouth in 1787. Dart initially traded with Newfoundland and then the Mediterranean. From 1797 she made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was condemned at Barbados in 1802 as she was returning to London after having delivered captives to Demerara.
A missing volume means Dart first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1789. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1789 | J.Jack J.Smith | Leigh & Co. St Barbe & Co. | London–Newfoundland London–Smyrna | LR; new deck and raised 1790 |
| 1791 | J.Smith J.Christal | St Barbe & Co. | London–Smyrna | LR; new deck and raised 1790 |
| 1793 | Wilkinson | Lubbock | London–Leghorn | LR; new deck and raised 1790 |
In 1797 John Bolton, a merchant of Liverpool, purchased Dart for the slave trade.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1797 | Wilkinson John Clare | Lubbock John Bolton | London–Leghorn Liverpool–Africa | LR; new deck and raised 1790 |
1st voyage transporting enslaved people (1797–1798): Captain John Clare sailed from Liverpool on 5 May 1797. [3] In 1797, 104 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for the trade in enslaved people; 90 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]
Dart acquired slaves in West Africa and Dart arrived at Martinique in April 1798 with 378 captives. Dart left Martinique on 16 May and arrived back at Liverpool on 29 June. She had left Liverpool with 34 crew members and had suffered seven crew deaths on her voyage. [3]
2nd voyage transporting enslaved people (1798–1800): Captain William Neal acquired a letter of marque on 10 August 1798. [2] He sailed from Liverpool on 8 September. [5] In 1798, 160 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for the trade in enslaved people; 149 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]
Dart arrived at Demerara on 20 July 1799 with 364 captives. [5] William Kneale had died on 1 July. [6] She sailed for Liverpool on 24 October with Thomas Waring as master and arrived there on 24 January 1800. She had left Liverpool with 35 crew members and had suffered 18 crew deaths on her voyage. [5]
3rd voyage transporting enslaved people (1800–1801): Captain Samuel Helmsley acquired a letter of marque on 28 April 1800. [2] He sailed from Liverpool on 21 May. [7] In 1800, 133 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for the trade in enslaved people; 120 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]
Dart arrived at Demerara on 1 December with 268 captives. She sailed from Demerara on 15 January 1801 and arrived at Liverpool on 11 March. She had left Liverpool with 41 crew members and she had suffered three crew deaths on her voyage. [7]
On 12 March 1801, HMS Leda recaptured the enslaving ship Bolton, a 20-gun letter of marque that had sailed from Demerara for Liverpool some six weeks previously in company with Union and Dart. These two vessels were also enslaving ships and letters of marque, all carrying valuable cargoes of sugar, coffee, indigo and cotton. During the voyage Union started to take on water so her crew transferred to Bolton. Then Bolton and Dart parted company in a gale.
4th voyage transporting enslaved people (1801–loss): Captain Helmsley sailed from Liverpool on 22 May 1801. [8] In 1801, 147 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for the trade in enslaved people; 122 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]
Dart acquired captives at the Congo River and Dart arrived at Demerara on 21 November 1801. [8]
Lloyd's List reported in June 1802 that Dart, Helmsley, master, had put into Barbados on her way from Demerara to London. She was condemned at Barbados. [9]
In 1802, 12 British enslaving vessels were lost. The census of losses for the year does not show any losses on the homeward-bound leg of the voyage. [10] Absent detailed histories of vessels it is not always easy to identify a vessel such as Dart as a Guineaman if the report of the loss does not. The Peace of Amiens meant that war was not a major source of losses that year. In general, though, 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 slave vessels. [11]
Dart's entry in Lloyd's Register for 1801 carried the annotation "Condemned". [12]
Will was a ship launched at Liverpool in 1797 for Aspinal & Co., who were one of Liverpool's leading slave-trading companies. She made numerous voyages between West Africa and the Caribbean in the triangular trade in enslaved people, during which she several times successfully repelled attacks by French privateers. Will apparently foundered in a squall in July 1806, shortly before the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the slave trade for British subjects.
HMS Duguay-Trouin was an 18-gun French privateer sloop launched in 1779 at Le Havre. Surprise captured her in 1780 and the British Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name. It sold Duguay-Trouin on 30 October 1783. She then became the West Indiaman Christopher. She captured several French merchant vessels. Later she became a Liverpool-based slave ship, making five voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost at Charleston in September 1804 in a hurricane.
Lord Nelson was launched in 1798 at Liverpool and subsequently made five voyages carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her first voyage she helped suppress a revolt on another vessel by that vessel's captives. This gave rise to an interesting case in salvage money. A French naval squadron captured Lord Nelson off Sierra Leone on her sixth voyage, before she had embarked any captives.
Otter was launched at Liverpool in 1797, initially as a West Indiaman. She made seven voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During her career she captured one merchantman and recaptured another. She was lost in 1807 on her way back to Britain from her seventh enslaving voyage.
Sarah was launched at Liverpool in 1797. She then made six voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. A French privateer captured Sarah in 1804 in a single-ship action on her seventh voyage after Sarah had gathered her slaves but before she could deliver them to the West Indies.
Byam was a snow launched at Oban, or possibly Padstow, in 1800. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured and burnt her in late 1807 or early 1808 as she was about to deliver the captives from her fifth voyage.
Hannah was built in Liverpool in 1795. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade of enslaved people. She was lost in 1801 as she was returning home after having delivered her captives on her fourth voyage.
Windsor Castle was launched at Whitby in 1783. Initially she was primarily a West Indiaman. Then from 1797 she made five voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She foundered off Bermuda in 1803 after having disembarked her captives.
Angola was launched in 1799 at Lancaster. She became a Liverpool-based slave ship that had made four voyages in the triangular trade, carrying captives from West Africa to the West Indies. The French captured her in 1804 on her fifth voyage. Her captors renamed her Tigre, but the Royal Navy recaptured her late in 1804.
Roe was launched in France in 1787, almost certainly under another name. She was taken in prize and became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in 1798, as she was on her way home after she had delivered captives to Demerara.
King George was a French ship that the British captured circa 1797. Her new owners renamed her and employed her as a Liverpool-based slave ship. She made three complete voyages in the triangular trade, transporting enslaved peoples from Africa to the West Indies. She was lost on her fourth voyage in February 1803 as she returned to Liverpool after having delivered captives to Havana.
Caroline was a ship launched in France in 1792, possibly under another name. She was taken in prize in 1794 and sailed first as a West Indiaman, then as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery, and finally as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost in 1801, after she had delivered her captives to Kingston, Jamaica on her second voyage from Africa.
Bolton was launched at Liverpool in 1792. She then made 10 voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During her career she repelled one attack by a French privateer, was captured on a later voyage by another before being recaptured by the Royal Navy, and then was captured on her tenth voyage by yet another privateer after Bolton had gathered her captives but before she was able to deliver them to the West Indies. Bolton returned to British ownership, first sailing as West Indiaman, before embarking on an 11th enslaving voyage. She blew up on the African coast in 1806 after some of the captives aboard her succeeded in taking her over and setting fire to her.
Union was a ship that first appeared in records in 1799. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people but foundered on her way home.
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.
Ellis was a French prize, captured in 1797, possibly built that year also. Liverpool merchants purchased her. She made five complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the British West Indies. She was lost at sea on 23 April 1806 on her sixth voyage before she could take on any captives.
Beaver was launched in 1796 at Liverpool. She made seven complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved persons. She was captured and retaken once, in 1804, and captured a second time in 1807, during her eighth voyage.
Elizabeth was launched at Liverpool in 1798. She made five complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Spanish privateers captured her in 1805 while she was on her sixth voyage after she had embarked enslave people and took her into Montevideo.
Aeolus was built in Liverpool. Between 1787 and 1806 she made 13 voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On one voyage she repelled an attack by a French privateer in a single ship action. She was last listed in 1808.
Urania was launched in 1795 in Spain and taken in prize. Starting in 1800 she made three voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During the third voyage she was involved in two engagements with French vessels. She was so damaged in the second of these that she was condemned in 1804 after she landed her slaves at Demerara.