| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Duchess of Rutland |
| Namesake | Duchess of Rutland |
| Builder | Dublin, [1] Ireland [2] |
| Launched | 1786 [2] |
| Captured | 1797 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | |
| Complement | 12 [3] |
Duchess of Rutland (or Dutchess of Rutland) was launched in 1786 in Dublin. She carried passengers between England and Ireland. In 1793 she apparently transferred to Liverpool and sailed from there as a West Indiaman. She was on a voyage to Barbados when a French privateer captured her in 1797.
Duchess of Rutland first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1789. [2] She appears to have carried passengers between England and Ireland, with her owners being a group of Holyhead packet captains. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1789 | B.Stewart | Cunningham | Greenock–Ireland | LR |
| 1792 | B.Stewart | Cunningham | Greenock–Ireland | LR |
Duchess of Rutland was last listed in LR in 1793. Dutchess of Rugland apparently had been sold to owners in Liverpool, who had her lengthened. She appeared in the Register of Shipping in 1800. It showed her master as T. Keen, owner J.Jackson, and trading out of Liverpool. [1] However, this represented stale data as Duchess of Rutland had been captured several years earlier.
Duchess of Rutland, Keen, master, was sailing from Liverpool to Barbados when in late 1797 she encountered the French privateer Vengeance, a cutter of 20 guns and 200 men. Vengeance captured Duchess of Rutland at 46°41′N21°31′W / 46.683°N 21.517°W . [4] [lower-alpha 1]
The ship that became Mary Ann was built in 1772 in France and the British captured her c. 1778. Her name may have been Ariadne until 1786 when she started to engage in whaling. Next, as Mary Ann, she made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales from England. In 1794 the French captured her, but by 1797 she was back in her owners' hands. She then made a slave trading voyage. Next, she became a West Indiaman, trading between London or Liverpool to Demerara. It was on one of those voyages in November 1801 that a French privateer captured her.
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.
Elliott was launched at Liverpool in 1783. She made ten voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade, carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. Next, she made one voyage as a whaler. She then became a merchantman, sailing between England and South America. In November 1807 French privateers captured her.
Enterprize was launched in France in 1797. The British captured her in 1803 and new owners sailed on four voyages as a slave ship. She twice recaptured British vessels, one a slave ship and one a merchant vessel, and once repelled an attack by a French privateer. Circa 1808 she left the slave trade and new owners sailed her to South America, where she was wrecked in 1810.
Recovery was built at Liverpool in 1793. She was a West Indiaman that sailed under a letter of marque. The French privateer Courageaux captured her in 1799. She returned to British ownership by 1800 and continued to trade until she foundered in June 1818 on her way from Hull to Miramichi Bay.
Horatio was launched in 1800 at Liverpool. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During two of these voyages she was captured and recaptured. Shortly before the British slave trade ended she left the slave trade and sailed between Britain and South America and as a West Indiaman. She was wrecked in 1817.
Cicero was launched at Sunderland in 1796 and initially sailed as a West Indiaman. She was briefly captured in 1799 in a single-ship action with a French privateer. Later, she went whale hunting both in the northern whale fishery (1803-1808), and the southern whale fishery (1816-1823). She capsized at Limerick in September 1832 and was condemned there.
Duchess of Portland was launched at Bristol in 1783. She was primarily a West Indiaman. However, she made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, and two as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She then became a transport. The US Navy captured her in 1812. She was in ballast and her captors burnt her.
Camilla was built in France in 1799 and was taken in prize by the British. Camillia first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1800 with Caitchern, master, Swane & Co., owners, and trade London–Barbados. Captain Robert Hunter Caitchion acquired a letter of marque on 20 August 1800.
Defiance was launched in Hamburg in 1790, probably under another name. She started sailing as a slave ship out of London in 1795. Between 1795 and 1800 she made three voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then left that trade but a French privateer captured her late in 1800.
Wright was a merchantman launched at Shields in 1794. From 1797 to 1801 she was a hired armed ship for the British Royal Navy during which service she captured a French privateer. She then returned to mercantile service, sailing out of Newcastle, first as a transport and then trading between Newcastle and Charleston. She was captured circa December 1809.
Several ships have been named Duchess of Rutland for one of the Duchesses of Rutland.
Agreeable was launched at Bermuda in 1786, probably under a different name. French owners acquired her at some point and sailed her as Agréable. In 1793 the British captured her. Subsequently, between 1793 and 1808, she made six voyages as a slave ship, alternating between the triangular trade in enslaved people, and sailing as a regular West Indiaman. French privateers captured her between the second and third voyages, and the third and fourth voyages, but each time the British Royal Navy recaptured her. In the case of the second capture she was in French hands long enough for them to send her out as a privateer. She herself captured an American vessel in 1808 as she was returning to Liverpool from her last enslaving voyage. After the end of British participation in trans-Atlantic enslaving trade, Agreeable traded more widely, particularly to South America. She was condemned at Buenos Aires in 1814 after running aground in the River Plate. She was repaired and continue to sail to Brazil until she returned to Liverpool in June 1819.
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.
Several vessels have been named Venus for the planet Venus or the Roman goddess Venus:
Prosperity was launched in Strangford in 1788. She traded in the area and then to Dominica. From 1792 she made two voyages as a slave ship in the Atlantic triangular slave trade. On both voyages French privateers captured her. In the first case the Royal Navy recaptured her and she completed her voyage. In the second case her captor sent her into France.
Mercury's origins are obscure. She may have been launched in New York in 1774, possibly under another name. In 1793 she made one voyage as a slave ship in the Atlantic triangular slave trade. A French privateer captured Mercury, but the Royal Navy recaptured her.
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.
Battalion was launched at Whitby in 1795. She traded with the Baltic and then in 1796 became a Liverpool-based West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her in 1797 in a single ship action as Battalion was outbound on her first voyage to Jamaica. The Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1797.
Oiseau was a privateer brig from Nantes, commissioned in May 1797. She had a short, but highly successful career. In her three to four months of cruising, before the Royal Navy captured her, Oiseau's captured eight prizes, seven of which were not recaptured. Her first prize required a single ship action. Her prizes had a cumulative value of Livres 1,168,150.