Earl Spencer (ship)

Last updated March 26, 2019

Several British vessels were named Earl Spencer for one or another of the members of the Spencer family:

Earl Spencer is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created on 1 November 1765, along with the title Viscount Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, for John Spencer, 1st Viscount Spencer. He was a member of the prominent Spencer family and a great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Previously, he had been created Viscount Spencer, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, and Baron Spencer of Althorp, of Althorp in the County of Northampton, on 3 April 1761.

Merchant vessels
- Earl Spencer (1795 EIC ship) was an East Indiaman, launched in 1795 for the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages for the EIC until in 1811-12 the government took her up to transport convicts to Australia in 1813. On her return voyage from Australia she sailed via China, where she carried a cargo back to England for the EIC. She was last listed in 1820.
- Earl Spencer (1799 ship) was a Brazilian-built ship that enters Lloyd's Register in 1799. She made two seal-hunting voyages to South Georgia between 1799 and 1802, being wrecked there on the second.
- Earl Spencer (1800 ship) was a French prize that became a privateer in 1800. After the Peace of Amiens she became a merchant vessel that traded between London and Gibraltar. She apparently was condemned then, perhaps after having received damage at Gibraltar.
- Earl Spencer (1801) was a ship of 235 tons (bm), launched at Newfoundland in 1801. In 1802 her master was Captain G. Craft, and her owner B. Lester.^[1] Although the Register of Shipping has her trade as Portsmouth—Newfoundland, on 9 March 1802 Lloyd's List reported that she had wrecked at Gibraltar on her way from Newfoundland.^[2] The Register has the notation "Lost" against her name.^[1] However, this appears to be an error as Lloyd's Register continues to carry her through 1808 as trading to Newfoundland under Craft's command. However, another Earl Spencer, with trade London—Gibraltar, is last listed in 1803.
- PS Earl Spencer (1874) was a paddle steamer passenger vessel that the London and North Western Railway operated from 1877 to 1896.
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts, especially those recently released from prison, is "ex-con" ("ex-convict"). Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences tend not to be described as "convicts".
Earl Spencer was a Brazilian-built ship, that entered Lloyd's Register in 1799 as foreign built, with later editions specifying "Brazil". She made two seal-hunting voyages to South Georgia between 1799 and 1802, being wrecked there on the second.
Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and business services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and engineering. The organisation dates to 1760. Its stated aims are to enhance the safety of life, property, and the environment, by helping its clients to ensure the quality construction and operation of critical infrastructure.

Earl Spencer was an East Indiaman, launched in 1795 for the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages for the EIC until in 1811-12 the government took her up to transport convicts to Australia in 1813. On her return voyage from Australia she sailed via China, where she carried a cargo back to England for the EIC.

East Indiaman general name for any ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies

"East Indiaman" was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is therefore used to refer to vessels belonging to the Danish, Dutch (Oostindiëvaarder), English, French, Portuguese, or Swedish (ostindiefarare) East India companies.

The East India Company (EIC), also known as the Honourable East India Company (HEIC) or the British East India Company and informally as John Company, Company Bahadur, or simply The Company, was an English and later British joint-stock company. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with Mughal India and the East Indies, and later with Qing China. The company ended up seizing control over large parts of the Indian subcontinent, colonised parts of Southeast Asia, and colonised Hong Kong after a war with Qing China.

Hired armed vessels : The British Royal Navy employed under contract three vessels named Earl Spencer, two of which, both cutters, served at the same time between 1799 and 1801. A third, variously referred to as a tender or cutter, served from 1803 to 1814.
- Hired armed cutter Earl Spencer

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the British Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying despatches and passengers to convoy escort, particularly in British coastal waters, and reconnaissance.

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years War against the Kingdom of France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is known as the Senior Service.

Three hired armed cutters named Earl Spencer served the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary or Napoleonic Wars. Two, both cutters, served at the same time between 1799 and 1801. A third, variously referred to as a tender or cutter, served from 1803 to 1814.

Citations

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Related Research Articles

Britannia may refer to a number of ships:

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.

Earl of Mornington, was a merchant vessel of 500 tons burthen (bm) built at Bombay Dockyard of teak and launched in 1766 or 1768. She made three voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) under the command of captain Benjamin Ferguson. She does not appear in Lloyd's Register until 1804 and no longer appears in either Lloyd's Register or in the Register of Shipping in 1810.

The British East India Company (EIC) had Whim built for use as a fast dispatch vessel. She was sold in 1802 and became a whaler that a French privateer captured and released, and then a merchant vessel. She is no longer listed after 1822.

Earl Spencer was a French prize that became a British privateer in 1800. After the Peace of Amiens she became a merchant vessel that traded between London and Gibraltar. She apparently was condemned in 1802, perhaps after having received damage there.

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.

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.

Nutwell was launched at Great Yarmouth in 1800. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she became a West Indiaman, trading with Jamaica, until the 1806 Great Coastal hurricane overturned her.

Active was a French ship launched in 1793. She came into British hands circa 1799 as a prize. Peter Everitt Mestaer purchased her and named her Active. She made one voyage to India for the British East India Company, which held a monopoly at the time on trade between Great Britain and India or China. From 1802 she was a London-based merchantman, trading first with Hamburg and then more generally. She was last listed in 1815.

Earl St Vincent was launched in 1798 at Gatcombe, on the Severn. She initially traded between Bristol and Jamaica. She then made one voyage as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter, for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she again traded with the West Indies until she was captured in 1806.

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.

Gabriel was launched at Calcutta in 1794 to serve as a "country ship", trading in the East Indies. Even so, she made at least two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She wrecked in 1801 during the expedition to the Red Sea.

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.

Kingston was launched at Bristol in 1780 as a West Indiaman. From 1798 she made ten voyages as a whaler. She then briefly sailed between England and Quebec, and is last listed in 1819.

Paragon was launched at Whitby in 1800. Between 1803 and 1805 she served as an armed defense ship protecting Britain's coasts and convoys. She then served as a transport on the 1805 naval expedition to capture the Cape of Good Hope. Next, she returned to mercantile service and in 1814 a French privateer captured her, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her the next day. She sailed to India in 1818 under a license from the British East India Company (EIC}, and was wrecked in March 1819 while inbound to Calcutta.

Fishburn was launched at Sunderland in 1799. She originally traded between England and Riga, where the Russian government seized her in 1800. The seizure gave rise to two court cases, one concerning a crewmember's claim for wages during her detention and one arising out of her owner's sale of Fishburn during the detention. New owners changed her trade to Liverpool–Honduras or Yucatan. She was wrecked in 1803 while sailing from Honduras back to London.

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.

Several vessels have been named Recovery:

[RS1802-1] 1 2 Register of Shipping (1802), Seq. №39.

[2] Lloyd's List №4236.