Iris (1783 ship)

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History
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameIris
Owner
BuilderLiverpool
Launched1783
FateCondemned December 1800
General characteristics
Tons burthen260, [4] or 268, [5] or 285 [1] [6] (bm)
Length93 ft 6 in (28.5 m) [7]
Beam26 ft 0 in (7.9 m) [7]
PropulsionSail
Complement
Armament
  • 1795: 10 × 4-pounder guns [5]
  • 1797:12 × 4-pounder guns [5]
  • 1799:6 × 18-pounder
NotesTwo decks; three masts [7]

Iris was launched at Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In all she made eight voyages (1783-1800) transporting captives from West Africa to the Caribbean. She also made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) to Bengal and back (1795-1796). She was condemned in Jamaica in December 1800 as unseaworthy.

Contents

Career

Iris entered Lloyd's Register in 1783 with Kirvinton, master, Backhouse, owner, and trade Liverpool–Africa. [4]

1st voyage transporting enslaved people (1783-1785): Captain Thomas Holliday sailed from Liverpool on 16 November 1783 bound for the Gold Coast with a crew of 51. Iris started gathering her captives on 6 February 1784 at Cape Coast Castle. She sailed from Africa on 28 August and arrived at Jamaica on 30 October. She had embarked 500 captives and she disembarked 448, for a loss rate of 10.4%. On 17 December Iris sailed from Jamaica; she arrived back at Liverpool on 3 February 1785. [1]

2nd voyage transporting enslaved people (1787-1789): Captain Peter Potter sailed from Liverpool on 20 March 1787, bound for the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands. Iris gathered her captives at Calabar and arrived at Montego Bay on 5 September 1788, with 423 captives. She had left Liverpool with 42 crew members and had lost 10 on the voyage. Iris left Jamaica on 24 November, and arrived at Liverpool on 5 February 1789. [2]

3rd voyage transporting enslaved people (1790-1791): Captain George Greaves sailed from Liverpool on 12 April 1790, bound for the Bight of Biafra. Iris arrived at Montego Bay on 26 November 1790, with 401 captives. She had a crew of 31, of whom seven died. Iris left Jamaica on 21 January 1791 and arrived at Liverpool on 18 March 1791. [3]

4th voyage transporting enslaved people (1791-1792): Captain Greaves sailed from Liverpool on 26 June 1791, bound for the Bight of Biafra. She arrived at Africa on 24 August 1791 and gathered her captives at Bonny Island. She left Africa on 5 January 1792 and arrived at Jamaica on 28 February 92. She had embarked 350 captives and landed 345, for a loss rate of 1.4%. She had a crew of 30 men, three of whom died on the voyage. Iris arrived back at Liverpool on 3 June 1792. [9]

After the passage of Dolben's Act, masters received a bonus of £100 for a mortality rate of under 2%; the ship's surgeon received £50. For a mortality rate between two and three per cent, the bonus was halved. There was no bonus if mortality exceeded 3%. [10]

5th voyage transporting enslaved people (1792-1793): Captain Thomas Huson sailed from Liverpool on 8 July 1792, bound for the Gold Coast. Iris started gathering her captives at Anomabu on 1 September. She sailed from Africa on 1 April 1793, and arrived at St Vincent on 8 May. She had embarked 340 captives, of whom only two died, for a loss rate of 0.6%. She had a crew of 37, of whom four died. Iris arrived back at Liverpool on 30 June. [11]

Lloyd's Register for 1795 showed that Iris was almost rebuilt in 1794. It also showed her master changing from Huson to Salisbury, and her trade from Liverpool–Africa to Liverpool–Bengal. [12]

EIC voyage (1795-1796): Captain John B. Salisbury acquired a letter of marque on 20 August 1795. [5] He sailed from Liverpool on 13 September 1795, bound for Bengal. Iris arrived at Calcutta on 23 February 1796. On her homeward leg she reached St Helena on 14 July and arrived at The Downs on 4 November. [8]

6th voyage transporting enslaved people (1797-1798): Captain John Spencer acquired a letter of marque on 29 March 1797. [5] He sailed from Liverpool on 23 April 1797, bound for West Central Africa and St Helena (i.e., present day Angola). [13] In 1797, 104 vessels sailed from British ports, bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 90 sailed from Liverpool. [14]

Iris arrived at Jamaica on 2 November, where she disembarked 405 captives. She had 35 crew members, of whom two died. Iris left Jamaica on 13 January 1798 and arrived back at Liverpool on 3 March. [13]

7th voyage transporting enslaved people (1797-1798): Captain Spencer sailed from Liverpool on 8 June 1798, bound for the Bight of Biafra. [15] In 1798, 160 vessels sailed from British ports, bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 149 sailed from Liverpool. Ths was the largest number in the period 1795–1804. [14]

Spencer drowned at Bonny on 20 or 30 August. [16] His first mate, George Cannon, took over command. Iris acquired captives at Bonny and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, on 4 November, where she disembarked 414 captives. Iris sailed from Jamaica on 12 February 1799 and arrived at Liverpool on 12 April. She had left Liverpool with a crew of 40 men; nine crew members died on the voyage. [15]

8th voyage transporting enslaved people (1799-1800): Captain George Cannon acquired a letter of marque on 17 June 1799. He sailed from Liverpool on 5 July 1799. [17] In 1799, 156 vessels sailed from British ports, bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 134 sailed from Liverpool. [14]

Iris arrived at Jamaica on 6 August 1800. She had embarked 447 captives and she disembarked 409, for a loss rate of 8.5%. She had 44 crewmen, 10 of whom died on the voyage. [17]

Fate

Iris departed Kingston. After leaving port she encountered bad weather. On 12 December Lloyd's List reported that Iris, "Cannell", master, had put back into Kingston leaky. [18] Iris was condemned there as unseaworthy. [17]

In 1800, 34 British vessels in the triangular trade were lost, four of them on the homeward bound leg. [19] Although Iris succumbed to a maritime mishap, 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 enslaving vessels. [20]

Notes

  1. ↑ The full list was: William Rutson, Thomas & John Backhouse, John & Thomas Hodgson, and William Dickson. [1]
  2. ↑ The full list was: John Galley, Peter Potter, Thomas Pickop, Charles Bromfield, and Elijah Cobham. [2]
  3. ↑ The full list was: Ralph Fisher, Joseph Birch, James Wedderburn, and James Gibson. [3]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81912.
  2. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81913.
  3. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81914.
  4. 1 2 Lloyd's Register (1783), Seq. №IJ701.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Letter of Marque, p.69 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  6. ↑ Hackman (2001), p. 235.
  7. 1 2 3 Craig & Jarvis (1967), p. 62.
  8. 1 2 British Library: Iris.
  9. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81915.
  10. ↑ Howley (2008), p. 151.
  11. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81916.
  12. ↑ Lloyd's List (1795), Seq. №IJ473.
  13. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81917.
  14. 1 2 3 Williams (1897), p. 680.
  15. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81918.
  16. ↑ Behrendt (1990), p. 136.
  17. 1 2 3 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Iris voyage #81919.
  18. ↑ Lloyd's List №4110.
  19. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
  20. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 58.

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Banastre, was built at Ringsend, Dublin, in 1759, though under what name is unclear. By 1787 she was in the hands of the Tarletons and Daniel Backhouse of Liverpool. She made five complete voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade, transporting enslaved people from West Africa to the Caribbean. On her first voyage an incident in which one enslaver fired on her led to a landmark court case. A French warship captured her in 1793 as she was on her way from West Africa to Jamaica on her sixth voyage transporting captives.

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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.

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.

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.

Old Dick was launched at Bermuda in 1789. She sailed to England and was lengthened in 1792. From 1792 on she made two full voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her second she recaptured two British merchant ships. She was lost in 1796 at Jamaica after having landed her third cargo of captives.

Vulture was built in France 1777 and captured. By early 1779 she was sailing as a privateer out of Liverpool. She then became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made 10 voyages transporting enslaved people and was captured in 1795 on her 11th such voyage.

Dispatch was built in Bermuda in 1784 and came to England possibly as early as 1786. In 1792 she made a voyage as a slave ship carrying slaves from Africa to the West Indies in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was then briefly a privateer before returning to the slave trade. The French captured her in 1795 while she was on her third slave trading voyage.

Prince was launched at Bristol in 1785 as Alexander and then made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Her owners changed her name to Prince in 1787. As Prince, she made six more complete voyages as an enslaving ship. She sailed on enslaving voyages for owners in Bristol, Liverpool, and London. She foundered in 1800 as she was returning to England from her ninth, having delivered captives to Jamaica.

Several ships have been named John:

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.

Betsey was launched in 1790 at Liverpool as a slave ship. She made six complete voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her second such voyage she, together with five other slave ships, bombarded Calabar for more than three hours to force the local native traders to lower the prices they were charging for captives. A French privateer captured her in 1799 after she had delivered her captives on her seventh voyage.

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.

Bell was launched in 1788 in Liverpool. Between 1788 and 1795 she made five voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in 1798 on her sixth enslaving voyage after she had embarked her captives. In 1798, the Royal Navy destroyed her.

Ranger was launched in Liverpool in 1789. She made four complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French privateer captured her in 1796 in a single ship action during her fifth voyage transporting enslaved people. She was recaptured, but thereafter disappears from online records.

Bud was launched at Liverpool in 1783. Between 1783 and 1800 she made 12 complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In 1796 she repelled an attack by a faster, better armed, and more heavily crewed French privateer in a single ship action. Then in 1798, a French privateer captured her in another single ship action after Bud's short but sanguinary resistance. The Royal Navy quickly captured her, and her captor. On her 13th enslaving voyage she was condemned at Kingston, Jamaica after she had arrived with her captives.

References

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