| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Liberty |
| Builder | Broadstairs [1] [2] |
| Launched | 1784 |
| Fate | Burnt 9 March 1805 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 260, [3] or 264, [2] or 400 [4] (bm) |
| Armament | 2 × 6-pounder guns [1] |
Liberty was built at Broadstairs in 1784 as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage to the West Indies for the British East India Company (EIC) in 1795. A French squadron burnt her at Montserrat in 1805
Liberty first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1784 with R. Carey, master, Blackman, owner, and trade London–Barbados. The entry also showed her as "British" built. [4]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1785 | R. Carey | J. Blackman | London–Barbados | LR |
| 1790 | Carey | Blackman | London–Barbados | LR |
| 1795 | Carey | Blackman | London–Barbados | LR [3] |
In 1795 Captain Richard Carey sailed Liberty to the West Indies on a voyage for the EIC. Liberty sailed from Dunnose, Isle of Wight, on 25 May, and arrived at Barbados on 25 July. She was at St Eustatia on 2 August, and arrived back at Portsmouth on 3 October. [5] The reason for the voyage on behalf of the EIC is obscure.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1797 | R. Carey W. Merriton | Blackman Captain | London–Barbados London-Grenada | LR |
| 1799 | Merriton Jn. Litson | Captain & Co. | London–Barbados | LR |
| 1800 | J. Litson | "Bawii & Co." | London–Barbados | LR; [1] good repair in 1799g |
| 1800 | J. Ledson | Lester & Co. | London–Barbados | Register of Shipping (RS); [2] good repair 1799; |
| 1805 | J. Litsen Heppinstal | Bawbrook | London–Montserrat | LR;Small repairs 1801 & 1804 |
| 1805 | Heppinstal | Boddington | London–Montserrat | RS; repairs 1801 & good repair 1804 |
On 9 March 1805 a French squadron from Rochefort burnt Liberty, of London, Heppinstal, master, Hamilton, Derbyshire, master, and Sarah, of Liverpool, Jacks, master, at Montserrat. [6]
Boyd was a brigantine built in 1783 on the Thames, England. She originally traded as a West Indiaman, sailing between London and Saint Kitts. Then between 1795 and 1797 she performed a voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). The French captured her as she was homeward bound, but her owners repurchased her in 1803. In 1804 the French captured her again, but the Royal Navy recaptured her and returned her to her owners. In 1809 she transported convicts to New South Wales for the British government. After delivering the convicts she sailed to New Zealand where Maori warriors attacked her, killing, and eating, almost her entire crew and passengers. They then burnt her.
Alexander, was built in France in 1791, possibly under a different name. She was taken as a prize and her new owners renamed her Alexander. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC), and then became a slave ship, making four voyages between 1798 and 1807. After 1807 she sailed between Liverpool and Demerara. She is last listed in 1811.
Backhouse was launched at Hull in 1799 as a West Indiaman. Mather & Co. purchased her in 1800 and then employed her on two whaling voyages to the Southern Whale Fishery. They sold her in 1805 and her new owner sailed her to the West Indies. In September 1806, as she was homeward-bound, her crew burned her as she was too leaky to continue.
Tuscan was built at Hull in 1793. She reportedly made one voyage for British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1798, but she returned to British hands c.1805. She was wrecked at Memel in November 1823.
Nancy was launched in 1792 and traded with Quebec. In 1793 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return, the Sierra Leone Company purchased her, one of several vessels the company purchased to support their colony for Free Blacks. As she traded with Sierra Leone, a French privateer captured her, though the British Royal Navy recaptured her only days later. She then traded more widely. A French squadron captured her in 1805 and burnt her.
King George was launched in 1784 and made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1785 and 1798. She also participated in the invasion of St Lucia. In 1798 her owners sold her and she became a West Indiaman. An accident in 1800 at Jamaica destroyed her.
Royal Edward was launched in 1782 in France as Alexandre. The British captured her c.1796, and new owners changed her name. She then sailed for a few years as a West Indiaman before completing four voyages as a slave ship. She returned to the West India trade after leaving the slave trade, and then traded more generally. She was condemned as unseaworthy and broken up in Bengal in 1815.
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.
Lancaster was built in France in 1787. She entered British ownership c.1803. In 1805 made one voyage as a slave ship during which a French privateer captured her in a single-ship action, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. She also recaptured a British ship. Thereafter she traded widely until she was last listed in 1825.
Busiris was launched at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1814 as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage as an East Indiaman and then returned to the West Indies trade. She was wrecked in May 1826.
Ceres was launched at Kolkata in August 1793 as Lutchmy and renamed in 1794. She sailed to England in 1798 and became a West Indiaman. She was condemned at Barbados in 1806. New owners returned her to service, first as a West Indiaman and then as an East Indiaman. She was damaged at Mauritius in 1818 and although she was listed until 1824, it is not clear that she sailed again after the damage she sustained in Mauritius.
Duchess of Portland was launched at Bristol in 1783. She was primarily a West Indiaman but made one voyage as a slave ship and two as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. The US Navy captured her in 1812 and burnt her.
Ganges was launched in 1799 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) bringing rice from Bengal for the British government. She then became a West Indiaman until the French navy captured her in 1805.
Sally was launched in 1782 at Liverpool as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage as a whaler and one as an East Indiaman sailing to Bengal under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). After a storm damaged her in 1805 as she was on her way in 1805 from Liverpool to Africa as a slave ship she had to put into Barbados where she was condemned.
Spy was built in France in 1780, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize. The British East India Company (EIC) purchased her in 1781 and used her for almost two years as a fast packet vessel and cruiser based in St Helena. It then sold her and she became a London-based slave ship, making two voyages carrying slaves from West Africa to the West Indies. She then became a whaler, making seven whaling voyages between 1786 and 1795. She was probably wrecked in August 1795 on a voyage as a government transport.
Tartar was built in France in 1778, almost surely under another name. She was taken in prize and appears under British ownership in 1780. After a short career as a privateer, she made a voyage between 1781 and 1783 as an extra East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler in the northern whale fishery. After whaling she traded with the Baltic and then served as a London-based transport. She was probably lost in 1799, and was last listed in 1801. If Tartar is the vessel lost in 1799, in 1796 French warships captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her.
Thames was launched in 1794 in London. The French captured her in late 1795, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her within weeks. She then disappeared from the Registers for some years. She reappeared as Thames in 1800, sailing as a West Indiaman. In 1802 new owners sailed her as a slave ship. She made one full voyage as a slave ship. French privateers captured her in 1805 after she had gathered slaves in West Africa but before she could deliver them to a port in the British Caribbean.
Thames was launched at Southampton in 1790. Until 1798 she sailed across the Atlantic, trading primarily with The Bahamas. She then became a slave ship, making seven slave trading voyages. After the abolition of the British slave trade in 1807, Thames returned to trading with the West Indies. A French privateer captured Thames on 17 July 1811 and burnt her.
Three Sisters was launched in 1788 as a West Indiaman. In 1795 she made one voyage to Bengal for the British East India Company (EIC). She then returned to the West Indies trade and was lost in February 1799 on her way to Barbados from London.
