Lucy Maria or Lucy and Maria was launched at Calcutta in 1801. She made one voyage to England carrying rice from Bengal on behalf of the British East India Company (EIC). She was seized at Amboyna in 1804 and then sailed as the Dutch ship Victoria. The British recaptured her in 1806 and new owners renamed her Troubridge and later renamed her Lucy Maria. As Troubridge she served as a transport for two invasions, that of Mauritius in 1810 and Java in 1811. She was broken up in 1821.
Lucy Maria cost sicca rupees 191,000 (c.£38,200) to build.[9] She was built of teak and her actual carrying capacity (as distinct from her registered burthen), may have been on the order of 1300 tons.[6]
Captain Walter James,[10] or more correctly Walter Dawes,[1][11] sailed Lucy Maria from Calcutta on 7 February 1801, bound for England. She was at Saugor on 21 March and Simon's Bay on 31 July. She reached Saint Helena on 19 August and arrived at The Downs on 31 October.[10] She was one of several vessels that delivered rice that the EIC offered for sale in December.[12] The EIC offered the last 20 bags of rice from her in March 1802.[13]
Lucy Maria had sailed with 86 lascars as crew. Twenty-two of these men died on the voyage, and 20 were sick on their arrival in England.[14]
On 26 February 1802 Lucy and Maria was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain.[5] She entered the Register of Shipping in 1802 with Dawes, master, Capt. & Co. owner, and trade London–Bengal.[4]
Dutch ownership
Lloyd's List reported on 21 August 1804 that a French squadron under the command of Admiral Linois' had captured Lucy Maria, and some other vessels, prior to 28 February as she was sailing from Bengal to China.[15][16]
However, that report was in error. Lucy Maria, Dawes, master, had put into Ambonya, having lost most of her crew to sickness. There the Dutch took possession of her and sent her to Batavia.[17] Captain Dawes survived for a few more days after her departure, but then died. Only three members of her crew survived. They arrived at Madras in the grabNancy, from Tranquebar.[18]
The two Royal Navy vessels encountered a Dutch squadron consisting of the Dutch national frigate Pallas, Dutch East India CompanycorvetteWilliam, Dutch East Indiaman Victoria (or in some sources Vittoria), of about 800 tons (bm), and Dutch East Indiaman Batavier, of some 500 tons (bm). The British captured all but William, which escaped.[19]
The Asiatic Annual Register... reported under the rubric "Bengal — Occurrences for October, 1806" that one of the Dutch vessels that Greyhound and Harrier had captured was Lucy Maria. The article does not specify whether she was Victoria or Batavier, but Lucy Maria better fits the size descriptions of Victoria. The article also reports that Dawes had put into Ambonya because of sickness amongst his crew, and that he too had died of the disease.[20] Another source confirms that Victoria was Lucy Maria.[7]
The British prizes were sold in India.
British ownership
New owners renamed Victoria. Apparently she became Troubridge, or Trowbridge.[6] In 1810 her master appears to have been Captain Samuel Gourley, who however died in Bengal.[21]
In 1810 the British Government detached Bombay Anna and Minerva, and two Calcutta ships, Oxford and Troubridge, from the rest of the transports and sent the four to the Cape of Good Hope to gather reinforcements. The governor there, Lord Caledon, delayed their departure. They were armed and received a naval officer to command them. (They may thereafter have been styled briefly as HM hired armed ships.) They arrived at Mauritius too late to participate in the attack.[22]Troubridge's naval commander may have been Lieutenant Thomas Mansel; obituaries describe him as her commander and state that he participated in the invasion.[23][lower-alpha 1]
Trowbridge, Fairlie, Fergusson, and Co., owners, appeared in a list of vessels belonging to the port of Calcutta in January 1811.
Troubridge served as a transport during the British invasion of Java in 1811.[8] She was part of the second division, which sailed from Malacca on 11 June 1811.[26]
On 2 October 1813 there occurred a trial on Java under a British judge and before an Anglo-Dutch jury. Troubridge's third mate, a gunner, and another crewman were charged with having kidnapped a young girl at Sambas, in Borneo, and attempted to sell her as a slave at Semarang on 23 August. The jury found them "Not guilty". Troubridge's master was Captain Humphreys.[27] On 10 October Troubridge sailed from Java for Bengal with Major General Gillespie.[28]
By 1815 or so Troubridge had reverted to the name Lucy Maria. The East-India Register and Directory for 1819 gives the name of Lucy Maria's owner as Fairlie & Co., and her port of registry as Calcutta.[3]
In 1816 Lucy and Maria, Captain A. Barclay, transported the 72nd Regiment of Foot from Calcutta to Mauritius and the Cape of Good Hope. This trip was mentioned in an article in the Edinburgh Literary Journal of 1830 — Quote: ❝ I avail myself of this opportunity of mentioning another instance of voracity of the shark, which came under my own observation in 1814 [actually, 1815–16], when in command of the ship Lucy and Maria, engaged by the Hon. East India Company to convey his Majesty’s 72d regiment from Calcutta to the Cape of Good Hope. On the passage, during a calm, one of the privates was sitting in a port of the lower gun-deck, eating peas-soup out of an English quart tin pot; and, by carelessness, let the pot, with a portion of the soup, fall from his hand overboard; almost immediately after this, it was intimated to me a large shark was caught by the hook; a rope was got over his body, and he was hauled on deck. As he was considered a very large one, most of the officers (sixteen in number) of the regiment, with myself, attended to examine the contents of the stomach, and, to our surprise, the tin pot entire, which the man had dropt overboard, was taken from the shark. Major-General Monckton, who commanded the regiment, was present; Captain Moses Campbell, now on the retired list, and Lieut. Gowan, on the recruiting-service, at present at Glasgow, were likewise witnesses to the circumstance.[29]❞
Then in August 1817 Lucy and Maria delivered the 80rd Regiment of Foot to Portsmouth. Lt. Col. John Ashley Sturt, the commander of the regiment, presented Barclay with a piece of plate on behalf of the officers of the regiment as a token of appreciation for Barclay's kindness and professionalism.[30]
Lucy Maria sailed from Portsmouth on 29 September and from the Cape on 23 December. She arrived at Madras in February 1818. She sailed for Calcutta on 13 February. She brought with her 250 ships' letters, and £130,000 sterling in hard dollars for Calcutta. Much to the disappointment of the Europeans in Madras she did not bring regular mail and new publications.[31]
Fate
The Register of Shipping for 1821 gives the name of Lucy Maria's master as Barclay, her owner as Fairlie & Co., and her trade as London–India.[32]Lucy Maria was broken up in 1821 at Calcutta.[2]
Notes
↑ In 1816 the Admiralty paid prize money for the campaign, and the Invasion. A first-class share, that of a captain or commander, was worth £153 5s5+1⁄2d. A second-class share, that of a lieutenant, was worth £29 2s 5+1⁄4d. It is not clear whether Mansel qualified for a first-class share as commander of Troubridge, despite being a lieutenant. A sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £1 18s 0+3⁄4d.[24] In 1828 there was a fourth and final payment. A first-class share was worth £29 19s 5+1⁄4d, and a second-class share was worth £6 7s 7d. A sixth-class share was worth 8s 2+1⁄2d.[25]
Mornington was a British merchant vessel built of teak and launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made three voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). On the first of these her non-European crew suffered a high mortality rate on the voyage back to India. On the third French privateers twice captured her and Royal Navy vessels twice recaptured her. She was a transport for the British invasion of Java in 1811. A fire destroyed her in 1815.
Porcher was launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from Bengal to England. A French privateer captured her in 1802, which gave rise to a case in French courts about the validity of the capture given the impending Treaty of Amiens. The French courts condemned her in prize and new owners in Bordeaux named her Ville de Bordeaux. The British recaptured her in 1804. Thereafter she traded between England and India as a licensed ship. In 1809 she sailed to England where in 1810 new owners renamed her Cambridge. As Cambridge she made three voyages for the EIC as an extra ship. In 1818 she was again sold with her new owners continuing to sail her to the Far East as a licensed ship. She then made two more voyages to India for the EIC. In 1840 she was sold to an American trading house at Canton, and then to the Qing Dynasty, which purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. The British Royal Navy destroyed her on 27 February 1841 during the Battle of First Bar at the onset of the First Opium War.
Sir William Bensley was launched in 1802 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1802 and 1813 she made six voyages for the EIC. Her owners sold her and she became a transport. During this time she repelled an American privateer in a single-ship action. She made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales (1816–1817). She continued to trade until 1841 when she wrecked at Nova Scotia.
Batavia was built at Topsham, England in 1802. At first she traded independently with the East Indies, but then she made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). Lastly, she made one voyage in 1818 transporting convicts to Australia. She was broken up in 1819.
Althea was launched at Calcutta in 1801. She made one voyage to Britain for the British East India Company. The French captured her in the Indian Ocean in 1804 and then kept her at Île de France where she served as a prison ship. When the British captured Île de France in 1810 they recovered Althea. She then resumed her mercantile career until she wrecked in 1812.
Ruby was launched at Calcutta, probably in 1800 but possibly in 1797. She participated in the expedition to the Red Sea and made one voyage for the British East India Company. Although she took on British Registry, she probably sailed only in Indian waters and to Australia. She made one voyage in 1811 transporting three convicts to Port Jackson, and then transferring 80 convicts from there to Van Diemen's Land. She was probably lost in 1813, but possibly in 1818 or 1820.
Cecilia was launched in 1790, possibly at Pegu, Surat, Bombay, or Calcutta. She transferred to British registry in 1797 after sailing there under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She made one more voyage for the EIC and was wrecked in January 1804.
Fame was launched at Bristol in 1801 and repaired and measured in 1802 by Perry, on the Thames. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). On her third voyage a French frigate captured her. She apparently returned to British hands and was last listed in 1811.
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.
Santa Brigida was a frigate of the Spanish Navy, launched in 1785. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1799. She then became the East Indiaman Automatia, and made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold for breaking up in 1803.
Anna was launched at Calcutta in 1793. She was often called Bengal Anna to distinguish her from BombayAnna. Bengal Anna made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost on the coast of Chittagong c.1811, after participating in a military expedition.
Anna was launched at Bombay in 1790. She was often called Bombay Anna to distinguish her from BengalAnna. Bombay Anna made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost at sea in 1816.
Medway was launched at Fort William, Calcutta in 1801. She immediately sailed to Britain under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). There her owners sold her. She traded with Madeira and the Americas before she foundered in 1812.
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.
Fairlie was launched at Calcutta in 1810 and sailed to England. There she became a regular ship for the British East India Company (EIC). Including her voyage to England, she made four voyages for the EIC. From around 1821 on she became a Free Trader, continuing to trade with India under a license from the EIC. She also made two voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales (1834), and Tasmania (1852). She made several voyages carrying immigrants to South Australia, New South Wales, and British Guiana. She foundered in November 1865.
Manship was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages as a "regular ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). In June 1795 Manship shared with several other Indiamen and the Royal Navy in the capture of eight Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena. Her owners sold her in 1801 and she then made one voyage for the EIC as an "extra ship" on a voyage charter. Her owners sold her to the British government in 1803 for use as a powder hulk.
Aurora was launched in 1790 at Calcutta. The first 10 years of her career are currently obscure. In 1801 she made a voyage to England for the British East India Company (EIC), and then was briefly registered in England. She returned to India to continue to sail as a "country ship" until she was sold to Portuguese or Spanish owners in 1811. She returned to British ownership circa 1816 and made a second voyage for the EIC, this time from China to England. She returned to English registry and made one voyage to India under a license from the EIC. She then switched to sailing between Liverpool and Quebec and was lost in the Atlantic around 1822.
Bellona was a three-decker merchantman launched at Calcutta in 1796. In 1799 she sailed to Great Britain and was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain in 1800. A French frigate captured her in 1801.
Lady Lushington was launched in 1808. Then in 1809 the British East India Company (EIC) chartered her. She made four voyages to India for the EIC and several others while under a license from the EIC. She was on a voyage to India under a license from the EIC when she was wrecked on 10 August 1821.
David Scott was launched at Bombay in 1801. She was a "country ship", i.e., she generally traded east of the Cape of Good Hope. Between 1802 and 1816 she made five voyages between India and the United Kingdom as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she traded between Britain and India under a license from the EIC. A fire destroyed her at Mauritius on 12 June 1841.
References
African Institution (1815) Report of the Directors of the African Institution Read at the Annual General Meeting.
Bastin, John (2014). Raffles and Hastings: Private exchanges behind the founding of Singapore. Marshall Cavendish International Asia. ASINB00OOJ1S90.
Bulley, Anne (2000). The Bombay Country Ships, 1790–1833. Routledge. ISBN978-0700712366.
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
Hardy, Charles (1800). A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Hon. the United East India Company, from the Union of the Two Companies, in 1707, to the Year 1760: Specifying the Number of Voyages, Tonnage, Commanders, and Stations. To which is Added, from the Latter Period to the Present Time, the Managing Owners, Principal Officers, Surgeons, and Pursers; with the Dates of Their Sailing and Arrival: Also, an Appendix, Containing Many Particulars, Interesting to Those Concerned in the East India Commerce. Charles Hardy.
Hooker, William Jackson (1833). Botanical Miscellany: Containing Figures and Descriptions of Such Plants as Recommend Themselves by Their Novelty, Rarity, Or History, Or by the Uses to which They are Applied in the Arts, in Medicine, and in Domestic Oeconomy; Together with Occasional Botanical Notices and Information. Vol.3. J. Murray.
Phipps, John (1840). A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time ... Scott.
Reports and Papers on the Impolicy of Employing Indian Built Ships in the Trade of the East-India Company, and of Admitting Them to British Registry: With Observation on Its Injurious Consequences to the Landed and Shipping Interests, and to the Numerous Branches of Trade Dependent on the Building and Equipment of British-built Ships. (1809). (Blacks and Parry).
House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1814). Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping. H.M. Stationery Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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