| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Macclesfield |
| Namesake | Macclesfield, or the Earl of Macclesfield |
| Fate | Abandoned 13 February 1809 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 304, [1] or 306, or 326 (bm) |
| Complement | |
| Armament |
|
Macclesfield was launched at Lancaster in 1803. She made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the end of British participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade she became a West Indiaman. She was wrecked in 1809.
Macclesield first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in the volume for 1804. [2]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1804 | Belcher | Taylor | Liverpool–Africa | LR |
1st slave voyage (1804–1805): Captain Elijah Belcher acquired a letter of marque on 28 March 1804. [1] He sailed from Liverpool on 1 May. Macclesfield acquired slaves at the Congo River. She arrived at Charleston on 11 October 1804 with 298 slaves. She sailed for home on 14 December and arrived back at Liverpool 7 February 1805. She had left Liverpool with 49 crew members and she had suffered two crew deaths on her voyage. [3]
2nd slave voyage (1805-1806): Captain George Smith acquired a letter of marque on 9 May 1805. [1] He sailed from Liverpool on 5 June. Macclesfield gahtered slaves a tBonny and left Africa on 24 November. She arrived at Zion Hill, Tobago on 5 January 1806. She sailed from Tobago on 9 February 1806 and arrived back at Liverpool on 14 April. She had left Liverpool with 40 crew members and she had suffered five crew deaths on her voyage. [4] She returned with 299 hogsheads and 54 tierces of sugar, 10 puncheons of rum, 10 puncheons of lime juice, and one box of tortoise shell. [5]
3rd slave voyage (1806–1807): Captain Smith sailed from Liverpool on 4 July 1806. She gathered slaves at Bonny and delivered them to St Lucia. She left St Lucia on 30 May 1807 and arrived back at Liverpool on 15 July. She had left Liverpool with 49 crew members and had suffered six crew deaths on her voyage. [6] She returned with sugar, bales of cotton, casks of coffee.
Macclesfield had arrived after the Slave Trade Act 1807, which ended British participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, took effect on 1 May 1807. She then became a West Indiaman.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1808 | G.Smith A.Graham | Taylor & Co. Gladstones | Liverpool–Africa | LR |
| 1809 | A.Graham Croft | Gladstones | Liverpool–Demerara | LR |
On 30 January 1809 Macclesfield, Croft, master, was caught in a gale that caused a great deal of damage and cost her her rudder. The crew abandoned her on 13 February at 53°9′N11°18′W / 53.150°N 11.300°W . The brig Friendship, from Greenock, brought the crew into Limerick on 16 February. [7] Macclesfield later came ashore on Rosine Island, in Galway Bay. [8] She went on some rocks in Ennesbuffen Harbour and was wrecked. [9]
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.
Caledonia was a Spanish vessel that the British captured in 1804 and that new owners renamed. She made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In 1809 she disappeared from online records.
Enterprize was launched in France in 1797, probably under another name. 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.
Byam was a snow launched at Oban, or possibly Padstow, in 1800. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured and burnt her in late 1807 or early 1808 as she was about to deliver the captives from her fifth voyage.
Minerva was launched in 1795 at Lancaster as a West Indiaman. In 1801 she was captured but immediately recaptured. Between 1802 and 1808 she made five voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was last listed in 1816.
Ariadne was built in 1795 at Newbury, Massachusetts, probably under another name. She in 1801 became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made two voyages transporting enslaved people before a French, and later a Dutch privateer, captured her in 1804 while she was acquiring captives on her third voyage. However, a Liverpool-based vessel recaptured her. Then in 1806, a French privateer captured her and took her into Guadeloupe while Ariadne was on her fourth voyage transporting captives.
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.
Aurora was launched at Chester in 1793 as a West Indiaman. During her career first the French (twice) and then the United States' privateer captured her, but she returned to British hands. Between 1801 and 1808 she made four voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Afterwards, she continued to trade widely until 1831.
Bolton was launched at Liverpool in 1792. She then made 10 voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During her career she repelled one attack by a French privateer, was captured on a later voyage by another before being recaptured by the Royal Navy, and then was captured on her tenth voyage by yet another privateer after Bolton had gathered her captives but before she was able to deliver them to the West Indies. Bolton returned to British ownership, first sailing as West Indiaman, before embarking on an 11th enslaving voyage. She blew up on the African coast in 1806 after some of the captives aboard her succeeded in taking her over and setting fire to her.
Alexander was launched in France or Spain in 1797, probably under another name, and taken in prize circa 1799, when she was lengthened and raised. She was registered at Liverpool in 1801 and proceeded to make six voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then sailed to Brazil and the West Indies and was last listed in 1809.
Alexander was launched in 1801 in the United States, possibly under another name. She became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, sailing from Liverpool. A French privateer captured her after she had landed her captives at Berbice. Alexander returned to British ownership and became a West Indiaman, and then a transport. She was last listed in 1816 but may have been sold or broken up in 1815.
Harriot was launched at Broadstairs in 1803. She made four voyages between 1804 and 1807 as a Guineaman in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Following the prohibition in 1807 on British vessels participating in the trans-Atlantic slave trade Harriet became a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured Harriet in April 1809 as Harriet was returning to England from Port au Prince.
Backhouse was launched in 1798, at Dartmouth. In all, she made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Between the second and the third, and again after the fourth, she was a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her early in 1810, as she was returning to Britain from Brazil.
John was launched in France in 1793, almost certainly under another name, and was taken in prize. She started trading as a West Indiaman, but then became a slave ship, making six complete voyages. She was lost in late 1806 on her seventh voyage. The slaves she was carrying were landed safely.
Thetis was launched in 1801 at Lancaster as a West Indiaman. In 1804, in single ship action, she repelled an attack by a French privateer. Between 1806 and 1808 she made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On the second, in early 1808 as Thetis was coming to Barbados from Africa, she again drove off a French privateer in a single ship action. With the end of the slave trade, Thetis returned to trading, first with the West Indies and then with Bahia. She was wrecked in December 1815 near Sunderland.
Active was built in Chester in 1781. Initially, she traded with the Baltic and North America. From 1798 she made four complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved persons. A privateer captured her on 1 September 1805 during her fifth slave voyage, after she had embarked her slaves, and took her into the River Plate.
Ann was launched at Chester in 1792 as a West Indiaman. From 1796 she made nine complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She participated in several single ship actions. On her first voyage she repelled an attack by a French privateer. On her second a privateer captured her but she was recaptured. On her ninth voyage a French privateer again captured her, but this time her captor plundered and then released her. She sank on 24 May 1810 in the Old Dock at Liverpool, but was salvaged.
Lottery was launched at Liverpool in 1796. Between 1796 and 1807 she made eight complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Detailed and insightful accounts exist for the third voyage. After the end of British participation in the trans-Atlantic enslaving trade, Lottery became a West Indiaman. She was wrecked on 30 January 1810 outbound from Liverpool.
Nelly was launched at Liverpool in 1798. She initially sailed as a West Indiaman. From 1803 she made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Spanish privateers captured her in 1805 while she was on her third voyage after she had embarked captives.
Laurel's origins are ambiguous. She first appeared in online British sources in 1802. She made three voyages from Liverpool to Africa. On the first she apparently was on a trading voyage. The second was a complete voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During this voyage she was involved in two sanguinary engagements with French vessels, the second of which resulted in the death of her master. She set out in 1805 on a second voyage to transport enslaved people, but a French squadron captured her before she had embarked any captives.