| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Builder | Spain |
| Acquired | 1799 by purchase of a prize |
| Fate | Foundered 22 October 1800 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 517, or 527 [1] (bm) |
| Complement | 60 |
| Armament | 24 × 9-pounder guns |
Mentor was a Spanish prize captured in 1799. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She foundered on her way back to Liverpool after delivering her captives.
On 12 May 1799, Mentor, Gilbert Curry, master, acquired a letter of marque. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1799. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1799 | G.Curry | A.Joseph | Liverpool–Africa | LR; repairs 1799 |
Captain Curry sailed from Liverpool on 24 June 1799, bound for West Africa. Mentor gathered her captives at Bonny. She arrived at Kingston, Jamaica on 2 May 1800 with 651 captives. She sailed from Kingston on 21 July, bound for Liverpool. [2]
On 22 September Mentor, Currie, master, foundered on her way to Liverpool. Hope rescued the crew and brought them to Liverpool. [3]
In 1800, 34 British slave ships were lost; four were lost on their way home after having disembarked their captives. [4] Although Mentor was lost to the perils of the sea, during the period 1793 to 1807, war, rather than maritime hazards or slave resistance was the greatest cause of vessel losses among British slave vessels. [5]
Britannia, was a vessel launched in 1788 at New Brunswick. In 1795–1796, she made one complete voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade, taking enslaved people from West Africa to Jamaica. A French privteer captured her in 1797 in a notable single ship action as Britannia was on the outward leg of her second voyage. Her captor took her to Nantes.
HMS Duguay-Trouin was an 18-gun French privateer sloop launched in 1779 at Le Havre. Surprise captured her in 1780 and the British Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name. It sold Duguay-Trouin on 30 October 1783. She then became the West Indiaman Christopher. She captured several French merchant vessels. Later she became a slave ship, making five voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost at Charleston in September 1804 in a hurricane.
Duke of Bronte was launched in 1793 in India, under another name. She was renamed in 1800 in London. She then made two voyages as a slaver in the triangular trade in enslaved people before a French privateer captured her in 1804.
Barton was launched in Bermuda, probably in 1799, and built of Bermuda cedar. She first appears in registers under the Barton name in 1801 as a slave ship. The French captured her in 1803 before she had delivered the slaves she had purchased for her second voyage. She returned to British ownership but her whereabouts between 1804 and 1810 are obscure. In 1811, she was again captured by a French privateer, which however gave her up. She grounded on 27 April 1819 at the entrance to the Sierra Leone River and was wrecked.
Lord Nelson was launched in 1798 at Liverpool and subsequently made five voyages carrying slaves from West Africa to the West Indies in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her first voyage she helped suppress a slave revolt on another slave ship. This gave rise to an interesting case in salvage money A French naval squadron captured her off Sierra Leone on her sixth voyage, before she had embarked any slaves.
Rosalind was launched in 1789 in Spain and taken in prize in 1799. She made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French privateer captured her in 1804 while she was on her fourth slave trading voyages.
Sarah was launched at Liverpool in 1797. She then made six voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. A French privateer captured Sarah in 1804 in a single-ship action on her seventh voyage after Sarah had gathered her slaves but before she could deliver them to the West Indies.
Sarah was launched in Spain in 1791, presumably under another name. The British captured her c.1798. She made five voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship before a Spanish privateer captured her in 1805. On her fifth voyage Sarah had captured two French slave ships at Loango.
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 as slaver 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.
Leander was launched on the Thames in 1799. She was captured in 1801 after she had delivered the captives she had gathered on her first voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people.
Mentor was the former HMS Wasp. The British Royal Navy sold Wasp in 1781 and she became the mercantile Polly, which traded with Africa. In 1784 Polly became the slave ship Mentor. Mentor made eight full slave-trading voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She carried slaves from The Gambia to the West Indies. French privateers captured her in late 1795 as she was on her way from West Africa to the West Indies on her ninth voyage.
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.
John was launched at Newnham in 1779, possibly under another name. Between 1786 and 1798 she traded as a West Indiaman. Then she made three voyages as a slave ship, being captured on her third as she was delivering slaves to the West Indies.
Hector was launched at Bristol in 1781 as a West Indiaman. A new owner in 1802 sailed Hector as a slave ship. She made one complete voyage as a slave ship before a French privateer captured her on her second slave voyage after Hector had disembarked her slaves.
Liver was launched at Liverpool in 1786, probably as a fishing smack. She was lengthened in 1790. Liver then made four complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved peoples. In these voyages she carried 827 captives. A French privateer captured her in 1797 as she was approaching the West Indies on her fifth voyage. Including this fifth voyage, over her career she almost surely delivered over 1000 enslaved people to the Americas.
Accomplished Quaker was a French vessel that the British captured circa 1795. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in the volume for 1795.
Onslow was a Spanish vessel launched in 1789 that was taken in prize in 1795. She became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete slave trading voyage before a French privateer captured her in 1797 as she was just on her way to embark slaves for a second voyage.
Louisa was launched in France in 1794, probably under another name. She was taken in prize and between 1798 and 1804 she made five complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost in 1804 on the coast of Africa on her sixth voyage.
Lucy was a Spanish vessel built in 1789, probably under another name. She came into British ownership in 1799. As Lucy, she proceeded to make three complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On the second of these she rather unusually assisted the British commander at Gorée in an operation to destroy a Spanish vessel at Senegal before the French could arm it as a privateer. However, a few days later a slave revolt resulted in the death of Lucy's captain. The French captured Lucy in 1806 on her fourth slave voyage as she was approaching the West Indies after she had embarked her captives. The capture involved a single ship action that left most of Lucy's crew dead or wounded. Her captors took Lucy into Guadeloupe, together with the slaves she was carrying.
Inikori, Joseph (1996). "Measuring the unmeasured hazards of the Atlantic slave trade: Documents relating to the British trade". Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer. 83 (312): 53–92.