| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Minorca |
| Namesake | Minorca |
| Builder |
|
| Launched | 12 October 1799 [1] |
| Fate | Last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1810 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 407, [3] or 40721⁄94 [1] (bm) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Complement | 32 [3] |
| Armament |
|
Minorca was a merchant ship launched in 1799 at Newcastle upon Tyne, England. She made one voyage in 1801 transporting convicts to New South Wales. For her return voyage to Britain she was under contract to the British East India Company (EIC).
Captain John Leith acquired a letter of marque on 22 April 1801. [3] He sailed from Spithead, England on 21 June 1801 in convoy with Canada and Nile, and reached Rio de Janeiro on 29 August. All three vessels arrived at Port Jackson on 14 December 1801. The next day Minorca was at Sydney Cove. [6] Minorca had left with 104 male convicts, of whom two died during the voyage. The fate of three others is unclear. [7]
Minorca left Port Jackson on 6 February 1802 bound for China. [8] By 28 April 1802 Minorca was at Whampoa.
For her homeward voyage she reached Macao on 26 May, [9] in company with True Briton, Canada, and Nile. True Briton quickly parted from the others, and Canada had to put back leaky. [10]
Minorca was Amboina on 5 August, the Cape on 2 November, and St Helena on 1 December. She arrived at the Downs on 10 February 1803. [9]
In 1803 her owners sold Minorca to Reeve & Co. [1] Lloyd's Register for 1804 reports that Minorca's master was J. Sunter, her owner Reeve & Co., and her trade Plymouth to Cork. That entry continued unchanged through 1810.
The 1804 volume of the Register of Shipping lists her master as Sanster, her owner as F. Hurry, and her trade as London transport. [4] She is last listed in the Register of Shipping in 1806 with Parks, master, Reeves & Co., owners, and trade: London transport. [5]
On 9 November 1805 Minorca put into Charleston in distress, [11] but whether she sailed again afterwards is not clear.
She had left on 28 October under the command of Captain Wood, in company with Esther, Ariel, and a schooner, all under the escort of HMS Peterell. However, Minorca developed leaks and turned back, joined soon after by Esther, which too had developed leaks. They arrived at the Charleston bar on 3 November and took on board pilots, who informed them of the presence of the French privateer Creole. The privateer appeared and approached the two British ships. Minorca succeeded in getting into Charleston, but an engagement developed between Esther and the privateer. Both suffered extensive losses before Esther struck her colours. [12] The men from the privateer then proceeded to murder her captain and a number of her crew before taking her into St. Marys, Georgia, on 11 November. [13]
Scarborough was a double-decked, three-masted, ship-rigged, copper-sheathed, barque that participated in the First Fleet, assigned to transport convicts for the European colonisation of Australia in 1788. Also, the British East India company (EIC) chartered Scarborough to take a cargo of tea back to Britain after her two voyages transporting convicts. She spent much of her career as a West Indiaman, trading between London and the West Indies, but did perform a third voyage in 1801–02 to Bengal for the EIC. In January 1805 she repelled a French privateer of superior force in a single-ship action, before foundering in April.
Bellona was a three-decker merchantman launched in 1782 at Limehouse by Woolcombe for Boyd & Co. She then traded for a decade before, in 1792, commencing a series of four voyages for the British East India Company as an "extra ship", that is, on a charter contract. During the first of these voyages she transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales. French privateers captured her and the British Royal Navy recaptured her, the Royal Navy seized her once, and then finally a French privateer captured her in February 1810 and scuttled her.
Atlas was built in Souths Shields by Temple and launched in 1801 for Temple. She made two voyages transporting convicts from Ireland or England to Port Jackson. On the first voyage she carried cargo for the British East India Company (EIC). On the second she sailed to Bengal after delivering her convicts to New South Wales and was wrecked off India in 1820 while on her way back to Britain.
Canada was a merchant ship launched at Shields in 1800. She made five trips transporting convicts to Australia. On two of those trips she was also under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). When she was not transporting convicts Canada traded with the West Indies, and with Canada until c.1832.
Perseus was a sailing ship built in 1799 at Stockton-on-Tees, England. She made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales, returning to England via Canton. In 1803-1804 she served as an "armed defense ship". Thereafter she served as a transport. She is last listed in 1844.
Hercules was a sailing ship built in 1801 at South Shields, England. She made one trip transporting convicts to Port Jackson. She made two trips for the British East India Company (EIC), and was homeward bound from the second of these when the French privateer Napoleon captured her off the Cape of Good Hope.
Experiment was launched in 1798 at Stockton-on-Tees, England. Between late 1800 and 1802 she made a voyage to India for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1803 she transported convicts to Port Jackson. In 1805, on her way home the French captured her, but the British recaptured her. In 1808 she became a West Indiaman. Still, in 1818 or so she sailed out to India. Experiment was condemned at Batavia in 1818 and sold there in 1819 for breaking up.
Fortune, also known as La Fortune, was a sailing ship built in Spain. She was taken in prize in 1804. New owners renamed her and she entered British registers in 1805–6. She twice transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales. She was lost c. 1814 on her way to China from Australia.
Alexander was a sailing ship built by Henry Baldwin and launched in Quebec in 1801. She was registered in London in 1802. She sailed for the British East India Company carrying wheat to New South Wales for the government, before returning to Britain via China. She spent a few years trading with the West Indies before she traveled to New South Wales again, this time transporting convicts. On her return to Britain new owners returned her to trading with the West Indies, but she is no longer listed after 1810 and her ultimate fate is unknown.
Duke of Portland was a sailing ship built in 1790 at Bordeaux, France. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1794 after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. British owners named her Duke of Portland and employed her as a whaler. As such she made some eleven whaling voyages. On the outbound leg of her eighth voyage she transported convicts to Port Jackson, New South Wales. She was last listed in 1811.
Nile was a sailing ship built in 1799 at Howden, England. She made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales. For her return trip to Britain she was under contract to the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she traded between London and the West Indies, Canada, and the Mediterranean until she stranded on 22 November 1833 on the island of Oesel, Russia.
Eliza was a merchant ship built in British India, probably in 1804. Between 1819 and 1831 she made five voyages transporting convicts from England and Ireland to Australia. In between, she also made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Her crew abandoned her at sea in 1836 as she was leaking uncontrollably.
John Bull was a sailing ship built in 1799 at Liverpool for the slave trade. She made one voyage carrying slaves from West Africa to Jamaica. Thereafter she became a West Indiaman, trading with Jamaica. Early in this period she was a letter of marque, and captured a French merchant vessel. A little later John Bull detained an American vessel. Much later she transported female convicts to New South Wales from Cork. After she delivered her convicts she made an unsuccessful voyage as a whaler in the South Pacific. She was last listed in 1833.
Esther was launched in 1783 and entered British hands as a French prize of 1793. She took part in a notable single-ship action in 1794 in which she repelled a French privateer. Between 1801 and 1805 she made four slave trading voyages. A French privateer captured her in a sanguinary single-ship action in 1805.
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 Liverpool-based slave ship, making five voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost at Charleston in September 1804 in a hurricane.
Shipley was launched in 1805 at Whitby. A privateer captured Shipley in 1806 on what was probably her maiden voyage, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. Between 1817 and 1823, she made four voyages transporting convicts to New South Wales. The ship was wrecked in 1826.
Ocean was launched in 1802 at Quebec. She made five voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) between 1804 and 1814. Her owners then sold her and she continued to sail between Britain and India under a license issued by the EIC. In 1815–1816 she made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia. She was last listed in 1825.
Peggy was built at Calcutta in 1793 and initially sailed in the Indian coastal and Far East trade. In 1801 she assumed British registry and her name was changed to Juliana. Her owners sold her to the Transport Board but in 1804 the government resold her and she was sailing as a West Indiaman between London and Antigua. She then made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and one voyage to Hobart, Van Dieman's Land, transporting convicts. On her return from this voyage she wrecked in 1821 on the English coast.
Minerva was launched at Lancaster, Lancashire, in 1805. Following trading with Central and South America, she made two voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) between 1811 and 1814. She also made four voyages transporting convicts to Australia between 1818 and 1824, one to Van Diemen's Land and three voyages to New South Wales. She was broken up in 1826.
Crescent was launched at Rotherhithe in 1790. She initially traded with the Levant, particularly Smyrna. After the outbreak of war with France she may have tried her hand as a privateer. In 1796–1798 she made a voyage to the East Indies, almost surely on behalf of the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her but the British Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. In 1802-1804 she made one voyage as a slave ship carrying slaves from West Africa to Jamaica. In 1805 she became a whaler. She was lost in 1807 off Patagonia while homeward bound from her first whaling voyage.
