Otter (1797 ship)

Last updated

History
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameOtter
Owner
  • 1797:Molyneux
  • 1800: James Rigby and Francis & William Ingram
  • 1802:Robert Kitchen
  • 1805:Robert Kitchen & James Penny
BuilderLiverpool
Launched1797
FateAbandoned and burned 10 December 1807
General characteristics
Tons burthen270, [1] or 283 [2] (bm)
Complement
Armament
  • 1798:10 × 9-pounder guns [2]
  • 1800:10 × 9-pounder guns [2]
  • 1805:18 × 6&9-pounder guns [2]

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.

Contents

Career

Otter entered Lloyd's Register in 1798 with Underwood, master, Molyneux, owner, and trade Liverpool–Demerara. [1]

1st enslaving voyage (1798–1799): Captain Alexander Grierson acquired a letter of marque on 24 September 1798. [2] He sailed from Liverpool on 29 October. [3] In 1798, 156 vessels sailed from English ports bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 134 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]

On the way to Africa Otter was in company with Beaver when they captured a brig sailing to Bilbao with naval stores. [5]

Otter acquired captives at Cabinda and delivered them on 13 June 1799 to Kingston, Jamaica, where she landed 410 captives. She left Kingston on 7 August and arrived back at Liverpool on 30 September. She had left Liverpool with 40 crewmen and suffered four deaths on the voyage. [3]

2nd enslaving voyage (1800–1802): Captain Alexander Hackney acquired a letter of marque on 6 May 1800. [2] He sailed from Liverpool on 26 June, bound for the Bight of Benin. [6] In 1800, 133 vessels sailed from English ports bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 120 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]

Otter acquired captives at Porto-Novo. On her way to the Americas she stopped at Príncipe and arrived at Suriname on 18 September 1801. Lloyd's List reported in November 1801 that Allison had been captured while sailing from Newfoundland to the West Indies, but that Beaver and Otter had recaptured her and sent her into Suriname. [7]

At Suriname Otter she landed some 280 captives. She left Suriname on 12 November and arrived back at Liverpool on 5 January 1802. She had left Liverpool with 46 crewmen and suffered five deaths on the voyage. [6]

3rd enslaving voyage (1802): Because Captain Richard Hart sailed during the Peace of Amiens he did not acquire a letter of marque. He sailed from Liverpool 18 April 1802. [8] In 1802, 155 vessels sailed from English ports bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 122 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]

Otter acquired captives at the Congo River. She arrived at St Kitts 23 September; there she landed 274 captives. She left on 18 October and arrived back at Liverpool on 23 November. She had left Liverpool with 32 crewmen and suffered only one crew death on the voyage. [8]

4th enslaving voyage (1803–1804): Captain Hart sailed from Liverpool on 25 January 1803, which was still during the Peace of Amiens. [9] In 1803, 99 vessels sailed from English ports bound on voyages to transport enslaved people; 83 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [4]

Otter acquired captives at the Congo River. [9] Captain Hart died at the Congo River on 19 May 1803. [10] Captain John Laughton replaced Hart. Otter arrived at Kingston, Jamaica on 3 July 1803 and landed 267 captives. She left Kingston 22 November and arrived back at Liverpool on 4 January 1804. She had left with 30 crewmen and suffered three crew deaths on the voyage. [9]

5th enslaving voyage (1805–1806): war with France had resumed in May 1803. Captain Timothy Boardman acquired a letter of marque on 29 April 1805. [2] He sailed from Liverpool on 5 June. [11]

Otter acquired captives at Gabon and the Cameroons, and delivered 280 to Saint Thomas on 6 March 1806. She then sailed for Liverpool on 6 April and arrived there on 7 July. She had left with 40 crewmen and she suffered five crew deaths on the voyage. [11]

6th enslaving voyage (1806–1807): Captain Boardman sailed from Liverpool on 24 September 1806. [12] Between 1 January 1806 and 1 May 1807, 185 vessels cleared Liverpool outward bound in the slave trade. Thirty of these vessels made two voyages during this period. Of the 155 vessels, 114 were regular slave ships, like Otter having made two voyages during the period, or voyages before 1806. [13]

Otter gathered captives at Gabon and the Cameroons. She stopped at São Tomé before crossing the Atlantic. She arrived at Demerara on 6 July 1807. There she landed 190 captives. She then landed 60 more at Trinidad. She had left Liverpool with 40 crewmen and suffered six crew deaths on the voyage. [12]

Otter had come via Barbados. The Essequebo and Demerary Royal Gazette advertised on 11 July 1807, that "One Hundred and Thirty Prime Ebbo Slaves, per Ship Otter, which will be ready for delivery on [14 July]". [14]

Fate

On 10 December 1807 Otter, Boardman, master, sprang a leak in the Atlantic Ocean. Her crew set her on fire and abandoned her. Otter was on a voyage from Saint Kitts to Liverpool. [15]

By one study, in 1807, 12 British slaves ships were lost. This count does not show any losses on the homeward voyage. [16] Absent histories of individual vessels, it was not always possible to distinguish a homeward-bound West Indiaman from a homeward-bound Guineaman. Still, during the period 1793 to 1807, war, rather than maritime hazards or resistance by the captives, was the greatest cause of vessel losses among British slave vessels. [17]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Lloyd's Register (1798), Seq.№O74.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Letter of Marque, p.80 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Otter voyage #82989.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Williams (1897), p. 680.
  5. ↑ Williams (1897), p. 368.
  6. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Otter voyage #82990.
  7. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4204. 17 November 1801. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735020.
  8. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Otter voyage #82991.
  9. 1 2 3 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Otter voyage #82992.
  10. ↑ Behrendt (1990), p. 138.
  11. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Otter voyage #82993.
  12. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Otter voyage #82994.
  13. ↑ Williams (1973), p. 4.
  14. ↑ Essequebo and Demerary Royal Gazette (11 July 1807), Vol. 2, No.80.
  15. ↑ Lloyd's List №4217.
  16. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
  17. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 58.

Related Research Articles

<i>Will</i> (1797 ship) British enslaving ship 1797–1806

Will was a ship launched at Liverpool in 1797 for Aspinal & Co., who were one of Liverpool's leading slave-trading companies. She made numerous voyages between West Africa and the Caribbean in the triangular trade in enslaved people, during which she several times successfully repelled attacks by French privateers. Will apparently foundered in a squall in July 1806, shortly before the passage of the Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the slave trade for British subjects.

Iris was launched at Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In all she made eight voyages (1783-1800) transporting captives from West Africa to the Caribbean. She also made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) to Bengal and back (1795-1796). She was condemned in Jamaica in December 1800 as unseaworthy.

Adventure was launched at Liverpool in 1802. She made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French privateer captured her in 1806 on her fourth voyage.

Allison was launched in France in 1776, almost certainly under another name. The British captured her in 1795. Between 1796 and 1799 she made two whaling voyages to the British southern whale fishery. Then between 1799 and 1807 she made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Between the first and the second a French privateer captured her, but British letters of marque recaptured her. The British slave trade was abolished in 1807 and thereafter Allison traded primarily as a coaster. After about 1840 she began to trade to America and Africa. She was lost c.1846.

Sarah was launched at Liverpool in 1797. She then made six voyages as a Liverpool-based 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 in the triangular trade in enslaved people before a Spanish privateer captured her in 1805 on her sixth voyage. On her fifth voyage Sarah had captured two French slave ships at Loango.

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.

Windsor Castle was launched at Whitby in 1783. Initially she was primarily a West Indiaman. Then from 1797 she made five voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She foundered off Bermuda in 1803 after having disembarked her captives.

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.

Aurora was launched at Philadelphia in 1779. She did not appear in British registers until 1800. She then made five voyages from London as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was damaged and condemned at Jamaica in 1807 after having landed the captives from her fifth voyage.

Angola was launched in 1799 at Lancaster. She became a Liverpool-based slave ship that had made four voyages in the triangular trade, carrying captives from West Africa to the West Indies. The French captured her in 1804 on her fifth voyage. Her captors renamed her Tigre, but the Royal Navy recaptured her late in 1804.

Roe was launched in France in 1792, almost certainly under another name. The British captured her and between 1801 and 1808 she became a Liverpool based slave ship, making four voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the end of the British slave trade Roe traded with Brazil. The Americans captured her in 1812 but she was quickly recaptured. She was wrecked in November 1814.

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.

Agreeable was launched in 1786 in Liverpool, possibly under another name. Between 1798 and 1802 she made three voyages as a slave ship. A French privateer captured her in 1803 as she was sailing from Africa to the West Indies on her fourth slave trading voyage.

Roehampton was a ship built in the United States in 1792, possibly in Baltimore, and almost certainly under another name. Between 1798 and 1803 she traded between England and North America. From 1803 she made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She disappeared on her way home on her third.

Ellis was a French prize, captured in 1797, possibly built that year also. Liverpool merchants purchased her. She made five complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the British West Indies. She was lost at sea on 23 April 1806 on her sixth voyage before she could take on any captives.

Beaver was launched in 1796 at Liverpool. She made seven complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved persons. She was captured and retaken once, in 1804, and captured a second time in 1807, during her eighth voyage.

Princess Amelia was launched in 1798 at Liverpool. She made eight complete voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the end of British participation in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, she became a merchantman. She was probably the Princess Amelia, from Liverpool, that was lost in 1810.

Elizabeth was launched at Liverpool in 1798. She made five complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Spanish privateers captured her in 1805 while she was on her sixth voyage after she had embarked enslave people and took her into Montevideo.

William was launched in Spain in 1788, almost certainly under another name. She was taken in prize in 1797. William sailed as a West Indiaman until 1800 when new owners started to sail her as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made four complete voyages as a slave ship. A report of her fourth voyage provides insight into the decision making over the planning of the voyage. Spanish privateers captured her in 1805 on her fifth slave voyage.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.