Phoenix (East Indiaman)

Last updated April 01, 2023

Numerous ships with the name Phoenix, for the constellation or the mythical bird, have sailed for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1680 and 1821:

Merchant vessels, including East Indiamen

Phoenix (c. 1670 ship), rated at 380/450 tons burthen (bm), of 90 crew and 30 guns. Made three voyages to Madras, Bengal, Bantam , or China between 1671 and 1680. She was lost off the Isles of Scilly on 11 January 1680 while on her fourth voyage.^[1] She made two voyages to Madras, Bengal, Persia, and what is now Indonesia before being lost near Cape Comorin.{{efn|The above ship was not lost near Cape Comorin as stated above- she was wrecked near Bream Ledge in the isles of Scilly after returning from Amoy China. Her wreckage was finally found by Diver Todd Stevens in 2017 & he recovered over 400 gold and silver coins and 76 items of gold jewellery from the Phoenix wreck site as a result.^[2]^{[ self-published source ]}
Phoenix served the EIC between 1685 and 1687.^[3] She may have been the armed merchantman Phoenix that assisted the Royal Navy in 1689 at the siege of Derry.
Phoenix (1700), rated at 400 tons, of 80 crew and 24-30 guns, launched November 1700 for Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall.^[4] Made two voyages before being sold out of EIC service in 1709.^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Phoenix (1708), rated at 400 tons (bm), launched in 1708 by Sir Henry Johnson, Blackwall.^[4] She was lost on 13 April 1710 while on her first voyage.^{[lower-alpha 2]}
Phoenix (1785), of 800 tons (bm) and launched in 1785, made six voyages for the EIC between 1786 and 1802. She was sent out to India in 1803 for the local coastal trade.^[6]
Phoenix (1790 ship), launched in 1790 by Randall & Brent, Rotherhithe. She made one voyage to Madras and Bengal between 1799 and 1800 as an extra ship (i.e., on short-term charter) for the EIC. She was condemned in 1812.
Phoenix (1804 EIC ship) made six voyages to Madras and Bengal between 1805 and 1819; er registration was cancelled on 25 September 1821 after she was broken up.
Phoenix (1810 ship) was launched in 1810. The EIC chartered her to make one voyage to Madras and Bengal between 1820 and 1821.^[7] She then made three voyages transporting convicts to Australia before she was wrecked at Simon's Bay, South Africa, in July 1829.

Licensed ships

After the EIC lost its monopoly in 1813 on the Britain-East Indies trade, the EIC licensed other vessels to trade with the East Indies. The following three vessels sailed under such licenses, though it does not appear that any of them ever carried a cargo for the EIC.

Phoenix (1798 ship), of 590 tons (bm), launched on the Thames. She made one voyage transporting convicts to Australia in 1824 and was broken up in 1837.
Phoenix (1799 ship), of 478 tons (bm), launched in India in 1799 and wrecked on 1 March 1816 on Maranilla Reef while sailing from Havana to Nassau, Bahamas.^[8]
Phoenix (1811 ship), of 404 tons (bm), launched at Philadelphia in 1811, captured and sold as a prize to W. Browne & Co., who retained the name.^[8] She was last listed in 1833 with trade Liverpool–Java.

Notes

↑ The British Library directory conflates this vessel's voyages with the voyage of her successor.^[5]
↑ The British Library directory conflates this vessel's voyage with the voyages of her predecessor.^[5]

Citations

↑ National Archives: Phoenix (1) accessed 6 December 2014.
↑ Todd Stevens: The Wreck of the East India Company Ship, Phoenix in 1680.
↑ Hackman (2001), p.38.
1 2 Hackman (2001), p.169.
1 2 British Library: Phoenix (2) accessed 6 December 2014.
↑ Hackman (2001), p.169-70.
↑ National Archives: Phoenix (6) accessed 6 December 2014.
1 2 Hackman (2001), p.305.

Related Research Articles

Atlantic was launched in 1783. She made one voyage from England to Australia in 1791 carrying convicts. Later, she made one voyage for the East India Company (EIC). Subsequently she sailed to Smyrna, Surinam, and Gibraltar, before she disappeared from records in 1810.

Marquis of Rockingham was a ship launched for the British East India Company in 1771. She made one complete voyage to Bombay. During her second voyage to Bombay she was wrecked in 1777.

At least seven ships with the name Kent served the Honourable East India Company as an East Indiaman between 1680 and 1825:

Earl of Mornington, was a merchant vessel of 500 tons burthen (bm) built at Bombay Dockyard of teak and launched in 1766 or 1768. She made three voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) under the command of captain Benjamin Ferguson. She does not appear in Lloyd's Register until 1804 and no longer appears in either Lloyd's Register or in the Register of Shipping in 1810.

Four vessels with the name Princess Royal have served the British East India Company (EIC).

Three ships with the name Osterley served the British East India Company (EIC) as an East Indiaman between 1758 and 1800:

A number of ships with the name Asia served the British East India Company (EIC) as East Indiamen:

Kingston was launched at Bristol in 1811. She traded between Bristol and Jamaica until her owners sold her in 1818. She then made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). Afterwards she continued trading with India, and then with Quebec. She was wrecked in 1833.

Lord Keith was launched in 1804 by and for Peter Everitt Mestaer. He chartered her to the East India Company (EIC) for six voyages, and she then went on to make another two voyages for the EIC. On her second voyage, and unusually for an East Indiaman, she participated in the proceeds for the recapture of a former British Royal Navy brig and possibly in a skirmish with a French ship. On her third voyage she participated in a notable action. She was broken up c.1820.

Asia was launched at Liverpool in 1798. She competed four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and wrecked on her fifth. During the second she transported EIC troops to Macao to augment the Portuguese forces there, but the authorities there refused them permission to land. She was wrecked in 1809 on the outbound leg of a voyage to Madras and Bengal.

Several ships have borne the name Caledonia for Caledonia:

Huddart was launched in 1803 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1803 and 1818. In 1810-1811 she participated as a transport in two British military campaigns. In 1818 new owners deployed her in sailing to Canada. She was wrecked there in 1821.

Phoenix was launched in 1804 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1805 and 1819. In 1810 and 1811 she participated as a transport in two British military campaigns. She was broken up by 1821.

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.

Sarah Christiana was launched in 1798. She made one voyage as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made a voyage to Jamaica. On her return, the EIC engaged her for four more voyages as an East Indiaman. In 1810 she was sold and became a West Indiaman. She was broken up in 1828.

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.

Diana was launched in 1799 as a West Indiaman. From 1805 she made four voyages as an East Indiaman under charter to the British East India Company. She made a fifth voyage to India in 1817 under a license from the EIC. She ran into difficulties in the Hooghly River while homeward bound and was condemned in Bengal in June 1818.

Atlas was launched at Kingston upon Hull in 1812 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages to India or China for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1831 for breaking up.

Asia was launched in 1811 on the River Thames as an East Indiaman. She made 10 voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then continued to sail to India and China after the EIC gave up its trading activities in 1834. She was condemned and hulked in 1840.

References

Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
Hardy, Horatio Charles (1811). A register of ships, employed in the service of the Honorable the United East India Company, from the year 1760 to 1810: with an appendix, containing a variety of particulars, and useful information interesting to those concerned with East India commerce. Black, Parry, and Kingsbury.
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.

This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists.

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.

[6] The British Library directory conflates this vessel's voyages with the voyage of her successor.^[5]

[7] The British Library directory conflates this vessel's voyage with the voyages of her predecessor.^[5]

[1] National Archives: Phoenix (1) accessed 6 December 2014.

[2] Todd Stevens: The Wreck of the East India Company Ship, Phoenix in 1680.

[3] Hackman (2001), p.38.

[Hackman-4] 1 2 Hackman (2001), p.169.

[BL-5] 1 2 British Library: Phoenix (2) accessed 6 December 2014.

[8] Hackman (2001), p.169-70.

[9] National Archives: Phoenix (6) accessed 6 December 2014.

[Hackman305-10] 1 2 Hackman (2001), p.305.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[lower-alpha 1]

[lower-alpha 2]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[5]