Porcher was launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from Bengal to England. A French privateer captured her in 1802, which gave rise to a case in French courts about the validity of the capture given the impending Treaty of Amiens. The French courts condemned her in prize and new owners in Bordeaux named her Ville de Bordeaux. The British recaptured her in 1804. Thereafter she traded between England and India as a licensed ship. In 1809 she sailed to England where in 1810 new owners renamed her Cambridge. As Cambridge she made three voyages for the EIC as an extra ship. In 1818 she was again sold with her new owners continuing to sail her to the Far East as a licensed ship. She then made two more voyages to India for the EIC. In 1840 she was sold to an American trading house at Canton, and then to the Qing Dynasty, which purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. The BritishRoyal Navy destroyed her on 27 February 1841 during the Battle of First Bar at the onset of the First Opium War.
Captain Benjamin Blake sailed Porcher from Calcutta on 5 February 1800. On 17 February she passed Kedgeree. She reached Madras on 31 March and St Helena on 24 June. She arrived at the Downs on 23 September.[8]
Porcher entered Lloyd's Register in the supplemental pages to the 1800 issue. It shows B. Blake as owner and master, her origin as Calcutta, and trade as London-India.[1]Porcher was admitted to registry in Great Britain on 21 January 1801.[7]
On 28 January 1801 Blake sailed Porcher for Calcutta.[3] She left Calcutta on 18 February 1802 for England. On the way, the French privateerBellone intercepted her on 24 February 1802 and captured her.[9]Porcher arrived at Île de France on 9 April as a prize to Bellone.[10]
In August, an American ship brought letters reporting that Bellona had captured Porcher in the Bay of Bengal. Furthermore, though both captor and captive had copies of the "Preliminaries of Peace", the expectation was that Porcher and her cargo would be condemned.[11]Lloyd's List reported on 13 August that Bellona had captured Porcher, Tay, and Highland Chief.[10][lower-alpha 1]
In June 1802, Earl Cornwallis sailed to Île de France having on board a number of French prisoners, who had been detained in Bengal. The prisoners were under the charge of Mr. Campbell, whom the Bengal Government had also charged with negotiating with the Governor of Île de France for the release of Tay, Highland Chief, and Porcher. The vessels and their cargoes were estimated to be worth £100,000.[12]
Blake and the master of Tay protested the seizures.[9]Lloyd's List reported on 28 December 1802 that Highland Chief, Porcher, and Tay had been condemned.[13]
Porcher arrived at Bordeaux on 18 February 1803. There she was again condemned and sold to local buyers who named her Ville de Bordeaux. In 1804 the British recaptured her and she reverted to the name Porcher. She then continued in private trade in India.[3]
In 1809 she sailed to England. In March 1810 Porcher sold some lots of ebony wood that remained unclaimed in the EIC’s warehouse in London and that in 1817 the EIC stated that it would sell if not immediately reclaimed.[14]
In London new owners renamed her Cambridge.[15] In London, Pitcher & Co. measured her in 1810 for charter to the EIC.[lower-alpha 2]Cambridge was admitted to the registry of Great Britain on 30 May 1810.[16]
Cambridge
On Friday 9 October 1810, the EIC chartered Cambridge from "Lestock Wilson, Esq." for one voyage at a rate of £33 7s 6d per ton (burthen).[6]
On 1 March 1811 Captain Charles Morlock received a letter of marque against the French for Cambridge.[5] Mortlock sailed Cambridge from Torbay on 12 May, bound for Madras and Bengal. She reached Madeira on 2 June, and Madras on 26 September. She arrived at Diamond Harbour on 13 November. Homeward bound, she passed Saugor on 4 January 1812 and reached St Helena on 12 May. She arrived at Long Reach on 27 July.[4]
Captain James Toussaint received letter of marque №284 against America. Under his command, Cambridge left China on 15 March 1815, reached St Helena on 5 July, and arrived at the Downs in September.[4]
Captain John Freeman sailed Cambridge from Plymouth on 20 March 1816, bound for China. She reached St Helena on 28 May, and Batavia on 5 September. She arrived at Whampoa on 29 October. Homeward-bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 22 January 1817, reached St Helena on 10 April, and arrived at Long Reach on 8 June.[4]
In 1818 Thomas Heath purchased Cambridge for use as a licensed ship sailing to the Far East.[lower-alpha 3]
The table below uses data from Lloyd's Register and the Register of Shipping. It is clearly inaccurate in many details. The entries were only as accurate as owners chose to keep them.
Between 1825 and 1827 Cambridge made two more voyages for the EIC, both one-way.
On 1 June 1825 Captain James Barber sailed Cambridge from Portsmouth, bound for Bombay. She arrived there on 13 October.[17]
Captain James Barber sailed from Plymouth on 6 July 1826, bound for Madras and Bengal. Cambridge reached Madras on 8 November and Penang on 23 December. She arrived at Kedgeree on 19 January 1827.[17]
Year
Master
Owner
Trade
1818
Toussaint
Palmer & Co.
London-India
1820
Toussaint
Palmer & Co.
London-Bombay
1825
Barber
Palmer & Co.
London-Bengal
1830
Barber
Palmer & Co.
London-Bengal
1835
J. Barber
1840
Douglas
T. Heath & Co.
London
Chinese warship
Cambridge is no longer listed in Lloyd's Register after 1840. The reason is that Douglas sailed her from Bombay to Canton with a cargo of opium and cotton. On the way he stopped at Singapore and purchased twenty-eight 6-pounder and four 12-pounder guns to add to the six carronades that she already carried.[18]
At Canton, Douglas convinced Charles Elliot, the chief superintendent at Canton, to charter Cambridge as a de facto warship to protect British shipping in the Pearl River delta.[18] As soon as he could, Elliot ended the hire of Cambridge.[19]
An American trading house in Canton purchased Cambridge, and renamed her Chesapeake.[20] However, Elliot had insisted that Douglas ship her guns back to India before he sold her.[21]
The Americans then sold Chesapeake at the onset of the First Opium War.[22] The Qing Dynasty purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy.[22] Because Cambridge/Chesapeake was unarmed, the Chinese armed her with a motley collection of local guns.[21]
Fate
On 27 February 1841 a BritishRoyal Navy flotilla sailed up the Pearl River and attacked Chinese artillery batteries on First Bar Island. Cambridge and a fleet of Chinese War Junks sailed out of Canton to counter them.
In the ensuing Battle of First Bar,[23]Cambridge engaged the British, but her crew abandoned her when British cannon fire overwhelmed her.[24] Seamen and marines from HMSCalliope boarded Cambridge and set her on fire. Eventually the ship's magazine detonated, creating a sound so loud British dispatches reported that it "must have been heard in Canton."[23]
Notes
↑ The master of Highland Chief was reported to have been killed on 30 March when a boarding party from Bellone captured her.[10]
↑ The British Library directory reports that Pitcher built Cambridge,[4] but this is clearly incorrect. All other records for the vessel have her being built in Bengal in 1799 or 1800.
↑ Although one source has her transportingconvicts to Australia,[2] the convict transport was a different Cambridge. That Cambridge was of c.536 tons (bm), launched in 1825 at Prince Edward Island.e
Earl Cornwallis was a three-decker East Indiaman launched in 1783 on the River Thames. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made one voyage transporting convicts from England to New South Wales. By 1809, she was no longer listed.
Sir William Bensley was launched in 1802 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1802 and 1813 she made six voyages for the EIC. Her owners sold her and she became a transport. During this time she repelled an American privateer in a single-ship action. She made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales (1816–1817). She continued to trade until 1841 when she wrecked at Nova Scotia.
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.
Houghton was launched in 1782 and made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1794 she was part of an EIC squadron that had some success against French privateers and naval vessels in the Sunda Strait, and then in 1796 she participated as a transport in the British capture of St Lucia. She was sold in 1799 and her owner took her out to India to work in the tea trade between India and China. She foundered in 1803.
Nonsuch was launched at Calcutta in 1781 as the first large vessel built there. She was designed to serve as either a merchantman or a man-of-war. She spent the first 12 years of her career as a merchant vessel, carrying opium to China amongst other cargoes. After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 her owner frequently hired her out as an armed ship to the British East India Company (EIC). She participated in an engagement with a French naval squadron and recaptured an East Indiaman. She also made two voyages for the EIC. After the Peace of Amiens in 1802 the EIC paid her off; as she was being hauled into a dockyard for repairs she was damaged and the decision was taken to break her up.
Highland Chief was launched at Calcutta in 1798. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before a French privateer captured her in 1802 south of the Bay of Bengal.
Admiral Gardner was launched in 1797 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made five voyages for the EIC, during the fourth of which she participated in an inconclusive single-ship action with a French privateer. Admiral Gardner was wrecked in January 1809. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England. She was named after Admiral Alan Gardner.
Eliza Ann was launched at Calcutta in 1795. She sailed to England where she was admitted to the Registry. In all, she made five voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), during one of which she participated in a notable action and during the last of which she captured a French privateer. She herself was lost in 1807.
Monarch was built at Quebec in 1800. She sailed to England, being captured and recaptured shortly before arriving. In England, under new ownership, she proceeded to make five voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) as an "extra ship", that is, under voyage charter. In 1813 she became a transport, and then in 1818 or so a regular merchantman. She was broken up in 1820.
Union was launched at Calcutta in 1801. She sailed to England and then made five voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC), between 1805 and 1814. She was wrecked in late 1815 or early 1816.
Britannia was launched by the Bombay Dockyard in 1772, and was rebuilt in 1778. The British East India Company (EIC) apparently acquired her in 1775. Between 1779 she made eleven complete voyages as an East Indiaman for the EIC. She also participated in three naval campaigns, during the first of which she was deployed as a cruiser off Sumatra. There she engaged and captured a French ship. In the other two she served as a transport. She set out for her twelfth EIC voyage but was lost in 1805 during the third naval campaign.
Manship was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages as a "regular ship" for the British East India Company (EIC). In June 1795 Manship shared with several other Indiamen and the Royal Navy in the capture of eight Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena. Her owners sold her in 1801 and she then made one voyage for the EIC as an "extra ship" on a voyage charter. Her owners sold her to the British government in 1803 for use as a powder hulk.
Skelton Castle was an East Indiaman launched in 1800. She made three complete voyages to India for the British East India Company (EIC). She disappeared without a trace in December 1806 while on the outward-bound leg of her fourth voyage.
Calcutta was launched in 1798 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and disappeared while homeward bound from Bengal on her fifth voyage.
Lady Jane Dundas was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) and was lost in 1809 on the homeward-bound leg of her fifth voyage. She and three other Indiamen parted from the homeward-bound convoy during a gale on 18 March 1809 and were never seen again.
General Stuart was launched in 1801 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1801 and 1814. She then sailed between England and India under a license from the EIC. In 1819 she transported convicts from England to New South Wales. She continued to trade with Australia and was last listed in 1825.
Aurora was launched in 1790 at Calcutta. The first 10 years of her career are currently obscure. In 1801 she made a voyage to England for the British East India Company (EIC), and then was briefly registered in England. She returned to India to continue to sail as a "country ship" until she was sold to Portuguese or Spanish owners in 1811. She returned to British ownership circa 1816 and made a second voyage for the EIC, this time from China to England. She returned to English registry and made one voyage to India under a license from the EIC. She then switched to sailing between Liverpool and Quebec and was lost in the Atlantic around 1822.
Sovereign was launched at Rotherhithe in 1800 as a West Indiaman. The British East India Company (EIC) then took her up as an "extra" ship on several contracts; in all she made seven voyages as an East Indiaman for the EIC. After she left the EIC's service in 1817 she continued to trade with India, but under a license from the EIC. She was broken up in 1822.
Thomas Grenville was an East Indiaman launched at the Bombay Dockyard for the British East India Company (EIC), and one of only a handful of East Indiamen that it actually owned. She made 14 voyages for the EIC. It sold her in 1834 when it gave up its maritime activities. She was sold for a free trader and burnt in Bombay in June 1843 in a suspicious fire.
Devaynes was launched in 1802 and made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made one more round-trip to India, sailing under a license from the EIC. She was condemned at Bengal in 1817 on a second licensed voyage to Bengal.
House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1814). Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping. H.M. Stationery Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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.
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