| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | Philadelphia [1] |
| Launched | 1796 [1] |
| Captured | Circa late 1803 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 123, [2] or 126 [3] (bm) |
| Complement | 25 [3] |
| Armament |
|
Prudence was built in Philadelphia in 1796. Between 1801 and 1803 she made two complete voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was captured around late 1803 on her third voyage before she could purchase captives.
Prudence first appeared in the Register of Shipping (RS) in 1802. [2]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1802 | Woodstock | J[ames] & J[ohn] Parr | Liverpool–Africa | RS; small repairs 1801 |
On 6 January 1802 Prudence, Woodstock, master, sailed for Africa. [4] In 1802, 155 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for Africa to acquire and transport enslaved people; 122 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [5]
Prudence acquired captives at Cape Grand Mount and arrived at Kingston on 6 April with 157 captives. Prudence sailed from Kingston on 21 May and arrived back at Liverpool on 5 July. she had left Liverpool with 20 crew members and suffered three crew deaths on the voyage. [1]
Captain James Swanson sailed from Liverpool on 5 September 1802. Prudence began acquiring captives in Africa on 1 November, and sailed from Africa on 3 January 1803. She arrived at Demerara on 10 March. She arrived back at Liverpool on 30 May. She had left Liverpool with 20 crew members and suffered eight crew deaths on the voyage. [6] [lower-alpha 1]
Captain Johnathan D'Arcy acquired a letter of marque on 30 July 1803. [3] He sailed from Liverpool on 7 September. [8] In 1803, 99 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for Africa to acquire and transport enslaved people; 83 of these vessels sailed from Liverpool. [5]
When Fame arrived at Demerara she brought news that Active, Dalrymple, master, and Prudence, Darby, master, had been captured on the Windward Coast. [9]
In 1804, 30 British vessels in the triangular trade were lost; eight of these vessels were lost off the coast of Africa. [10] 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 enslaving vessels. [11]
Plover was launched at Liverpool in 1788. Her whereabouts between 1798 and 1802 are currently obscure. She became a Liverpool-based slave ship in 1802. She made three voyages in the triangular trade, carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West indies. The French Navy captured her in 1806 as she was starting her fourth voyage to acquire captives. The French Navy may have commissioned her as a corvette, but if so her service was brief.
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 revolt on another slave ship by that vessel's captives. 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 captives.
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.
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.
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.
Apollo was built in Bermuda in 1798. From 1803 she made two voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in port at Dominica in 1805.
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.
Active was launched at Bermuda in 1789. She transferred to Liverpool circa 1798 and then spent a few years as a West Indiaman. Between 1802 and 1803 she made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved persons. She was captured off West Africa around late 1804 on her second voyage before she could start acquiring slaves.
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.
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.
Active was built in Chester in 1781. Initially, she traded with the Baltic and North America. From 1798 she made four complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved persons. A privateer captured her on 1 September 1805 during her fifth slave voyage, after she had embarked her slaves, and took her into the River Plate.
Diligence or Diligent was launched in Spain in 1795 and came into British ownership as a French prize acquired in 1800. She became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made three complete voyages transporting captives. During her third voyage she captured three French vessels. She was wrecked in 1804 on her fourth journey before she had embarked any slaves.
Dart was launched at Plymouth in 1787. Dart initially traded with Newfoundland and then the Mediterranean. From 1797 she made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was condemned at Barbados in 1802 as she was returning to London after having delivered captives to Demerara.
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. Her fourth voyage gave rise to an influential, and exaggerated, estimate of the profitability of trading in enslaved people. She was lost in 1804 on the coast of Africa on her sixth voyage.
Nelly was launched at Liverpool in 1798. She initially sailed as a West Indiaman. From 1803 she made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Spanish privateers captured her in 1805 while she was on her third slave voyage after she had embarked slaves.
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.
Laurel's origins are ambiguous. She first appeared in online British sources in 1802. She made three voyages from Liverpool to Africa. On the first she apparently was on a trading voyage. The second was a complete voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During this voyage she was involved in two sanguinary engagements with French vessels, the second of which resulted in the death of her master. She set out in 1805 on a second voyage to transport enslaved people, but a French squadron captured her before she had embarked any captives.
Urania was launched in 1795 in Spain and taken in prize. Starting in 1800 she made three voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During the third voyage she was involved in two engagements with French vessels. She was so damaged in the second of these that she was condemned in 1804 after she landed her slaves at Demerara.