| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Rebecca |
| Launched | 1802, Charleston |
| Acquired | 1805 |
| Captured | 1805 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 265, [1] or 272 [2] (bm) |
| Complement | 34 |
| Armament | 16 × 4&6-pounder guns [2] |
Rebecca was launched at Charleston in 1802, possibly under another name. She first appeared in online British sources in 1805. In 1805, Rebecca began a voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people but fell prey to Spanish privateers after she had embarked captives.
Rebecca first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1805. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1805 | Thompson | M'Dowell | Liverpool–Africa | LR |
Captain William Thompson sailed from Liverpool on 18 March 1805. He acquired captives at Loango and Cabinda. [3]
In December 1805, Lloyd's List reported that Rebecca, Thompson, master, William, Christie, master, and Clarendon, Grice, master, had been captured at Angola on 1 September. [4] They were among the seven vessels off the Congo River that had fallen prey to a privateer. [lower-alpha 1] The privateer was described as being of 22 guns and 350 men. Rebecca's captor sent her to the River Plate. [5]
A second report named the captors as L'Orient, of 14 guns, and Dromedario, of 22 guns. The captured vessels arrived in the River Plate before 12 November. [6]
Spanish records report that in June 1805, Viceroy Sobremonte, of Argentina, issued two letters of marque, one for Dolores (24 guns), Currand, master, and Berro y Errasquin, owner, and one for Dromedario (20 guns), Hippolito Mordel, master, and Canuerso y Masini, owner. The two sailed for the African coast, looking to capture enslaving ships. In three months of cruising Dolores captured three ships and one brig, carrying a total 600 enslaved people. Dromedario captured five ships, carrying a total of 500 enslaved people. [7]
Rebecca's entry in the 1806 volume of the Register of Shipping (RS), carried the annotation "Captured". [2]
In 1805, 30 British slave ships were lost. Thirteen were lost on the coast of Africa. [8] During the period 1793 to 1807, war, rather than maritime hazards or slave resistance, was the greatest cause of vessel losses among British slave vessels. [9]
Barton was launched in Bermuda, probably in 1799, and built of Bermuda cedar. She first appeared in registers under the Barton name in 1801 as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in 1803 before she had delivered the captives she had purchased for her second voyage. She returned to British ownership but her whereabouts between 1804 and 1810 are obscure. In 1811, she was again captured by a French privateer, which however gave her up. She grounded on 27 April 1819 at the entrance to the Sierra Leone River and was wrecked.
Sarah was launched at Liverpool in 1803. She made a short voyage as a privateer during which she captured a valuable prize. She then made two voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French naval squadron captured her early in her third enslaving voyage.
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.
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.
Swallow was launched in Spain in 1790, almost certainly under another name. She was taken in prize in 1805 and became a slaver ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made two voyages carrying captives, on both of which privateers captured her.
Quaker was launched at Tynemouth in 1793 as a West Indiaman. The French captured her in 1795 but in a process that is currently obscure she returned to British ownership. In 1797 she became a slave ship, sailing out of Liverpool in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her first voyage transporting enslaved people, the French captured after she had gathered her captives, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. She resumed her voyage but before she could deliver her captives the French captured her again. She returned to British ownership in 1805, but wrecked in December 1806.
Bellona was built in Spain in 1797 and was taken in prize circa late 1804. She made one voyage as a privateer, sailing from Liverpool to the River Plate area. On her return she made a voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was wrecked as she was coming back into Liverpool after having delivered her captives to Charleston.
Alexander was launched in 1801 in the United States, possibly under another name. She became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, sailing from Liverpool. A French privateer captured her after she had landed her captives at Berbice. Alexander returned to British ownership and became a West Indiaman, and then a transport. She was last listed in 1816 but may have been sold or broken up in 1815.
Resource was launched at Bermuda in 1792, possibly under another name, and sailed from Liverpool from 1798 on. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French Navy captured her in 1805 at the very beginning of her fifth voyage. However, the British recaptured her when her captors sent her into the Cape of Good Hope, not realising that the Royal Navy was capturing the Cape.
Several vessels have been named Venus for the planet Venus or the Roman goddess Venus:
Imperial was launched in 1802 by Temple shipbuilders in South Shields. She made one voyage from Liverpool to West Africa to trade between Africa and Liverpool in African goods. While she was acquiring goods, a French privateer captured her in 1804 and took her into Cayenne. Her loss resulted in a court case in which her insurers refused to pay on the grounds that her owners had not fully disclosed their plans. The court agreed with the insurers, ruling that the failure to disclose vitiated the contract. She and an enslaving vessel that the same privateer captured proved to be notably profitable prizes for her captor.
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.
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 enslaved people and took her into Montevideo.
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.
Clarendon was launched in France in 1788, under another name. She was taken in prize in 1804. In 1805, Clarendon began a voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people but fell prey to Spanish privateers after she had embarked captives.
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.
Ponsonby was launched in 1796 at Liverpool. She initially traded between Liverpool and Dublin, and then between 1801 and 1804 disappeared from Lloyd's Register. She returned to the register in 1805 as she sailed as a privateer for two or so months, capturing two vessels. She then became a slave ship in the triangular trade on enslaved people. The French Navy captured her in late 1804 or early 1805 before she could embark any slaves.
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.
Lucy was a Spanish vessel built in 1789, probably under another name. She came into British ownership in 1799. As Lucy, she proceeded to make three complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On the second of these she rather unusually assisted the British commander at Gorée in an operation to destroy a Spanish vessel at Senegal before the French could arm it as a privateer. However, a few days later a slave revolt resulted in the death of Lucy's captain. The French captured Lucy in 1806 on her fourth enslaving voyage as she was approaching the West Indies after she had embarked her captives. The capture involved a single ship action that left most of Lucy's crew dead or wounded. Her captors took Lucy into Guadeloupe, together with her captives.