Sovereign (1789 ship)

Last updated

History
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameSovereign
BuilderEdward Mosley, Howdon [1]
Launched1789
FateWrecked 22 January 1804
General characteristics [2]
Tons burthen382, [3] or 395, or 430 [4] (bm)
Complement49 [3]
Armament
  • 1803:8 × 4&12-pounder guns [3]
  • 1804:10 guns + 2 × 12-pounder carronades

Sovereign was launched at Newcastle in 1789. She traded between London and South Carolina and then as a transport. In 1802 she became a Guineaman, i.e., a slave ship, in the triangular trade in ensalved people. She wrecked on 22 January 1804 as she was returning from the West Indies where she had landed her captives at Trinidad.

Contents

Career

Sovereign first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1789. [4]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1789J.BennBrownLondon–South CarolinaLR

On 19 November 1791 as Sovereign was returning to London, she came across a brig on her side at 49°10′N8°30′W / 49.167°N 8.500°W / 49.167; -8.500 . The brig had been abandoned and a strong wind was causing the seas to break over her. [5] Sovereign arrived in the Downs on 26 November.

Lloyd's List reported on 14 November 1794 that Sovereign, Benn, master, was one of seven transports that had sailed to Toulon from Corsica as cartels, carrying prisonners. When they arrived at Toulon, the French had detained. [6] The transports were presumably carrying prisoners from the British capture of Corsica.

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1795J.BennBrownLondon–South CarolinaLR
1800BalmanoBrown & Co.London transportLR
1802Balmano
J.Ward		Brown & Co.London transport
London–Africa		LR

Voyage transporting enslaved people (1802–Loss): Captain John Ward sailed from London on 7 November 1802. [7] In 1802, 155 vessels sailed from English ports to Africa to acquire and transport enslaved people; 15 of these vessels sailed from London. [8]

Sovereign acquired captives at Bonny. [7] Ward was issued a letter of marque on 2 July 1803, [3] but by that time he was dead. [9] Lloyd's List (LL) reported on 3 September 1803 that Sovereign, late Ward, had arrived at Suriname from Africa and was bound for Trinidad. [10] [9] Ward had died while Sovereign was in Africa. [9] She arrived at Trinidad on 22 July 1803 with 319 captives. [7]

Fate

On 22 January 1804, Sovereign, B.Richardson, master, struck the Smith's Rocks, a submerged reef in the Irish Sea off Ballycotton, County Cork. [11] She was about a mile from shore as she was coming from Trinidad and Tortola to London. She foundered within 10 minutes of striking the rock with most on board drowning. Casualty counts differed by report. One stated that eight of 37 people on board were saved. Another stated that 31 of the 40 people on board were lost. A third stated nine out of 35 were saved. Four of the people on board were passengers, three or four of whom were saved. She was carrying sugar, coffee, indigo, hides, and elephants' teeth (ivory). [12] [13] [9]

By one account, five local men, led by a Dennis Flinn, took a boat out. Because of the weather, it took them several hours to reach the wreck even though it was not far away. When they reached the wreck they were able to rescue five men who had taken to one of her masts. Shortly thereafter, the mast fell overboard. When the weather abated, people on shore launched boats to retrieve whatever flotsam they could, to secret it. [14]

In 1804, some 30 British vessels in the triangular trade were lost. At least one of these was lost on the homeward leg of her voyage. [15] 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. [16]

Citations

  1. ↑ Tyne Built Ships: "S".
  2. ↑ British Library: Sovereign (2).
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Letter of Marque, p.87 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 LR (1789), seq.№S560.
  5. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (2355). 29 November 1791. hdl:2027/uc1.c3049066.
  6. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2664. 14 November 1794. hdl:2027/uc1.c3049067.
  7. 1 2 3 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Sovereign voyage #83574.
  8. ↑ Williams (1897), p. 680.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Ship News". Aberdeen Journal (Aberdeen, Scotland), 15 February 1804; Issue 2927.
  10. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4384, Ship arrival and departure (SAD) data). 13 September 1803. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735021.
  11. ↑ Stokes (2015), pp. 232–233.
  12. ↑ "Ship News". The Hull Packet (893). 21 February 1804.
  13. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (44). January 1804.
  14. ↑ Bayley (1809), pp. 422–425.
  15. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
  16. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 58.

Related Research Articles

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.

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 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.

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.

William Heathcote was launched in Liverpool in 1800. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Next, a French privateer captured her in a single-ship action, and the British Royal Navy recaptured her. She became a West Indiaman before she again made an enslaving voyage, one of the last such legal voyages. After British participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade ended, she became a West Indiaman again; she then sailed to Brazil and as a transport. She was wrecked in July 1816.

Westmoreland was launched on the Thames in 1791. She made two voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Between these voyages she cruized as a privateer for some months. She then traded between Britain and the Mediterranean. She was last listed in 1814.

Harriot was launched in Liverpool in 1786. For many years she was a West Indiaman, sailing between Liverpool and Barbados. In 1796 a French frigate captured her, but the British Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. At the beginning of her of her first slave trading voyage a French privateer captured her, and again the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She made five slave trading voyages in all. Thereafter she traded with South America. She was last listed in 1814 with stale data.

Tamer, was a French prize. She made two complete voyages as a slave ship from 1801 in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She foundered in 1803 off Barbados as she was delivering her captives on her third slave voyage. Before leaving the coast of Angola on this last voyage, she had captured a French slave ship in a sanguinary single ship action. Tamer sailed with her prize, which rescued Tamer's crew and slaves when Tamer foundered. The insurers refused to pay on Tamer's loss, on the grounds that she had deviated from sailing in the most expeditious manner by periodically waiting for her prize to catch up. The court supported the insurers on appeal.

Nimble was built in Folkestone in 1781, possibly under another name. In 1786 Nimble was almost rebuilt and lengthened. Between 1786 and 1798 she made nine voyages as a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery. Between 1799 and 1804 she made four voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her first voyage as to gather captives she detained a neutral vessel, an action that resulted in a court case. On her second voyage to gather captives, a French privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. She was wrecked in 1804 or so after she had delivered her captives to St Thomas.

Hector was launched at Bristol in 1781 as a West Indiaman. A new owner in 1802 sailed Hector as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete voyage transporting enslaved people before a French privateer captured her on her second such voyage after Hector had disembarked her captives.

Commerce was a French vessel launched in 1798 and taken in prize in 1800. Initially she sailed as a West Indiaman. Then between 1801 and the end in 1807 of British participation in the triangular trade in enslaved people, Commerce made four voyages as a slave ship and also spent some time in 1803 cruising as a privateer. Afterwards, she continued to trade between Liverpool and West Africa. During one voyage in 1811 a French privateer captured her, but Commerce was recaptured. She was wrecked in November 1813 while returning to Liverpool from South America.

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.

Ranger was launched in 1791 in New Providence and immediately came to Britain. She generally traded between Liverpool and New Providence. She underwent grounding in 1795 and in 1796 her owners had her repaired, lengthened, and converted from a brig to a ship. A French privateer captured her in August 1797 after a single-ship action. In a process that is currently obscure, Ranger returned to British ownership circa 1799. She then became a West Indiaman. From 1803 on she became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete voyage transporting enslaved people. Then French privateers captured her after she had embarked captives in West Africa but before she could deliver them to the West Indies. A United States citizen purchased her at Guadeloupe and renamed her Delaware. In 1805 the Royal Navy recaptured her. She was returned to her British owners who sailed her between Ireland and Newfoundland. She was last listed in 1814.

Orange Grove was probably of Danish origin. She first appeared in British records in 1800. She made one complete voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. The French captured her in 1804 during her second slave trading voyage after she had embarked slaves but before she could land them in the West Indies.

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.

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.

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.

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.