| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Sovereign |
| Owner | |
| Builder | Shields, Newcastle-on-Tyne, or Sunderland [3] |
| Launched | 1793 |
| Fate | Last listed 1822 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 357, [4] or 362 [2] (bm) |
| Complement | 24 [4] |
| Armament | |
Sovereign was launched at Shields in 1793 as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage between 1795 and 1797 for the British East India Company (EIC), to New South Wales and then Bengal. She then resumed trading with the West Indies and was last listed in 1822.
Sovereign enters Lloyd's Register in 1794 with Storey, master, A. Towers, owner, and trade London–Tortola. [1]
On 21 February 1795 Captain George Storey acquired a letter of marque. [4] He then sailed Sovereign to New South Wales and on to Bengal on a voyage for the EIC. She was primarily carrying stores for Port Jackson, but she was also transporting one convict, Joseph Gerrald, a political reformer and one of the "Scottish Martyrs". [5]
Storey and Sovereign sailed from The Downs on 24 May. She reached Rio de Janeiro on 24 July and arrived at Port Jackson on 5 November. [6] Gerrald survived the journey but he was ill with tuberculosis and died in 1796.
Sovereign left on 17 December, bound for Bengal. [7] By 7 March 1796 she was at Sulu. She reached Penang on 1 April and arrived at Calcutta on 10 May. [6]
On 12 May the Calcutta Gazette published Storey's account of conditions at Port Jackson. Campbell, Clarke and Co. were Sovereign's agents at Calcutta. On 30 May the country ship Begum Shaw, Gavin (or Guy) Hamilton master and owner, arrived at Calcutta from Coringa. Campbell and Clark purchased her, retaining Hamilton as master. They renamed her Sydney Cove, loaded her with a variety of produce and goods, and sent her to Port Jackson on speculation. She wrecked on the way. [8] [9]
Homeward bound, Sovereign was at Kedgeree on 15 July and the Cape of Good Hope on 7 October. She reached Saint Helena on 3 November and Cork on 8 January 1797, before arriving back at The Downs on 31 January. [6]
On her return Sovereign resumed trading with the West Indies. Lloyd's Register for 1798 gives her master as P. Aylward, changing to S. Chapman, her owner as Baring & Co., and her trade as London–Jamaica. [10]
There is a report that Sovereign, Captain Richarson, was wrecked on 24 January 1804 at Ballycotton, County Cork, with heavy loss of life. She was on a voyage from Trinidad and Tortola to London. [11] [2] However, this was a different Sovereign.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | Chapman | Baring & Co. | London–Jamaica | Lloyd's Register (LR) |
| 1805 | Cunningham G. Sale | Dick & Co. Donaldson & Co. | Dublin–Jamaica London–Jamaica | LR |
| 1810 | A. Smith | Q. Dick | London–St Croix | LR; underwent a good repair in 1805 |
| 1813 | A. Smith | Q. Dick | London–St Croix | LR; underwent a good repair in 1805 |
Sovereign, of 362 tons (bm), launched at Shields in 1793, is no longer listed in Lloyd's Register in 1814. However, the Register of Shipping shows a Sovereign, A. Smith, master, Dick & Co. owners, and trade London-St Croix. Lloyd's Register has the same information. The Register of Shipping describes this Sovereign as being of 378 tons (bm), and of French origin. Lloyd's Register describes her as being of 377 tons, built at "Rochelle", and launched in 1809.
In 1815, Lloyd's Register lists two Sovereign, one of 377 tons (bm), and one of 362 tons (bm). (The Register of Shipping lists only the French origin Sovereign.) The 362-ton Sovereign has a launch year of 1794, and location of Sunderland.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1815 | W. Kind | R. Mount | London−Surinam | LR; [3] underwent a thorough repair in 1805 |
| 1820 | R. Dawson | R. Mount | London–Quebec | LR |
Sovereign is last listed in 1822 with information unchanged since 1820.
Surprize was a three-deck merchant vessel launched in 1780 that made five voyages as a packet ship under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). The fourth of which was subsequent to her participating in the notorious Second Fleet transporting convicts to Port Jackson (EIC). Her fifth voyage for the EIC was subsequent to her second voyage transporting convicts to Australia. In 1799 a French frigate captured her in the Bay of Bengal.
Bellona was a three-decker merchantman launched in 1782 at Limehouse by Woolcombe for Boyd & Co. She then traded for a decade before, in 1792, commencing a series of four voyages for the British East India Company as an "extra ship", that is, on a charter contract. During the first of these voyages she transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales. French privateers captured her and the British Royal Navy recaptured her, the Royal Navy seized her once, and then finally a French privateer captured her in February 1810 and scuttled her.
Boddington, sometimes referred to as Boddingtons, was a merchant ship launched in 1781 on the River Thames. For the first decade of her career she sailed as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage in 1792 transporting convicts from Ireland to Australia. For her return trip she also made one voyage for the East India Company from Asia to Britain. She wrecked in 1805 on the Thames River.
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Friendship was a three-decker merchantman, launched in 1793. She made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). During her first voyage, in 1796, a French privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. On the second, in 1799, she transported convicts from Ireland to Australia. She made a second voyage transporting convicts in 1817-18. On her way back she was broken up in 1819 at Mauritius after having been found unseaworthy.
Perseus was a sailing ship built in 1799 at Stockton-on-Tees, England. She made one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales, returning to England via Canton. In 1803-1804 she served as an "armed defense ship". Thereafter she served as a transport. She is last listed in 1844.
Coromandel was the French prize Modeste, captured in 1793 and refitted at Chittagong, British India. She made two voyages transporting convicts to Port Jackson, the first for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1805, but she had returned to British hands before 1809. An American privateer captured her in 1814, but this time the British Royal Navy recaptured her within days. She foundered in Indian waters on 6 February 1821.
Boyd was a brigantine built in 1783 at Limehouse on the river Thames, England. She originally traded as a West Indiaman, sailing between London and Saint Kitts. Then between 1795 and 1797 she performed a voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). The French captured her as she was homeward bound, but her owners repurchased her in 1803. In 1804 the French captured her again, but the Royal Navy recaptured her and returned her to her owners. In 1809 she transported convicts to New South Wales for the British government. After delivering the convicts she sailed to New Zealand where Maori warriors attacked her, killing, and eating, almost her entire crew and passengers. They then burnt her.
Clyde was a merchant ship built at Greenock, Scotland in 1820. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then made three voyages transporting convicts from England and Ireland to Australia. She was last listed in 1845.
City of Edinburgh was a merchant ship built at Bengal in 1813. She transferred to British registry and sailed between Britain and India. She made two voyages transporting convicts from Ireland to Australia. Later, she made a whaling voyage to New Zealand. She was wrecked in 1840.
Princess Royal was launched at Great Yarmouth in September 1794 and for the next three years traded with the West Indies. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) in 1797-8. On her return she resumed general trading. In 1822 and again in 1829 she transported convicts to New South Wales. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1834.
Ann was built in Batavia in 1797. How she came into British hands is currently unclear. She first appeared in a register in 1802, and thereafter made a voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1809 she made a voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales for the British government. On her return voyage she carried cargo for the EIC from Calcutta to London. She then became a West Indiaman, trading between London and Jamaica. Later she traded with Australia and India, and is last listed c.1865.
Eliza was a merchant ship built in British India, probably in 1804. Between 1819 and 1831 she made five voyages transporting convicts from England and Ireland to Australia. In between, she also made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). Her crew abandoned her at sea in 1836 as she was leaking uncontrollably.
Tyne was launched in 1807 in Rotherhithe. She spent the first part of her career as a West Indiaman. However, in 1810–1811 she made a voyage to India for the British East India Company (EIC) as an "extra" ship, i.e., under charter. Then in 1818 she made a voyage to Port Jackson, New South Wales transporting convicts. Thereafter, with a change of owners, she traded with the Far East under a license issued by the EIC. A fire destroyed her in 1828.
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.
Orpheus was launched at Chester in 1794. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She also served briefly as a transport in two military campaigns, and traded with the West and East Indies. She was last listed in 1838 but may well have been sold for breaking up in 1828.
Minerva was launched at Lancaster, Lancashire, in 1805. Following trading with Central and South America, she made two voyages under charter to the British East India Company (EIC) between 1811 and 1814. She also made four voyages transporting convicts to Australia between 1818 and 1824, one to Van Diemen's Land and three voyages to New South Wales. She was broken up in 1826.
Barrosa was launched in 1811 at Cossipore. She sailed to England and then made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC); during this period she also made one voyage carrying immigrants to South Africa. After the EIC gave up its maritime activities in 1833-1834, Barossa became a transport. She made three voyages transporting convicts to Australia. She was lost in 1847, without loss of life, while transporting contract labourers from Madras to Jamaica.
Lord Forbes was launched at Chester in 1803 as a West Indiaman. She soon became an "armed defense ship", but by 1805 had returned to being a West Indiaman. She made two voyages as an "extra" ship for the British East India Company (EIC). She continued trading with India until 1817 when she sustained damage on her way to Bengal. There she was surveyed, condemned and sold.