| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Swan |
| Launched | 1800 |
| Fate | Wrecked 10 May 1806 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 117, [1] or 135 [2] (bm) |
| Armament |
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Swan was launched at Greenock, Scotland, in 1800. She traded widely until in 1805 she became a slave ship in the triangular trade of enslaved people. She was lost in 1806 while delivering captives.
Swan appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1800 with Hattrick, master, Ritchie, owner, and trade Greenock–Jamaica, changing to Greenock–Newfoundland. [1]
Swan's first owner was Walter Ritchie & Sons. At the beginning of the 19th century, Walter Ritchie & Sons was one of the best known Greenock firms of shipowners. In 1808 Walter Ritchie moved to London to manage his London business. His sons then took charge of eleven ships, "by far the finest mercantile fleet...in Great Britain belonging to one firm." [3] [4]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1802 | J. Fraser | Hamilton & Co. | Greenock–Trinidad | Register of Shipping |
| 1804 | J. Fraser J. Bryant | Hamilton & Co. McKenzie & Co. | Greenock–Grenada London–Seville | LR |
| 1805 | J.Bryant D.Smith | M'Kenzie | London–Seville London–Africa | LR; damages repaired and good repair 1805 |
| 1806 | D. Smith | A. Shaw | London–Africa | LR; almost rebuilt 1803; damages repaired and good repair 1805 |
Voyage transporting enslaved people: Captain D. Smith sailed from England on 1 November 1805. [2] Swan acquired captives in the region and then on 3 March 1806, sailed for Charleston. South Carolina, in the United States. She was wrecked near Charleston on 10 May 1806 without loss of life. [5] Reportedly, she landed 194 captives. [2] The entry for her in the Register of Shipping for 1806 has the annotation "LOST" by her name. [6]
In December 1803, the South Carolina General Assembly had voted to reopen the African slave trade. Concern with the spread of yellow fever had caused the Assembly to suspend the slave trade. The Medical Society of South Carolina relaxed quarantine measures, prioritizing reopening the slave trade over public health. [7] The Medical Society argued that the fever was not imported (correct), and not contagious. Later it was discovered that the disease was not directly contagious, but was mosquito-borne, and so indirectly contagious, and that quarantine would help reduce the spread.
In 1806, 33 British ships were lost in the triangular trade. Eight were lost on the Middle Passage, sailing from Africa to the West Indies of the United States. [8] Although Swan was lost to the perils of the sea, 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 slave vessels. [9]
HMS Duguay-Trouin was an 18-gun French privateer sloop launched in 1779 at Le Havre. Surprise captured her in 1780 and the British Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name. It sold Duguay-Trouin on 30 October 1783. She then became the West Indiaman Christopher. She captured several French merchant vessels. Later she became a Liverpool-based slave ship, making five voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was lost at Charleston in September 1804 in a hurricane.
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.
Barton was launched in Bermuda, probably in 1799, and built of Bermuda cedar. She first appears 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.
Trio was launched at New Brunswick in 1801 and sailed to England. She became a merchant ship trading between Dublin and Montreal. From 1805 new owners sought to employ her as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, but the French Navy captured her in January 1806 early in her first enslaving voyage.
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 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.
Ceres was launched at Bermuda in 1800, or 1802. She came to Liverpool in 1806 and commenced a voyage as a slave ship. She was wrecked in late 1806 or early 1807 as she was leaving Africa for the West Indies, with a full cargo of slaves, all of whom apparently were lost.
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.
Several ships have been named John:
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.
Tartar was built in Spain in 1784, almost certainly under another name. She was taken in prize and appears under British ownership in 1799. She became a slave ship sailing from Liverpool in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was captured in late 1799 on her first enslaving voyage before she was able to embark any captives.
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.
Mentor was a Spanish prize captured in 1799. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She foundered on her way back to Liverpool after delivering her captives.
Roehampton was a ship built in the United States in 1792, possibly in Baltimore, and almost certainly under another name. Between 1798 and 1803 she traded between England and North America. From 1803 she made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She disappeared on her way home on her third.
Enterprize was launched in Spain and taken in prize, or in Brazil. She became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, sailing from Liverpool in 1799. French naval vessels captured and sank her before she could embark any captives.
Sir William Douglas was a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people, acquired by British interests in 1801. She made one complete voyage transporting enslaved people and was captured in 1803 after having delivered captives on her second voyage.
Union was launched at Liverpool in 1805. She made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She transported at least 743 captives to the West Indies and South Carolina. After the end of British participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade she then became a West Indiaman. Union was last listed in the mid-1820s.
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.
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