| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Three Sisters |
| Builder | John Perry, Blackwall |
| Launched | 2 August 1788 |
| Fate | Wrecked February 1799 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 330, [1] or 333 [2] (bm) |
| Armament |
|
Three Sisters was launched in 1788 as a West Indiaman. In 1795 she made one voyage to Bengal for the British East India Company (EIC). She then returned to the West Indies trade and was lost in February 1799 on her way to Barbados from London.
Three Sisters first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1789. [1] (LR for 1788 is not available online.)
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1789 | M.Johnson | Mangles | London–Jamaica | LR |
| 1795 | M.Johnson J.Hall | Mangles Calvert & Co. | London–Jamaica London–East Indies | LR |
Three Sisters sailed for Bengal on 30 August 1795. [2] On 3 November she was reported at 9°48′N20°49′W / 9.800°N 20.817°W on her way to St Helena. [3]
At the time the EIC had a monopoly on trade between Great Britain and India or China. It is not clear why Three Sisters had EIC approval for the voyage. She is not among the vessels on the list of vessels that the EIC had chartered to bring rice back from Bengal on behalf of the British government.
However, she was on an authorized voyage. She is listed among the vessels which had arrived in Britain with a cargo on behalf of the EIC. [4]
Three Sisters, Graham Steel, master, left Bengal on 2 August 1796. She reached the Cape on 4 November and St Helena on 30 November; she was at Falmouth on 5 February 1797. [5]
On her return from Bengal Three Sisters returned to the West Indies trade.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1797 | J.Hall W.Alitson | Calvert & Co. | London–Bengal London–Martinique | LR |
| 1799 | Goodwin | Latham & Son | London–Demerara | LR |
Lloyd's List reported that Three Sisters, Goodwin, master, was on her way from London to Barbados when she was lost in Orchard's Bay in the Isle of Wight. Three men had drowned. [6]
Atlantic was launched in 1783. She made one voyage from England to Australia in 1791 carrying convicts. Later, she made one voyage for the East India Company (EIC). Subsequently she sailed to Smyrna, Surinam, and Gibraltar, before she disappeared from records in 1810.
Ceres was launched at Whitby in 1794. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). Thereafter she remained a London-based transport. She was last listed in 1816.
Queen was launched at Quebec in 1795. She made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) and then became a West Indiaman, trading between London and West Indies. She was last listed in 1813.
Bridgewater was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC), which engaged her for six voyages. She then made two more as an "extra ship", that is, under voyage charters, and was lost at sea in 1805 while homeward bound from Bombay on her eighth voyage.
Lord Camden was launched in 1783 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company. She made five voyages for the EIC before her owner sold her.
Lord Macartney was launched in 1782 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC0 before she was sold in 1798. She then traded across the Atlantic to North America and was last listed in 1811.
Loyalist was launched in 1793. Between 1796 and 1803 she made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then sailed as a West Indiaman until she was condemned in 1809 as unseaworthy.
Melville Castle was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold in 1802 to Dutch owners and wrecked with great loss of life later that year on her first voyage for them.
Contractor was launched in 1779 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She made one voyage as a transport for a military expedition before her owners sold her in 1800 for use as a transport.
Dublin was launched in 1784 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), to India and China. On her last voyage for the EIC she recaptured a country ship. Her owners sold Dublin in 1800 and she became a West Indiaman, but apparently was lost on her first voyage.
Duke of Montrose was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). She then briefly became a troop transport, sailing to the West Indies. She was sold in 1811 for breaking up.
Earl of Wycombe was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1800 she became a general trader, trading across the Atlantic to the West Indies and Canada. She was lost without a trace c.1803.
Sally was launched in 1782 at Liverpool as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage as a whaler and one as an East Indiaman sailing to Bengal under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). After a storm damaged her in 1805 as she was on her way in 1805 from Liverpool to Africa as a slave ship she had to put into Barbados where she was condemned.
Spy was built in France in 1780, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize. The British East India Company (EIC) purchased her in 1781 and used her for almost two years as a fast packet vessel and cruiser based in St Helena. It then sold her and she became a London-based slave ship, making two voyages in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. She then became a whaler, making seven whaling voyages between 1786 and 1795. She was probably wrecked in August 1795 on a voyage as a government transport.
Tartar was launched on the River Thames in 1787. Initially, she traded between London and Smyrna. Between 1792 and 1794 she made one voyage to Bengal and back carrying dispatches for the British East India Company (EIC). On her return she became a packet for the Post Office Packet Service, sailing from Falmouth, Cornwall. In June 1796 she was bringing mail from New York back to Falmouth when a French privateer captured her.
Tartar was built in France in 1778, almost surely under another name. She was taken in prize and appears under British ownership in 1780. After a short career as a privateer, she made a voyage between 1781 and 1783 as an extra East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She then became a whaler in the northern whale fishery. After whaling she traded with the Baltic and then served as a London-based transport. She was probably lost in 1799, and was last listed in 1801. If Tartar is the vessel lost in 1799, in 1796 French warships captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her.
Harriet was launched at Calcutta, between 1793 and 1795. Between 1795 and 1801 she made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and was chartered for use as a transport for a naval campaign that was cancelled. She became a transport and then in 1817 made another voyage to India, this time under a license from the EIC. She then became a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery, making seven complete whaling voyages and being lost c.1841 on her eighth.
Harriot was launched at Rotherhithe in 1787 as a West Indiaman. She made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), the first as Harriot and the second as Harriet. After the voyages for the EIC she returned to sailing to the West Indies until circa 1801. She then became a London-based transport until she was last listed in 1813.
Thetis was launched on the river Thames in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company between 1787 and 1800, She then was sold and spent a handful of years as a West Indiaman. She was broken up in 1806.
Marquis of Lansdown was launched in 1787 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages as an "extra" ship for the British East India Company (EIC) before the EIC declared her worn out. Her owners sold her in 1800 and she became a West Indiaman. The French captured her in 1805 when they captured Dominica.