Warren Hastings was a three-decker East Indiaman, launched in 1802. The French captured her in 1805 during her second voyage for the East India Company and sold her to Danish owners. The British recaptured her in January 1808,[6] and within a year thereafter she was again in her former owner's hands. She then made several more voyages for the company.
Captain Thomas Larkins sailed Warren Hasting for China, leaving The Downs on 6 April 1803 and arriving at Whampoa on 28 August.[3] Before she arrived she rescued a dozen or so Chinese sailors. A gale had caught their three "tchuans" and sunk them, causing the loss of some 500 people. The same gale had also caught the East Indiaman Houghton, causing her loss, together with that of the 120 or so people aboard her.[7]
Larkins had left Britain during the Peace of Amiens so he did not apply for a letter of marque. However, the Peace broke down in May 1803. Larkins received a letter of marque on 16 September, while he was in China.[4] Homeward bound, Warren Hastings crossed the Second Bar on 1 February 1804.[3]
Warren Hastings was traveling in convoy with the fleet of East Indiamen returning from China, and under the command of Commodore Nathaniel Dance. On 14 February the China fleet encountered a small French squadron under Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois. some shots were exchanged, but the East Indiamen were able to bluff Linois into withdrawing.
Warren Hastings was directly engaged and the Indiamen reached Malacca on 19 February and Penang on 1 March. Warren Hastings was at St Helena on 7 June and arrived at The Downs on 8 August.[3]
Second EIC voyage and capture (1805)
The French frigate Piémontaise capturing the East Indiaman Warren Hastings, by Robert Dodd
Larkins sailed Warren Hastings for Benkulen and China on her second voyage, leaving Portsmouth on 17 February 1805. She spent May–July at St Helena and September–October at Benkulen. However, on 21 June 1806, as Warren Hastings was on her way back from Canton, the French frigate Piémontaise, under the command of Captain Épron, captured her at 26°13′S56°45′E / 26.217°S 56.750°E / -26.217; 56.750,[3] in a noteworthy single-ship action.[5] Larkins put up a stubborn resistance for four hours.[1] Casualties on Warren Hastings from the engagement amounted to seven killed and 13 wounded; casualties on Piémontaise amounted to seven killed and five wounded. After Warren Hastingsstruck, the French boarding party stabbed Larkin, wounding him severely, and wounded four other officers and crew.[5][lower-alpha 2]
Her captors took Warren Hastings to Mauritius where they arrived on 4 July. Thereafter the French initially used her as a prison ship.[1][lower-alpha 3]
On 11 December 1806, Warren Hastings was sold with "her tackle and apparel."[10] The purchaser was a Danish company.[11] One report has the Danish East India Company purchasing Warren Hastings as a replacement for Holstein, which had arrived at Port Louis on 21 July 1806 and been condemned.[12] (A report in the Madras Courier dated 10 February 1807 stated that the Danish company's ship Holstein was sailing from Copenhagen to Serampore when she was dismasted off Ceylon. She sailed to Mauritius for repairs.[13])
The Danish Asiatic Company named their newly-bought ship Holsten (II).[14] Reportedly she was wrecked in a cyclone at Bourbon Island towards end-December.[10] It is clear that she was not totally wrecked as she returned to commerce.
Recapture (January 1808) and third EIC voyage (1809–1810)
The British recaptured Warren Hastings (plus six other Danish merchant ships) at Frederiksnagore (Surampore),[12][11] then part of Danish India, and 14 miles north of Calcutta, after news of the British attack on Copenhagen in August–September 1807 reached India. Her captors placed Warren Hastings in the Indian coastal trade for some months until John Pascall Larkins, Jr., younger brother of Thomas Larkins, Jr., purchased her in 1809.[1][11]
Captain C. P. MacFarlane sailed Warren Hastings back to England from Calcutta as an "extra ship", i.e., under charter. She left Calcutta on 11 September 1809, reached Madras on 24 September, and the Cape on 16 December. She was at St Helena on 27 January 1810 and arrived at Portsmouth on 8 April and Blackwall on 24 April.[15]
Fourth EIC voyage (1811–1812)
Captain Gunter Lyde Browne sailed Warren Hastings to the Cape and China, leaving Portsmouth on 8 April 1811. He sailed under a letter of marque issued on 20 February 1811.[4] She reached the Cape of Good Hope on 13 July, Penang on 30 August, and Malacca on 20 September, before arriving at Whampoa on 28 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 11 January 1812, reached St Helena on 21 March, and arrived at The Downs on 14 May.[16]
Fifth EIC voyage (1815–1816)
Captain Richard Rawes left The Downs on 27 April 1815, bound for China. Warren Hastings arrived at Whampoa on 23 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 10 January 1816, reached St Helena on 26 March, and arrived at The Downs on 11 May.[16] Rawes brought with him Wisteria sinensis (Chinese wisteria) plants.[17] In addition to the wisteria, Rawes brought two Camellia hybrids for his relation Thomas Carey Palmer, of Bromley in Kent: "Wellbank's White Camellia" (Camellia japonica "Wellbankii") and Camellia × maliflora.[18]
When Warren Hastings arrived back at London she discharged her crew, including her Chinese sailors hired in Canton. Princess Amelia repatriated 31 to Canton, together with 359 others, leaving the Downs on 20 July 1816.[19]
Sixth EIC voyage (1819–1820)
Camellia reticulata
Captain Rawes and Warren Hastings left Portsmouth on 4 April 1819, reached Penang on 20 July, Malacca on 15 September, and Singapore on ten days later. She arrived at Whampoa on 7 November. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 6 February 1820, reached St Helena on 21 April, and arrived at The Downs on 20 June Downs.[16]
Rawes brought with him Camellia reticulata plants, the first imported to England, the variety becoming known as 'Captain Rawes'. For over a century 'Captain Rawes' was the sole reticulata cultivated in Europe.[20] Rawes also brought Palmer "Camellia sasanqua, var. β. stricata", "Paconia Moutan, var. Rawesii", and "Primula pranitens".[18]
Seventh EIC voyage (1823–1824)
Warren Hastings, still under the command of Captain Richard Rawes, left the Downs on 21 April 1823 and arrived at Whampoa on 1 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 17 January 1824, reached St Helena on 27 March, and arrived at The Downs on 10 June.[16]
Eighth EIC voyage (1825–1826)
Captain Richard Rawes and Warren Hastings left The Downs on 1 May 1825. On the way, severe weather caused considerable damage, forcing Rawes to divert to Penang, which she reached on 27 August, for repairs. The repairs took some time long as Warren Hastings did not reach Singapore until 3 October. A cyclone on the way to China again caused damage, but she arrived at Whampoa on 6 November. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 6 February 1826, reached St Helena on 3 May, and arrived at The Downs on 23 June.[16]
Fate
In 1829 Warren Hastings was sold for breaking up after having been laid up for some time.[1]
Notes
↑ These figures are from the naval historian William James. He reported that four 18-pounder guns on the main deck and four 18-pounder carronades from the upper deck were stored in the hold.[5]
↑ On 7 January 1807 the Court of Directors of the EIC awarded 500 guineas to Larkins and 2000 guineas to his crew for their gallant defense.[8]
Warley, launched in 1796, was one of the British East India Company's (EIC), larger and more famous East Indiamen. She made nine voyages to the East between 1796 and 1816, most direct to China. In 1804 she participated in the Battle of Pulo Aura. In 1816, the company sold her for breaking up.
Coutts was launched in 1797 and made eight voyages to India and China for the British East India Company (EIC). She participated in two notable engagements, the action of 4 August 1800, and the battle of Pulo Aura. She was broken up in 1815.
Alfred was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages for the EIC before she was sold. She participated in two notable incidents in which East Indiamen bluffed superior French naval forces from engaging. In January 1797, on her third voyage, in the Bali Strait Alfred and five other Indiamen sent off a French squadron of six frigates without a shot being fired. In February 1804, at Pulo Aura, during her sixth voyage she participated in a notable engagement with a French squadron. After her last voyage for the EIC Alfred served as a storeship and a hulk.
Woodford was launched in 1790 and made nine voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1797 her captain was commodore of a small group of East Indiamen that managed to bluff a French squadron of warships into sailing away to avoid an engagement. In 1812 Woodford was sold for breaking up.
Wexford was launched in 1802 as an East Indiaman in the service of the British East India Company (EIC). She made seven voyages to India, Persia, and China for the EIC, on the first of which she participated in the battle of Pulo Aura. Her last voyage ended in 1817 and she was broken up c. 1819.
Hope was launched in 1797 on the Thames River. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold for breaking up in 1816. She was one of the East Indiamen at the battle of Pulo Aura.
Alnwick Castle was launched in 1801 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company before her owners sold her in 1816 for breaking up.
Taunton Castle was launched on the River Thames in 1790 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was broken up in 1813. In 1797, on her third trip, she was one of a fleet of six East Indiamen that bluffed a squadron of six French frigates into fleeing.
Canton was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1791 and 1811. She was sold and served for a while as a West Indiaman, transport, and storeship. Her hulk was sunk in 1829 to form a dry dock at Limehouse. She was finally broken up in 1898.
Scaleby Castle was launched in 1798 at Bombay. She made three voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) under charter. At the end of the first she changed to British Registry. Her owners sold her in 1806 to William Moffat, who then entered into a four-voyage contract with the EIC as a regular ship. The EIC purchased Scaleby Castle outright in 1816. She proceeded to make 10 more voyages for the EIC. In all, she made 17 voyages for the EIC, a record. In 1833-35 the EIC ended its commercial activities and sold its vessels. New owners continued to sail Scaleby Castle to China and India. She was last listed in 1841. In 1847 her owners sold her as a hulk.
Brunswick was launched in 1792 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made five complete voyages for the EIC before the French captured her in 1805. Shortly thereafter she wrecked at the Cape of Good Hope.
Ceres was launched in 1797 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), before she was hulked in 1816.
Carnatic was launched in 1787. She made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She was sold for breaking up in 1802.
True Briton was launched in 1790 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She was lost without a trace in 1809 during her eighth voyage.
Nottingham was launched in 1787 as an East Indiaman. She made only eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) in the 23 years before she was sold for breaking up.
Bombay Castle was launched in 1792 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1807 for breaking up. In addition to carrying cargo for the EIC, she transported troops in one campaign, participated in a naval action in which she helped capture a French frigate, and played a leading role in an encounter between the French Navy and a fleet of East Indiamen in which the East Indiamen succeeded in bluffing the French to withdraw.
Dorsetshire was launched in 1800 as an East Indiaman. She made nine voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). In each of her first, second, and third voyages she was involved in a notable action. The remainder of her voyages appear to have proceeded without incident. She ceased sailing for the EIC in 1823 and was broken up c.1827.
Neptune was launched in 1796 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was broken up in 1819. On her second voyage, in 1800, she was present at a notable action.
Worcester was launched in 1785 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made eight voyages to India and China for the EIC and participated as a transport in two naval expeditions before she was sold in 1809 for breaking up.
Warren Hastings was launched in 1781 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). She made six voyages for the EIC before being sold in 1797 for breaking up.
References
Bretschneider, E. (1898). History of European Botanical Discoveries in China. Vol.1–2. Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
Compton, James A. (2015). "815. Wisteria Sinensis on the slow boat from China: the journey of wisteria to England; Leguminosae (Fabaceae)". Curtis's Botanical Magazine. 32 (3–4). doi:10.1111/curt.12112.
Grocott, Terence (1997). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham. ISBN1861760302.
Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN0-905617-96-7.
Van Dyke, Paul A. (2017). "A ship full of Chinese passengers: Princess Amelia's voyage from London to China in 1816–17". In Swope, Kenneth M.; Andrade, Tonio (eds.). Early Modern East Asia: War, Commerce, and Cultural Exchange. Routledge.
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