| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | William |
| Owner | Thomas Parr (1806-1807) |
| Acquired | 1806 by purchase of a prize |
| Captured | 1814 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 190, [1] or 194 (bm) |
| Armament | 14 × 4&6-pounder guns |
William was launched in Spain under another name and was taken in prize circa 1806. She made one voyage as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Thereafter she traded between Liverpool and Madeira. In 1814 an American privateer captured William.
William first appeared in the Register of Shipping (RS) in 1806. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1806 | Williamson | J.Parr | Liverpool–Africa | RS |
Voyage transporting enslaved people (1806–1807): Captain Joseph Williams sailed from Liverpool on 6 March 1806, bound for West Africa. [2] [lower-alpha 1] Between 1 January 1806 and 1 May 1807, 185 vessels cleared Liverpool outward bound in the slave trade. Thirty of these vessels made two voyages during this period. Of the 155 vessels, 114 were regular slave ships, having made two voyages during the period, or voyages before 1806. [4]
William gathered captives at Calabar and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica on 1 January 1807 with 201 captives. She sailed from Kingston on 22 March and arrived back at Liverpool on 1 June. She had left Liverpool with 24 crew members and she had suffered four crew deaths on her voyage. [2]
The Act for the abolition of the slave trade had passed Parliament in March 1807 and took effect on 1 May 1807. William did not, therefore, sail again as a slave ship.
Missing volumes in the Register of Shipping and missing pages in LR make for a gap in the record between 1807 and 1809 in the registers.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1809 | Wells | W.Taylor | Liverpool–Curacao | RS; large repair 1807 |
In July 1808 Lloyd's List (LL) reported that as William, Wells, master, was sailing from Jamaica to Liverpool she lost her bowsprit off the east enter of Jamaica and had to put back. [5] Ship arrival and departure (SAD) data from LL earlier showed William, Wells, master, sailing from Poole to Newfoundland on 23 March 1807, and at Madeira in late 1807. On 4 January 1808 she arrived at Boston from Newfoundland, and in late October she was at Gibraltar, having come from Newfoundland.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1810 | W.Jones | T.Taylor | Liverpool–Madeira | LR; large repair 1807 |
Lloyd's List reported in April 1814 that the American privateer Tormentor had captured William. [6] William was last listed in 1814. There is, however, no record of an American privateer by the name Tormentor in the most complete lists of American privateers. A compendium of U.S. privateers and their prizes as culled from Niles Weekly Register has no listing for Tormentor, and none of the prizes named William appears to be the William of this article. [7]
Kingsmill was a French vessel launched in 1793 under a different name, captured in 1798, and sold to British owners who renamed her. She then became a slave ship, making three voyages from Africa to the West Indies in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French privateer captured her in 1804, but she returned to her owners within the year. In 1807, after the end of British participation in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Kingsmill became a West Indiaman. In 1814 she became the first ship to trade with India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC) after the EIC lost its monopoly on British trade with India. She was badly damaged in 1821 and subsequently disappears from the registers.
Elliott was launched at Liverpool in 1783. She made ten voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade, carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. Next, she made one voyage as a whaler. She then became a merchantman, sailing between England and South America. In November 1807 French privateers captured her.
Robert was built in Brazil in 1797 and first appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1805. She made two slave trading voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French privateer captured her in a single-ship action in 1808 on her second voyage.
Allison was launched in France in 1776, almost certainly under another name. The British captured her in 1795. Between 1796 and 1799 she made two whaling voyages to the British southern whale fishery. Then between 1799 and 1807 she made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Between the first and the second a French privateer captured her, but British letters of marque recaptured her. The British slave trade was abolished in 1807 and thereafter Allison traded primarily as a coaster. After about 1840 she began to trade to America and Africa. She was lost c.1846.
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.
Caledonia was a Spanish vessel that the British captured in 1804 and that new owners renamed. She made two complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In 1809 she disappeared from online records.
Governor Dowdeswell was launched in 1798 in Spain or France under another name. The British captured her in 1800. New owners in Liverpool renamed her and employed her as a slave ship for five voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. With the end of the British slave trade in 1807, new owners employed her as a whaler. She made one complete whaling voyage to the Pacific but the Spanish seized he during her second whaling voyage there.
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.
Horatio was launched in 1800 at Liverpool. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. During two of these voyages she was captured and recaptured. Shortly before the British slave trade ended she left the slave trade and sailed between Britain and South America and as a West Indiaman. She was wrecked in 1817.
Aurora was launched at Chester in 1793 as a West Indiaman. During her career first the French (twice) and then the United States' privateer captured her, but she returned to British hands. Between 1801 and 1808 she made four voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Afterwards, she continued to trade widely until 1831.
Vanguard was launched in Liverpool in 1799. She made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the outlawing of the British slave trade she became a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her in March 1809.
Falmouth was launched in 1806 at Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the British slave trade ended in 1807, she became a West Indiaman until a privateer captured her in 1812.
Roe was launched in France in 1792, almost certainly under another name. The British captured her and between 1801 and 1808 she became a Liverpool based slave ship, making four voyages in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the end of the British slave trade Roe traded with Brazil. The Americans captured her in 1812 but she was quickly recaptured. She was wrecked in November 1814.
Fame was launched in India in 1786. She was sold to Portuguese owners. A French privateer captured but the Royal Navy recaptured her in 1794. She then became a West Indiaman, sailing from Liverpool. Between 1796 and 1804 she made three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then returned to the West Indies trade. From 1818 on she was a whaler in the Greenland whale fishery, sailing from Whitby and then Hull. She burnt in 1823 while outward bound on a whaling voyage.
Agreeable was launched at Bermuda in 1786, probably under a different name. French owners acquired her at some point and sailed her as Agréable. In 1793 the British captured her. Subsequently, between 1793 and 1808, she made six voyages as a slave ship, alternating between the triangular trade in enslaved people, and sailing as a regular West Indiaman. French privateers captured her between the second and third voyages, and the third and fourth voyages, but each time the British Royal Navy recaptured her. In the case of the second capture she was in French hands long enough for them to send her out as a privateer. She herself captured an American vessel in 1808 as she was returning to Liverpool from her last enslaving voyage. After the end of British participation in trans-Atlantic enslaving trade, Agreeable traded more widely, particularly to South America. She was condemned at Buenos Aires in 1814 after running aground in the River Plate. She was repaired and continue to sail to Brazil until she returned to Liverpool in June 1819.
Agreeable was launched in 1786 in Liverpool, possibly under another name. Between 1798 and 1802 she made three voyages as a slave ship. A French privateer captured her in 1803 as she was sailing from Africa to the West Indies on her fourth slave trading voyage.
Backhouse was launched in 1798 at Dartmouth. In all, she made four voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Between the second and the third, and after the fourth, she was a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her early in 1810 as she was returning to Britain from Brazil.
Fortune was a French privateer launched at Bordeaux in 1800 and taken that same year. She immediately made one voyage as a whaler and privateer. She then made two voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the end of the British enslaving trade Fortune continued to trade with Africa and with South America. She was last listed in 1816.
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.
Onslow was a Spanish vessel launched in 1789 that was taken in prize in 1795. She became a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She made one complete slave trading voyage before a French privateer captured her in 1797 as she was just on her way to embark slaves for a second voyage.