| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | William |
| Launched | 1811, Blyth, Northumberland |
| Fate | Last listed in 1829 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 215, [1] or 216 (bm) |
| Armament |
|
William (or Williams) was launched at Blyth in 1811. In 1818, a letter of marque captured her, but she was then released. In October 1819, she fortuitously discovered the South Shetland Islands while on a voyage from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso. She was last listed in 1829.
In 1811, William Smith became part owner of William; she first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1811. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1813 | W.Smith | W.Stand | London–Lisbon | LR |
| 1815 | W.Smith | W.Strand | London–Bordeaux London–Brazils | LR |
| 1816 | W.Smith | W.Strand | London–Buenos Aires | LR |
| 1818 | W.Smith Nicholson | W.Strand | London–Buenos Aires London–Riga | LR |
| 1819 | W.Smith | W.Strand | London–Buenos Aires | LR |
On 20 November 1817, Williams, Smith, master, of London, was at Bahia. She had been sailing from Buenos Ayres to London when she had encountered the Spanish letter of marque Rita, Atrate, master. The Spanish vessel had been sailing from St Andero and Loango and was on her way to Lima. Rita took Williams into Bahia. [2] [a] After Williams had landed that part of her cargo "supposed to belong to Buenos Aires", she was permitted to continue her voyage. [4] On 6 May 1818 William arrived at Gravesend from Buenos Ayres and Bahia.
On 2 August 1818, Williams, Smith, master, sailed from Gravesend for Buenos Aires. She arrived there on 22 October. In July 1819, Lloyd's List reported that she had arrived at Valparaiso from Buenos Aires. In February 1819, William, Smith, master, fortuitously discovered the South Shetland Islands whilst sailing from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso.
Smith had been blown off course in Drake Passage and sighted Williams Point, the northeast extremity of Livingston Island, on 19 February 1819. [5] That was the first land ever discovered south of 60° south latitude, in what is now the Antarctic Treaty area. [6]
On reaching Valparaiso, Smith reported his discovery of the islands and the abundance of seals there, to Captain William Henry Shirreff, of HMS Andromache, [7] which had arrived there about 5 September 1818. (Shirreff had been appointed the commanding officer of British naval forces in the Pacific.)
In October 1819, Smith revisited the South Shetlands, landing on King George Island on 16 October. On 24 November, Williams was back at Valparaiso from Monte Video.
Shirreff chartered William to carry a party consisting of Lieutenant Edward Bransfield, three midshipmen, and a ship's surgeon. They arrived in December and surveyed, mapped, and claimed the new lands for Britain. Furthermore, on 30 January 1820, Bransfield sighted Davis Coast on the Antarctic Peninsula. [5] By mid-April William was back at Valparaiso.
On 27 April 1821 Williams, Smith, arrived at Rio de Janeiro from the New South Shetlands. From there, Williams sailed to Lisbon. She sailed from Portsmouth to London on 11 September.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1822 | W.Smith A.Jones | W.Smith Hains & Co. | London–Buenos Ayres London–Quebec | LR |
William was last listed in 1829.
Edward Bransfield was a Royal Navy officer who served as a master on several ships, after being impressed into service in Ireland at the age of 18. He is noted for his participation in several explorations of parts of Antarctica, including a sighting of the Trinity Peninsula in January 1820.
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of 3,687 km2 (1,424 sq mi). They lie about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between 430 and 900 km southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for non-military purposes.
Livingston Island is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60° south latitude in 1819, a historic event that marked the end of a centuries-long pursuit of the mythical Terra Australis Incognita and the beginning of the exploration and utilization of real Antarctica. The name Livingston, although of unknown derivation, has been well established in international usage since the early 1820s.
William Smith was an English captain born in Blyth, Northumberland, who discovered the South Shetland Islands, an archipelago off the Graham Land in Antarctica. His discovery was the first ever made south of 60° south latitude, in the present Antarctic Treaty area.
Shirreff Cove is a small cove or anchorage, situated immediately southwest of Cape Shirreff between San Telmo Island and Gerlovo Beach on the northwest side of Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.
Cape Shirreff is a prominent cape at the north end of the rocky peninsula which separates Hero Bay and Barclay Bay on the north coast of Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. The cape was named by Edward Bransfield in 1820 after Captain William H. Shirreff, the British commanding officer in the Pacific at that time.
Williams Point is the point forming both the north extremity of Varna Peninsula and the northeast tip of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Separated from Zed Islands to the north by Iglika Passage.
William Henry Shirreff was a British Royal Navy officer, captain of HMS Andromache, HMS Barrosa, HMS Warspite, and HMS Gibraltar. He had six children four of whom were daughters. He had two notable daughters, Maria Georgina Grey and Emily Anne Eliza Shirreff, who transformed the education of British women. He retired as Rear-Admiral of the Blue.
Junon was a 40-gun Minerve-class frigate of the French Navy.
Snake was probably launched in Spain in 1802 and was a prize that came into British hands in 1808. Her first owner employed her a privateer, but in 1810 sold her. Thereafter she sailed between London or Plymouth and the Cape of Good Hope (CGH), or between 1809 and 1816 in the Post Office Packet Service from Falmouth. Afterwards she sailed between London and South America. She was last listed in 1824.
Tiger was launched at Liverpool in 1800 as a West Indiaman. She made one voyage in 1806-1807 as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After British participation in the trans-Atlantic enslaving trade ended in 1807, she returned to the West Indies trade. She also captured three American merchant vessels in 1813. She wrecked on 30 September 1819 with loss of life.
Montezuma was launched in Philadelphia in 1804. She came into British hands c.1807 after having been seized for attempting to evade the British East India Company's monopoly on British trade with India. She then initially traded with Charleston until 1811 when she went whaling in the Galápagos Islands. There the Americans captured her in 1813. Her captors sailed her to Valparaiso where the Spanish colonial government seized her.
Aberdeen was launched at Quebec in 1811. She sailed to England and then traded between Quebec and Britain. She made two voyages to India under license from the British East India Company (EIC). After her return from the second, in 1820, she was no longer listed.
Salisbury was launched c.1814 in the Brazils almost certainly under another name and was possibly a prize. She was possibly captured by the British or sold to British owners in 1815. She made one voyage seal hunting in 1820 and transported settlers to South Africa in 1821. She was lost in 1827.
Grace was launched in New York in 1812. She was taken in prize circa 1814. She then became a Falmouth, Cornwall, packet, sailing for the Post Office. She primarily sailed to New York via Halifax and Bermuda, but also sailed to the Mediterranean and Brazil. She twice encountered American privateers, repelling one and outpacing the other. In 1821 she sailed on a seal and whale hunting voyage to the South Shetland Islands and the coast of Chile. She foundered in the South Atlantic circa May 1823 while homeward bound.
Indian was launched in Massachusetts in 1805, possibly under the same name. She first appeared in British records in 1814, suggesting that she was a prize. She was Liverpool-based and traded widely, especially with South America. She was in Valparaiso in 1820 when news of the discovery of the South Shetland Islands and the sealing grounds there reached Valparaiso before it reached England. She sailed to the South Shetland Islands and gathered over 25,000 seal skins before returning to Liverpool. Thereafter, she returned to trading across the Atlantic. Her crew abandoned her in a waterlogged state on 17 August 1827.
Several vessels have been named William:
HMS Tyne was launched at Topsham in 1814 as a Conway-class sixth rate. She served in the East Indies and in the Pacific Squadron. She also served in the Caribbean, cruising against pirates, during which she captured the pirate schooner Zaragozana. In 1825 the Navy sold Tyne and she became the whaler William. She was lost in early 1827 in the Bonin Islands on her first voyage to the British southern whale fishery.
Hyder Ally was a merchant ship launched in the United States in 1813 or 1815. She came to the United Kingdom in 1816. In 1817 she rescued the crew of another vessel. She was wrecked in 1821.
Grand Sachem was launched at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1801. She was registered at Bideford in 1803, but until 1815 sailed from Milford Haven. Between approximately 1803 and 1822, she made eight voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She was last listed in 1822 and was broken up in 1826.