Young Nicholas (1798 ship)

Last updated

History
Prinsenvlag.svg Flag of the navy of the Batavian Republic.svg Dutch Republic & Batavian Republic
BuilderHolland [1] [2]
Launched1790 [1] [2]
Capturedc.1798
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameYoung Nicholas
OwnerPrinsep & Co., [1] [2] equally Prinsep & Saunders [3]
Acquiredc.1798 by purchase of a prize
FateWrecked 3 September 1804
General characteristics
Tons burthen392, [4] or 393, [1] or 400 [3] (bm)
Complement
  • 1799:30
  • 1803:50
Armament

Young Nicholas was built in Holland in 1790 under another name. The British captured her in 1798 and Prinsep & Saunders purchased her and named her Young Nicholas. She made one voyage under license from the British East India Company (EIC) that resulted in legal difficulties. Next, she had a short, unsuccessful cruise as a privateer that resulted in a French privateer capturing her in a single-ship action, but then releasing her. Lastly, she made a third cruise that resulted in a French privateer capturing her, the Royal Navy recapturing her, and her being wrecked in a hurricane. This cruise too resulted in legal difficulties culminating in a notable court case.

Contents

Career

Young Nicholas entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1798 with D. Ferris, master, Prinsep & Co., owners, and trade London-Cape of Good Hope. [5] However, Young Nicholas's first voyage, in 1798, was to St Petersburg. In September she was at Elsinore, and by end-September had returned to Elsinore from there.

Cape of Good Hope

Captain Daniel Ferris acquired a letter of marque on 16 January 1799. However, Captain Richard Silby (or Tilby), acquired one on 26 January. [4]

Young Nicholas arrived at the Cape on 12 June 1799. [6] It is not clear what Young Nicholas did between her arrival in June and early 1800. She is recorded as arriving again at the Cape from Saldanha Bay on 18 January 1800. [7]

However, in early 1800 Messrs. Walker and Peters purchased 367 bags of Java coffee and one case of gum Benjamin at a prize court sale of the cargo of the Danish ship Christianus Septimus. [lower-alpha 1] They also purchased three cases of bandannoes and three cases of tamarinds from the prized cargo of the American ship Pacific. [lower-alpha 2] Walker and Peters loaded their purchases aboard Young Nicholas as she was preparing to sail to England. However, they could not get permission to export their purchases and requested that they be allowed to unload the cargo and put it under the "King's Locks" until they could the authorities could advise on its export or disposal. They received permission to land the goods. [11]

However, Henry James Jessup, Chief Searcher of His Majesty's Customs at the Cape, on the advice of Peter Mosse, Advocate, requested that W.S. van Ryneveld, the King's Fiscal, detain Young Nicholas and seize the cargo that had come from Christianus Septimus. Because Christianus Septimus had been ruled not a prize, her carrying cargo from east of the Cape, to wit, Batavia, to England represented a violation of the British East India Company's monopoly. When the goods were landed, Jessup seized them. The merchants involved had the authorization under a law of the colony to ship them to England. Charges and counter-charges were made, and several people were relieved of their offices, Jessup among them. They then sailed to England. [12]

The government in May 1800 chartered Young Nicholas for a year in what appeared to have been a highly irregular arrangement. The government agreed with Walker & Robertson to a charter at a rate of £1200 per month. Walker & Robertson agreed on a parallel charter with Captain Selby on a rate of £591 per month. The only other difference between the two charters was that the value in case of the loss of Young Nicholas was stated as £6000 on the charter to the government, and £4000 on the parallel charter to Walker and Robertson. [13]

Next, Young Nicholas was one of 28 vessels that left England between December 1800 and February 1801 to bring back rice from the Cape of Good Hope or beyond. The EIC had a monopoly on such trade and the vessels and sailed under charter to it. Prinsep & Saunders alone tendered 15 vessels, including Young Nicholas, Richard Silby, master. [3]

The government took up Young Nicholas at the Cape in early November 1802 to transport 160 to 170 tons of cannon and some officers and 250 invalids to Spithead. Lieutenant Street, the agent for transports, was placed in charge of her. [14] Young Nicholas arrived at Portsmouth on 18 February 1803. The report of her arrival described her as a hired armed transport under the command of Lieutenant B. Street, and bringing ordnance stores, 200 invalids, and some passengers. [15] Actually, the invalids she had embarked numbered 193 men, 20 men, and 15 children, [16] the women and children presumably the dependents of the men.

Privateer

In June 1803, after the resumption of war with France, Young Nicholas became a privateer, [2] with Captain John Cunditt acquiring a letter of marque. [4]

On 7 July Young Nicholas encountered the French privateer Blonde, of 22 guns and 100 men. The ensuing engagement lasted an hour and a half before Young Nicholas struck after she had suffered four men killed. Captain Aregnaudeau of Blonde gave Young Nicholas up to Captain Cunditt and his crew in recognition of their "courageous Conduct", and she arrived at Penzance on the 29th. [17]

Last voyage

On 3 September 1803 Prinsep & Co. and Hunter signed a charter party. Young Nicholas was to sail to Honduras to gather mahogany, 60 tons of dye wood, and logwood or fustic. She gathered 200,000 feet of wood and sailed for London on 29 March 1804. A storm on 21 April so damaged Young Nicholas that she had to put into port to effectuate repairs. [18]

Lloyd's List reported on 29 May that Young Nicholas had been parted with off Charleston in a leaky state. She intended to put into Charleston. [19] Lloyd's List reported about a month later that Young Nicholas, Henry, master, had put into Savannah in distress. She was reported to be sailing from Honduras to London. [20] To pay for the necessary repairs Young Nicholas's master sold part of her cargo. [18]

Young Nicholas, Horry, master, sailed from Savannah on 8 July. The next day a French privateer captured her and sent her to Guadeloupe. Eventually, Captain Horry arrived at Liverpool in Daphne. [21]

On 6 August, [18] HMS Hippomenes recaptured Young Nicholas, which was laden with mahogany. [22] Hippomenes sent her into St Kitts. [23]

On 3 September 1804 a hurricane at St Kitts drove her ashore, wrecking her. She was one of five ships and several small craft that the hurricane destroyed. All crews were saved. [24]

Court case

When Young William came in to St Kitts as a prize, the Vice admiralty court ordered her sold, together with her cargo. Captain Horry/Henry then brought the proceeds home with him and passed them to Princep & Saunders, who deducted freight charges from them. The owners of the cargo sued for the return of the freight charges. The charter party specified that one-third of the freight was due on the cargo's arrival in England, and two-thirds some 90 days later. The court agreed with the plaintiff, Hunter, that as the cargo had not arrived in England no freight was due and so Prinsep & Saunders were required to refund the charges. [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ In May 1798 the Danish ship Christianus Septimus, Christian Sonningen, master, put into Simon's Bay. She had been sailing from Batavia to Copenhagen but damage from bad weather had rendered her so leaky she could not be repaired and was not seaworthy. [8] On 29 May the squadron stationed at the Cape and under the command of Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian, detained Christianus Septimus. [9] The case took a year before the Vice admiralty court at the Cape ruled that the vessel and her cargo be restored to her owners. Because much of her cargo was perishable, the court ruled that it could be sold at the Cape, but only for export to Copenhagen, her original destination. [8]
  2. ↑ After the French had driven the American ship Pacific onshore at River Noir, Adamant, Jupiter, and Tremendous came on the scene and sent in their boats, which removed much of Pacific's cargo of bale goods and sugar. The British then set Pacific on fire. [10]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Register of Shipping (1800), Seq.№23.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hackman (2001), p. 246.
  3. 1 2 3 Hardy (1811), p. 217.
  4. 1 2 3 "Letter of Marque, p.93 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  5. ↑ LR (1798), "Y" Supple. pages.
  6. ↑ Theal (1899a), p. 7.
  7. ↑ Theal (1899a), p. 314.
  8. 1 2 Theal (1899a), pp. 54–9.
  9. ↑ "No. 15129". The London Gazette . 30 April 1799. p. 414.
  10. ↑ "No. 15212". The London Gazette . 10 December 1799. p. 1280.
  11. ↑ Theal (1899a), pp. 159–160.
  12. ↑ Theal (1899a), pp. 181–181.
  13. ↑ Theal (1899b), pp. 244–8.
  14. ↑ Theal (1899b), p. 452.
  15. ↑ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 9, p.164.
  16. ↑ Theal (1899b), p. 459.
  17. ↑ Lloyd's List №4372.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Hyde East (1809), pp. 378–95.
  19. ↑ Lloyd's List №4475.
  20. ↑ Lloyd's List №4464.
  21. ↑ Lloyd's List №4476.
  22. ↑ "No. 15794". The London Gazette . 2 April 1805. p. 436.
  23. ↑ Lloyd's List №4495.
  24. ↑ Lloyd's List №4502.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Adamant</i> (1780) British Portland-class fourth rate warship

HMS Adamant was a 50-gun Portland-class fourth rate warship of the British Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned thirty years.

Bellona was a three-decker merchantman launched in 1782 at Limehouse by Woolcombe for Boyd & Co. She then traded for a decade before, in 1792, commencing a series of four voyages for the British East India Company as an "extra ship", that is, on a charter contract. During the first of these voyages she transported convicts from Britain to New South Wales. French privateers captured her and the British Royal Navy recaptured her, the Royal Navy seized her once, and then finally a French privateer captured her in February 1810 and scuttled her.

HMS <i>Swallow</i> (1795) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Swallow was an 18-gun Albatross-class brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1795 and sold in 1802. During her naval career she captured a number of French privateers while on the Jamaica station. After her sale she became an armed whaler sailing under a letter of marque. As a privateer she captured two French whaling vessels but then is no longer listed after 1810.

Britannia was built in South Carolina in 1772. Prior to 1798, Britannia sailed between London and South Carolina, or simply served as a transport. In 1798 she changed ownership and began a sequence of whaling voyages. Between 1798 and 1807 she made a number of whaling voyages to the South Seas whale fishery, and the coast of South Africa. On one of those voyages a French privateer captured her, but Britannia was recaptured almost immediately. Between 1808 and 1816, the last year in which she is listed, she returned to operating as a London-based transport.

Diamond was launched in 1798 at Quebec. French privateers captured her three times, the third time retaining her. In between she sailed as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Her third capture occurred while she was on a whaling voyage. Her last voyage took her from Île de France to Bordeaux where she was decommissioned in January 1809.

Perseverance was built in 1797 at Stettin or Sweden and came into British hands in 1799. She made one voyage under charter to the British East India Company (EIC), and was lost in July 1803.

Sir John Borlase Warren, was launched in 1800. She traded with the West Indies after having made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1808 though she was immediately recaptured. Her crew abandoned her in 1812 but she was recovered. She foundered in 1815.

Eliza was launched in 1789 in New Brunswick. Between 1791 and 1800 she made six voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She next made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then disappears from online resources.

Varuna was launched at Calcutta in 1796. She made four voyages as an "extra ship" for the British East India Company (EIC), and then spent two years as a troopship. She returned to India in 1806. She was lost in 1811, probably in a typhoon.

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.

Wilding was launched at Liverpool in 1788 and spent much of her career as a West Indiaman, sailing between Liverpool and Jamaica. During this time, in November 1794, she participated in a single-ship action during which her opponent, a French privateer, blew up. In 1798 after a series of captures and recaptures she briefly became a transport for the French Navy, but a final recapture returned her to British hands. Later, she made one voyage to the South Pacific as a whaler, and one voyage to the Cape of Good Hope as a victualler for the 1795-1796 invasion of the Cape. She traded with the West Indies, Africa, the United States, and Russia. Her crew abandoned her in September 1824, dismasted and in a sinking state.

Kingston was launched at Bristol in 1780 as a West Indiaman. From 1798 she made ten voyages as a whaler. Somewhat unusually, on her first voyage she participated in the capture of a Spanish merchant ship. She then briefly sailed between England and Quebec, and was last listed in 1819.

Fonthill was a ship built in France in 1781 and was probably taken in prize in 1782. Fonthill sailed as a West Indiaman between 1783 and 1791, then became a whaler southern whale fishery and made four whaling voyages between 1791 and 1799. On her third voyage she took back from Cape Town a Dutch captain whose vessel had been captured bringing in arms and ammunition from Batavia to stir up unrest against the British at the Cape. After refitting, in 1800, Fonthill became a whaler in the northern whale fishery. Fonthill was last listed, with stale data, in 1810, but whose last reported whaling voyage took place in 1806.

Chesterfield was built in America in 1781, but it is not clear where and under what name. She arrived in England in 1791. Between 1792 and 1798 Chesterfield made three voyages to the southern whale fishery. On the first of these her crew was involved in a sanguinary encounter with the local inhabitants of an island in Torres Strait. Also in 1793, on the first voyage, her captain named the Chesterfield Islands after his vessel, or her namesake. After her whaling voyages new owners sailed her to trade with the Mediterranean. A Spanish privateer captured her in 1805.

Haasje was built at Amsterdam in 1788 as a packet for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). She made three or probably four voyages between Texel and Batavia. A British whaler captured her in August 1797 as she was on a secret mission from Batavia to arm Dutch farmers in the Cape Colony to stir up difficulties for the British. She sailed to Britain and a French privateer captured her shortly before she arrived. She was quickly recaptured. She became a merchantman sailing between London and Dartmouth, and then London and Africa. She was last listed in 1806.

Cicero was launched at Sunderland in 1796 and initially sailed as a West Indiaman. She was briefly captured in 1799 in a single-ship action with a French privateer. Later, she went whale hunting both in the northern whale fishery (1803-1808), and the southern whale fishery (1816-1823). She capsized at Limerick in September 1832 and was condemned there.

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.

Lord Hawke was launched at Ostend in 1793, almost certainly under a different name. In 1798 she became a British privateer. The French captured her in 1799 and she became the French privateer Revanche. The British Royal Navy recaptured her in 1800. New owners returned her to her original British name. She disappeared in early 1801, presumed to have foundered with all hands.

Tonyn was launched at Newfoundland in 1779 as Plato. Plato was renamed to Tonyn in 1781. She then traded with North America and as a West Indiaman. From 1797 she made two voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She was captured and recaptured in 1798 on her first voyage, and sunk on her second circa 1800 as she was returning home.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.