West Indiaman

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The West Indiaman Britannia

West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. [1] These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic Ocean. [2] The term was used to refer to vessels belonging to the Danish (e.g. Æolus), Dutch, English, and French (e.g. Indispensable) West India companies.

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Similarly, at the time (18th and 19th centuries) people also referred to East Indiamen (ships trading with the East Indies), Guineamen (slave ships), or Greenlandmen (whalers in the North Seas whale fishery).

British West Indiamen tended to be London-built and to sail directly from England (generally London), to the West Indies. Guineamen tended to be built (or owned) in Bristol and Liverpool, and to sail from Bristol or Liverpool via West Africa in what is now often referred to as the triangular trade in enslaved people. [3] There were London-based Guineamen, (for example Experiment), and Liverpool-based West Indiamen, (for example Irlam and Irlam).

There were design differences between vessels built for the different trades, but the vessels were not highly specialized. A vessel built as a West Indiaman typically had less height between decks than comparably sized East Indiaman. For instance, William Miles had a height of 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) in her upper deck and a mere 4 ft 10 in (1.5 m) under her lower deck. Lord William Bentinck , a comparably sized East Indiaman, had a height of 6 ft 9 in (2.1 m) below her deck. The cargoes the two types of vessels were designed to carry dictated the difference. West Indiamen brought semi-liquid sugar back to England in casks laid on their sides that were only laid in one course. East Indiamen carried mostly light goods in bales or cases that could be and were necessarily laid to a greater height. [4]

Often the same vessel would move between roles and routes over the course of her career as entrepreneurial owners chased profitability. Thus Fame started and finished as a West Indiaman, but in between made a voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) as an East Indiaman, and two voyages as a Guineaman. Holderness made one voyage as an East Indiaman for the EIC, then several as a Greenlandman, and ended up a West Indiaman.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Indiaman</span> General name for any ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies

East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vessels belonging to the Austrian, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Portuguese or Swedish companies.

A number of vessels have been named Alexander:

Elizabeth was a merchant ship built at Chepstow, Wales in 1809. She made three voyages transporting convicts from England and Ireland to Australia. Elizabeth is no longer listed after 1832 and may have been lost in 1831.

Several ships have been named Princess Amelia:

Multiple British vessels have been named King George for one of the members of the British monarchs:

Several vessels have been named Harriet, or Harriot:

Several ships have been named Woodford:

Numerous vessels have borne the name Fame:

Elizabeth was launched at Bristol in 1809. She was originally a West Indiaman, but she wrecked in October 1819 at Table Bay while sailing from Bombay to London.

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.

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.

Numerous vessels have born the name Mary:

Lord Forbes was launched at Chester in 1803 as a West Indiaman. She soon became an "armed defense ship", but by 1805 had returned to being a West Indiaman. She made two voyages as an "extra" ship for the British East India Company (EIC). She continued trading with India until 1817 when she sustained damage on her way to Bengal. There she was surveyed, condemned and sold.

Several ships have been named Swallow for the bird Swallow:

John was launched at Chepstow in 1804. She then became a West Indiaman, sailing between Bristol and Jamaica. In 1826 she started sailing to Bengal under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked on 30 June 1827 on such a voyage.

Several ships have been named John:

Ranger was launched in 1776 in France, possibly as an East Indiaman for the French East India Company, and almost certainly under another name. From 1780 to 1786 she was a British vessel that was a transport and traded generally. In 1786–1787 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). From 1788 she traded between London and Ostend, and was last listed in 1793 with unchanged data. In 1788 she had sailed to the East Indies, perhaps with new owners from Ostend, and may have remained in the East Indies.

A number of vessels have been named Ranger:

William Miles was launched at Bristol in 1808 as a West Indiaman. For 20 years she was the largest vessel built in the port. In 1817 a new owner started sailing her to India, sailing under a licence from the East India Company (EIC). In 1828 she made a voyage transporting convicts to Van Diemen's Land. Thereafter she traded with Sierra Leone, Louisiana, and possibly other ports as well. She was broken up in 1846.

References

  1. ↑ "West Indiaman". Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "West Indiaman ship". Portcities London. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Tibbles (2005), p. 33.
  4. ↑ Farr (1971), p. 7.
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