History
Great Britain
NameUnion
Acquired1799
FateFoundered c.February 1801
General characteristics
Tons burthen405,[1] or 447[2] (bm)
Complement25[2]
Armament16 × 12-pounder guns[2][1]

Union was a ship that first appeared in records in 1799. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people but foundered on her way home.

Career

Union appeared in the 1800 volume of the Register of Shipping (RS).[1]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1800 M'Gee Hodgson Liverpool–Africa RS; raised and thorough repair 1790

Captain Thomas Moffat acquired a letter of marque on 9 December 1799.[2] Captain Thomas Mollett sailed Union from London on 26 December 1799.[3] In 1799, 156 vessels sailed from English ports, bound for Africa to participate in the acquisition and transport of enslaved people; 17 of these vessels sailed from London.[4]

Union acquired captives at Accra and arrived at Demerara on 30 October 1800 with 384 captives.[3]

On 15 January 1801, Union sailed from Demerara in company with Bolton, Watson, master,[5] and Dart, Hensley, master.[6] Both were enslaving ships with letters of marque. All were carrying sugar, coffee, indigo, and cotton. During the voyage Union started to take on water so her crew transferred to Bolton. Then Bolton and Dart parted company in a gale.[7] (Dart arrived back at Liverpool on 11 March.)

On 5 March 1801 Bolton encountered the French privateer Gironde. Gironde was armed with 26 guns and had a complement of 260 men; reportedly, Bolton had 70 people (including passengers - presumably most of them the crew from Union), aboard her. Small arms fire from Gironde helped her overwhelm Bolton's defences; Gironde then ran into Bolton and captured her. The engagement, which lasted about an hour, caused considerable damage to both ships. Two passengers on Bolton were killed, and six of her crew, including Captain Watson, were wounded; Gironde had no casualties.[8][lower-alpha 1]

On 12 March HMS Leda recaptured Bolton,[10] as Bolton was on her way to Bordeaux. Leda sent Bolton into Plymouth.[8] Bolton arrived at Plymouth on 14 March.[11]

In 1801, at least 23 British vessels in the triangular trade were lost. The source for this data did not record any losses as occurring on the homeward leg.[12] This is not surprising as often reports in Lloyd's List, the source of the data, did not always specify which vessels sailing home from the West Indies were Guineamen. During the period 1793 to 1807, war, rather than maritime hazards or resistance by the captives, was the greatest cause of vessel losses among British enslaving vessels.[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ Gironde had been commissioned in 1801 in Bordeaux under François Avesou.[9]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 RS (1800), "U" supple. pages.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Letter of Marque, p.90 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Union voyage #83897.
  4. ↑ Williams (2011), p. 680.
  5. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Union voyage #80239.
  6. ↑ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Dart voyage #80967.
  7. ↑ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 5, p.275.
  8. 1 2 Williams (2011), pp. 383–384.
  9. ↑ Demerliac (2003), p. 285, №2273.
  10. ↑ "No. 15362". The London Gazette. 5 May 1801. p. 498.
  11. ↑ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 41364, ship arrival and departure (SAD) data. 14 March 1801. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735020.
  12. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
  13. ↑ Inikori (1996), p. 58.

References

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