Vulture (1779 ship)

Vulture was built in France 1777 and captured. By early 1779 she was sailing as a privateer out of Liverpool. She then became a slave ship. She made 10 voyages as slaver and was captured in 1795 on her 11th such voyage.

For other ships with the same name, see Vulture (ship).

History
Great Britain
Name: Vulture
Namesake: Vulture
Captured: 1795
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 300,[1] or 315[2] (bm)
Complement: 120 (1793)[2]
Armament:
  • 1779: 18 × 6-pounder guns[3]
  • 1783: 6 × 6-pounder guns[1]
  • 1793: 30 × 6&9&12[2]

Career

Vulture first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1779 with Allanson, master, William Boats, owner, and trade Liverpool privateer.[3] On 27 April 1779, Vulture, Allanson, master, captured St Cyprian, of 400 tons (bm), which was sailing from Martinique to Bordeaux. Then in August Vulture captured the Spanish snow San Esteven, which was sailing from Orinoco to Cadiz. San Esteven was carrying 1400 rolls of the "Genuine and Fine Oronoque Vorcena or Cannastre Tobacco, 23 tons of cocoa, 400 hides, 370 dollars, and some chest of medicine."[4]

On 31 January 1783 Vulture, Captain Allanson, came into Kinsale. A storm had carried away her main and mizzen masts.[5] On 14 February she sailed for Liverpool to effect repairs and on the 14th she put into Liverpool, having sustained "some Damage."[6]

1st slave voyage (1781–1782): Captain John Savage sailed from Liverpool on 1 June 1781. Vulture gathered her slaves at Bonny and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, on 1 December with 525 slaves. She left on 14 February 1782 and arrived back at Liverpool on 4 April. She had left with 50 crew members and suffered eight crew deaths on the voyage.[7] Vulture had sailed home in company with Jane, Hewan, master. On their way they captured two Spanish vessels sailing from Havana to Omoa. One vessel, a snow with 3100 dollars, sail cloth, etc., that the British sent for Liverpool. The second was a gunboat that her captors turned over to their prisoners.[8] The snow foundered off the coast of Ireland.[4]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1783 W.Wilson W.Boats Liverpool–St Lucia
Liverpool–Africa		 LR;[1] raised 1781, lengthened and thorough repair 1782

Vulture made a trading voyage to St Lucia and Tortola between 7 November 1782 and 3 July 1783. She brought back sugar, fustic, coffee, cotton, and rum.[9]

2nd slave voyage (1783–1784): Captain William Wilson sailed from Liverpool on 26 July 1783, bound for Bonny. Vulture arrived at Kingston on 4 March 1784 with 592 slaves. She left on 7 April, and arrived back at Liverpool on 25 May. She had left Liverpool with 53 crew members and suffered 19 crew deaths on her voyage.[10]

3rd slave voyage (1784–1785): Captain Wilson sailed from Liverpool on 9 July 1784. She gathered her slaves at Bonny and delivered 698 to Kingston on 11 December 1784. She sailed from Kingston on 5 March 1785 and arrived back at Liverpool on 20 April. She had left Liverpool with 50 crew members and suffered 13 crew deaths on the voyage.[11]

4th slave voyage (1785–1786): Captain James Brown sailed from Liverpool on 25 June 1785. Vulture gathered her slaves at Bonny and delivered 570 to Dominica. She arrived back at Liverpool on 15 April 1786. She had left Liverpool with 44 crewmembers and suffered five crew deaths on the voyage.[12]

5th slave voyage (1786–1787): Captain Brown sailed from Liverpool on 5 June 1786. Vulture gathered slaves first and Bonny and then at New Calabar. She sailed to Kingston, stopping first at São Tomé. She arrived at Kingston on 27 January 1787. She arrived with 646 saves, and landed 589. She sailed for Liverpool on 3 April and arrived home on 5 June. She had left with 49 crewmembers and suffered 16 crew deaths on her voyage.[13]

It was on this voyage, on 16 September 1786, that a seaman died of his injuries after having been "barbarously beaten". Although he did not name Vulture or Brown by name, the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson mentioned the instance in his history of the abolition of the trade.[14][Note 1]

6th slave voyage (1788–1789): Captain Brown sailed from Liverpool on 12 May 1788. Vulture gathered slaves at Bonny and delivered 602 slaves to Montego Bay on 31 December 1788. She arrived back at Liverpool on 18 May 1789. She had left Liverpool with 52 crewmembers and she had suffered six crew deaths on the voyage.[16]

The passage in 1788 of the Dolben Act (Slave Trade Act 1788) reduced the number of slaves that Vulture would gather on subsequent voyages.[Note 2]

7th slave voyage (1789–1790): Captain Brown sailed from Liverpool on 12 June 1789. Vulture again gathered her slaves at Bonny and delivered them to Montego Bay. She had embarked 448 slaves and she delivered 444 on 1 December. She arrived back at Liverpool on 20 May 1790. She had left Liverpool with 43 crew members and she suffered no crew deaths on her voyage.[18]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1791 S.Clough W.Boats Liverpool–Africa LR; raised 1781, lengthened and thorough repair 1782, & repairs 1790

8th slave voyage (1790–1791): Captain Samuel Clough sailed from Liverpool on 16 October 1790. Vulture gathered her slaves at Bonny and delivered them to Montego Bay. She arrived on 15 May 1791 and landed 436.[19] There apparently was a slave insurrection aboard her either before or during the voyage, but details are lacking.[20]

Vulture arrived back at Liverpool on 1 August. She had left with 50 crewmembers and suffered seven crew deaths on her voyage.[19]

9th slave voyage (1791–1792): Captain Clough sailed from Liverpool on 10 September 1791 and began trading in Africa on 27 November. Vulture gathered her slaves at Bonny. She left Africa on 5 March 1792 and arrived at Montego Bay on 10 May. She landed 444 slaves, the same number as she had embarked. She arrived back at Liverpool on 16 July. She had left Liverpool with 39 crewmembers, and she suffered four crew deaths on her voyage.[21]

10th slave voyage (1792–1793): Captain James Bachope sailed from Liverpool on 6 October 1792. Vulture gathered her slaves at Bonny and arrived at Kingston on 18 June 1793. There she landed 465 slaves. She left on 21 August and arrived back at Liverpool on 8 October. She had left Liverpool with 40 crewmembers and she suffered seven crew deaths on the voyage.[22]

War with France began while Captain James Baychop was still in the middle of the voyage. Still he was issued or acquired a letter of marque on 11 April 1793.[2] The size of the crew and the armament suggests that Vulture's owners acquired the letter of marque, as an option to engage in privateering when she returned.

Vulture may have sailed on a privateering cruise, but there is no record of such a voyage in Lloyd's List, or in British newspapers available online.

Fate

Captain James Bachope sailed from Liverpool on 23 August 1794 on a slave trading voyage.[23] Lloyd's List reported on 12 May 1795 that a French squadron had captured Vulture, Backop, master, Princess Royal, [James] Brown, master, and Eliza, [Samuel] Clough, master, in the Bonny River. The capture occurred between 22 and 29 December 1794.[24] Vulture had not embarked any slaves before the French captured her.[25]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

  1. Clarkson wanted to have a charge of murder brought against Brown, but Clarkson's friends dissuaded him, arguing that he would be unsuccessful and that doing so would work against the abolitionist cause.[15]
  2. The act held that ships could transport 1.67 slaves per ton up to a maximum of 207 tons (bm); after which they were allowed to carry only 1 slave per ton.[17] That Act limited the number of slaves that Vulture was allowed to load to 439 (@ 300 tons burthen). From 1791 on, LR showed her burthen at 360 tons, which would have permitted her to carry up to 499 slaves.

Citations

  1. LR (1783), Seq.№V134.
  2. "Letter of Marque, p.91 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. LR (1779), Seq.№109.
  4. Williams (1797), pp. 253–254.
  5. Lloyd's List (LL) 12 February 1781. №1241.
  6. LL 13 February 1781, №1244.
  7. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83975
  8. LL 9 April 1782, №1351.
  9. Schwarz (2008), p. 13.
  10. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83976.
  11. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83977.
  12. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83978.
  13. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83979.
  14. Schwarz (2008), p. 34.
  15. Clarkson (1808), pp. 129-132.
  16. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83980.
  17. Cohn (1985), p. 691.
  18. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83981.
  19. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83982.
  20. Taylor (2009), p. 207.
  21. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83983.
  22. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83984.
  23. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83985.
  24. Lloyd's List, №2715.
  25. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Vulture voyage #83985.

References

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