View source for Britannia (1772 EIC ship)

{{other ships|Britannia (ship)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
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|Ship country= United Kingdom 
|Ship flag=[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|60px|East India Company Ensign]] 
|Ship name=''Britannia''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Bombay Dockyard]]
|Ship owner=*1772:Watson
*1775: East India Company
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|Ship launched= 1772
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|Ship fate=Wrecked November 1805
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|Ship tons burthen=747,<ref name=Phipps>Phipps (1840), p.164.</ref> or 770,<ref name=BL>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS045-001114665 British Library: ''Britannia'' (4).]</ref><ref name=LoM>{{Cite web |url=http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.pdf# |title=Letter of Marque, pp.53-4 - accessed 25 July 2017. |access-date=5 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020052005/http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.pdf# |archive-date=20 October 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name=Reports/> or 770{{small|{{frac|87|94}}}},<ref name=Hackman>Hackman (2001), p.72.</ref>  ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length=*Overall:{{convert|137|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=BL/>
*Keel:{{cvt|110|ft|0+1/2|in|m|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=BL/> 
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|3+1/2|in|m|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=BL/>
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|Ship hold depth={{convert|14|ft|7|in|m|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=BL/>
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
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|Ship complement=*1793:99<ref name=LoM/>
*1795:80<ref name=LoM/>
*1803:210<ref name=LoM/>
|Ship armament=*1793 (1): 26 × 12&9&6-pounder guns + 4 [[swivel guns]]<ref name=LoM/>
*1793 (2):26 × 12&9&6-pounder guns<ref name=LoM/>
*1795:26 × 12&6-pounder guns + 9 swivel guns<ref name=LoM/>
*1803: 40 × 12-pounder guns<ref name=LoM/>
|Ship notes=Three decks
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'''''Britannia''''' was launched by the [[Bombay Dockyard]] in 1772, and was rebuilt in 1778. The British [[East India Company]] (EIC) apparently acquired her in 1775. Between 1779 she made eleven complete voyages as an [[East Indiaman]] for the EIC. She also participated in three naval campaigns, during the first of which she was deployed as a cruiser off Sumatra. There she engaged and captured a French ship. In the other two she served as a transport. She set out for her twelfth EIC voyage but was lost in 1805 during the third naval campaign.

==Origins==
There is ambiguity concerning ''Britannia''{{'}}s launch year. Reports include 1772, 1775,<ref name=BL/> 1777,<ref name=Hackman/> or 1778.<ref name=Phipps/> The source of the 1772 year is a list that of vessels built at the [[Bombay Dockyard]] that shows her owner as Mr. Watson. The same list shows a ''Britannia'' being rebuilt in 1778. These are the only two mentions of a ''Britannia'' being built between 1736 and 1840.<ref>House (1840), p.609.</ref>

''Britannia'' was built of teak and her long life as an East Indiaman sailing between England and India and China demonstrated both the utility of teak, and the skill in ship construction of Eastern shipyards.<ref name=Hackman/> She was also one of only a handful of merchant ships that the EIC actually owned. (Almost without exception the EIC leased and chartered its merchant ships.)

==Career==
''Britannia''{{'}}s career before the EIC acquired her is obscure. Captain Newman Mallack sailed her from [[Mumbai|Bombay]] to [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], where she arrived on 1 September 1779. On the 5th, Captain George Hutchinson of {{ship||Stafford|1769 EIC ship|2}}, his officers and crew, took over ''Britannia'' to sail her to England. (''Stafford'' had been lost on the [[Hooghly River]] on 29 August.)<ref name=Hackman/>

===EIC voyage #1 (1779-1781)===
Captain George Hutchinson was at Ingeli (a point on the west side of the Hooghli Estuary), on 18 November. From there he sailed ''Britannia'' to Bombay, South East Asia,  China, and England. On 28 December she was at [[Kochi|Cochin]], on 1 January 1780 at [[Thalassery|Tellicherry]], on 13 January at [[Honnavar|Onore]], and on 27 January Bombay. She sailed up to [[Surat]], where she arrived 5 February, and then on to [[Mangalore]] (15 February), Tellicherry again (9 May), and [[Chennai|Madras]] (20 May). ''Britannia'' reached [[Malacca]] on 19 July and arrived at [[Whampoa anchorage]] on 5 September. Leaving for England, she crossed the [[Pearl River (China)|Second Bar]] on 13 December, reached [[Saint Helena|St Helena]] on 19 May 1781, and arrived at [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|The Downs]] on 21 October.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #2 (1782-1783)===
Captain Edward Cumming sailed from Portsmouth on 5 May 1782, bound for St Helena and [[Bencoolen Presidency|Bencoolen]]. ''Britannia'' reached St Helena on 24 July and arrived at Bencoolen on 27 November. She cruised the coast of Sumatra between Pring (12 January 1783) and Pulau Pisang (11 February), both at the time pepper ports, before returning to Bencoolen on 7 March. Homeward bound, she reached St Helena on 12 July and arrived at The Downs on 6 October.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #3 (1784-1786)===
Captain Cumming sailed from Portsmouth on 29 December 1784, bound for Madras and China. ''Britannia'' reached the [[Cape of Good Hope]] on 27 March and Madras on 28 May. She reached Malacca on 3 August and arrived at Whampoa on 15 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 2 January 1786, reached St Helena on 5 April, and arrived at The Downs on 24 June.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #4 (1787-1788)===
Captain Cumming sailed from The Downs on 6 January 1787, bound for Bengal. ''Britannia'' was at [[Madeira]] on 18 January and the Cape on 3 April Cape; she arrived at [[Diamond Harbour]] on 11 June. Homeward bound, she was at [[List of ports of call of the British East India Company#C|Cox's Island]] on 14 January 1788. She reached St Helena on 25 April, and arrived at The Downs on 7 July.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #5 (1789-1790)===
Captain Cumming  sailed from Portsmouth on 11 February 1789, bound for St Helena and China. ''Britannia'' reached St Helena on 7 May and [[Batavia (Dutch East Indies)|Batavia]] on 3 September. She arrived at Whampoa on 28 November. Homeward bound, she left Whampoa on 2 February 1790, reached St Helena on 30 May, and arrived at The Downs on 18 August.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #6 (1791-1792)===
(6) 1790/1 Bombay and China. Captain Cumming sailed from Torbay on 2 February 1791, bound for Bombay and China. ''Britannia'' reached Bombay on 1 June and arrived at Whampoa on 22 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on  14 November, reached St Helena on 25 February 1792, and arrived at The Downs on 22 April.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #7 (1793-1795)===
By the time ''Britannia'' sailed again [[French Revolutionary Wars|war with France]] had broken out. Captain Thomas Cheap, Jr. acquired two [[Letter of marque|letters of marque]], the first on 4 March 1793, and the second on 21 March.<ref name=LoM/>

Captain Cheap sailed from Portsmouth on 5 April 1793, bound for Madras and Bengal. ''Britannia'' reached Madras on 14 August and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 8 September.<ref name=BL/>

In late 1793 [[John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth|John Shore]], the EIC's [[Governor-General of India]], formed a squadron from the company's own ships to patrol the Sea of Bengal and Southeast Asia. He diverted two East Indiamen, {{ship||William Pitt|1785 EIC ship|2}} and ''Britannia'', and the country ship {{ship||Nonsuch|1781 ship|2}} from their regular route for the service. A vessel of the Bombay Marine, possibly ''Viper'', accompanied them. The reason for the move was the coming together of two problems, the inability of the British [[Royal Navy]] to maintain a presence in the area, and intelligence concerning the presence of French privateers and naval vessels in the area.

The EIC appointed Captain Charles Mitchell, of ''William Pitt'', Commodore of its squadron. ''Britannia'' set out on her naval mission and was at [[Sagar Island]] on 5 December. She reached Malacca on 29 December.<ref name=BL/>

{{main|Sunda Strait campaign of January 1794}}

On 21 January 1794 {{ship||Houghton|1782 EIC ship|2}} joined the squadron. The next day the squadron engaged two French privateers, [[French privateer Vengeur|''Vengeur'']], of 34 guns and 250 men, and [[French ship Résolue#Privateers and other ships|''Résolue'']], of 26 guns and 230 men. ''Britannia'' captured ''Vengeur'', and ''Nonsuch'' captured ''Résolue'', with the French captains realising that further resistance would be pointless as ''William Pitt'' and ''Houghton'' came up. Eleven French sailors had been killed and 25 wounded; losses on ''Résolue'' were heavy. British losses were one killed and two wounded on ''Britannia''.

''Britannia'' continued her naval role for some months. After the engagement she sailed to Batavia, arriving on 26 January. She then visited Benkulen on 4 March, before returning to Batavia on 2 June.<ref name=BL/> Captain Cheap died of an illness in June.<ref name=Hackman/> ''Britannia'' sailed to Malacca (16 July), Penang (5 August), and [[Aceh|Acheh]] (3 September). She ended her naval role and returned to Diamond Harbour on 25 September. Homeward bound, she was at Saugor on 29 November, reached St Helena on 18 March 1795m, and arrived at The Downs on 25 July.<ref name=BL/>

===West Indies expedition (1795–1796)===
Captain Thomas Barrow acquired a letter of marque on 16 October 1795.<ref name=LoM/>

In 1795 Admiral [[Hugh Cloberry Christian]] mounted and expedition to the West Indies. The EIC chartered 16 vessels to the British Government to augment the Navy [[Transport Board (Royal Navy)|Transport Board's]] own transports.<ref>Hardy (1800), p.225.</ref>

The expedition sailed on 6 October, 16 November, and 9 December, but weather forced the vessels to put back.<ref>''[[Lloyd's List]]'' [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015050998221?urlappend=%3Bseq=235 №2790.]</ref> ''Britannia'' sailed from Portsmouth on 29 January 1796,<ref name=BL/> but had to put back. The fleet finally successfully sailed on 20 March to invade [[St Lucia]], with troops under Lieutenant-General [[Ralph Abercromby|Sir Ralph Abercromby]].

{{see also|Transport vessels for the British expedition to the West Indies (1795)}}

''Britannia'' was at Barbados by 14 April, Martinique on 24 April, and St Lucia on 28 April.<ref name=BL/> St Lucia surrendered to the British on 25 May.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15265|page=623|date=7 June 1800}}</ref> The British went on to capture [[Saint Vincent (island)|Saint Vincent]] and [[Grenada]].

''Britannia'' returned to Martinique on 5 June and was at [[Saint-Pierre, Martinique]], on 13 June. She arrived back at The Downs on 8 August.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #8 (1797-1798)===
Captain Barrow sailed from Plymouth on 22 February 1797, bound for St Helena, Madras, and Bengal. ''Britannia'' was at Saint Helena on 8 May St Helena and reached Madras on 1 August. She then cruised the coast, before returning to Madras on 30 September. She arrived at Diamond Harbour on 5 November. Homeward Bound, she was at Saugor on 13 March 1798, reached the Cape on 19 June and St Helena on 5 August, and arrived at The Downs on 25 October.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #9 (1799-1801)===
Captain Barrow sailed from Portsmouth on 24 April 1799, bound for Madras, Bengal, Bombay, and China. ''Britannia'' reached Madras on 26 August and [[Visakhapatnam|Vizagaptam]] on 2 October, and arrived at Diamond Harbour on 22 October. Continuing her voyage, she was at Saugor on 19 December, reached [[Colombo]] on 13 February 1800, and arrived at Bombay on 5 March. She left Bombay but soon returned on 18 September because she was overcrowded. Resuming her voyage, she was at Mangalore on 5 October, [[Kannur|Cannanore]] on 13 October, and Tellicherry on 28 November; she arrived at Whampoa on 15 March 1801. Homeward bound, she was at the [[Humen|Bocca Tigris]] on 7 July, reached St Helena on 21 September, and arrived at The Downs on 2 December.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #10 (1802-1803)===
Captain Barrow sailed from The Downs on 5 May 1802, bound for Madras. ''Britannia'' reached Madras on 1 September, left on 20 October, and four days later returned to Madras. She reached St Helena on 15 January 1803 and arrived at The Downs on 22 March.<ref name=BL/>

===EIC voyage #11 (1803-1805)===
By the time ''Britannia'' sailed [[Napoleonic Wars|war with France had resumed]]. Captain [[Jonathan Birch (EIC captain)|Jonathan Birch]] acquired a letter of marque on 3 October 1803.{{efn|The number of guns is high for a merchantman of 700 tons (bm), and the number of men is double what one would expect on a vessel twice her burthen. The reasons are currently unclear.}} He sailed from Portsmouth on 26 October, bound for St Helena and Madras. ''Britannia'' reached St Helena on 5 March 1804 and arrived at Madras on 5 October. Homeward bound, she reached St Helena on 31 December and arrived at The Downs on 19 March 1805.<ref name=BL/>

==Fate==
Captain Birch sailed from Portsmouth on 27 July 1805, bound for Madras and Bengal on her twelfth voyage for the EIC. She was one of the EIC vessels that were part of the expedition under General Sir [[Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet|David Baird]] and Admiral Sir [[Home Riggs Popham]] that would in 1806 capture the [[Dutch Cape Colony]].<ref name=Theal/> They would carry supplies and troops to the Cape, and then continue on their voyages. ''Britannia'' was at [[Cork (city)|Cork]] on 27 August and Madeira on 29 September.<ref name=BL/>

{{see also|Transport vessels for the British invasion of the Dutch Cape Colony (1805-1806)}}

''Britannia'' and ''King George'' wrecked on 1 November 1805 on [[Rocas Atoll]] at {{coord|3|51|27|N|33|48|57|W}}. {{HMS|Leda|1800|6}} sighted the danger at 3:30&nbsp;a.m., and fired a gun, the signal to tack, herself barely missing the danger. ''King George'' was unable to tack and wrecked. As ''Britannia'' was on the point of tacking she ran afoul of {{ship||Streatham|1805 EIC ship|2}} and lost her bowsprit and foretopmast. She then drifted on to the atoll where she lost her rudder and bilged.<ref name=Grocott>Grocott (1998), pp.202-3.</ref>

During the night ''Britannia'' was gotten off the rocks but took on so much water that she sank quickly,<ref>Theal (1899), p.252.</ref> having drifted some seven miles from where she struck. In the morning, before she sank, {{ship||Comet|1800 ship|2}}, {{ship||Europe|1803 EIC ship|2}}, and {{ship||Varuna|1796 ship|2}} sent their boats and were able to rescue about 400 people from ''Britannia'', including Brisk, his crew, and recruits for the EIC's armies.<ref name=Grocott/>

Although the only cargo saved consisted of 12 chests of dollars (out of some 160<ref name=Grocott/>), from ''Britannia'', the only deaths were General Yorke and a soldier from ''King George'' and a seaman from ''Britannia''.<ref name=Theal>Theal (1899), pp.253-4.</ref> The EIC charged her cargo to the British government.<ref name=Reports>''Reports...'' (1830), Vol. 2, p.977/</ref>

Popham hired ''Varuna'' at [[Salvador, Bahia|St Salvador Bay]] to carry the survivors on.<ref name=Theal/> The British fleet, including ''Varuna'', arrived in [[Table Bay]] on 5 January 1806 and anchored off [[Robben Island]].<ref>Theal (1899), p.330.</ref>

EIC records show ''Britannia'' wrecking at {{not a typo|the Brazils}} on 4 December,<ref name=BL/> but the date is more than a month too late. ''Lloyd's List'' reported another incorrect date, 4 November, and an incorrect location, the [[Paraíba do Norte River|Paraiba River]].<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735022?urlappend=%3Bseq=238 ''Lloyd's List'' №4294.]</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Grocott| first=Terence| title=Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras|publisher=Chatham|location=London|year=1997|isbn=1861760302}}
*{{cite book |last=Hackman |first=Rowan |year=2001 |title=Ships of the East India Company |location=Gravesend, Kent |publisher=World Ship Society |isbn=0-905617-96-7 }}
*Hardy, Charles (1800) ''A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Hon. the United East India Company, from the Union of the Two Companies, in 1707, to the Year 1760: Specifying the Number of Voyages, Tonnage, Commanders, and Stations. To which is Added, from the Latter Period to the Present Time, the Managing Owners, Principal Officers, Surgeons, and Pursers; with the Dates of Their Sailing and Arrival: Also, an Appendix, Containing Many Particulars, Interesting to Those Concerned in the East India Commerce''. (Charles Hardy)
*House of Commons (1840) ''Parliamentary Papers: 1780-1849''. Vol. 8. (H.M. Stationery Office)
*Phipps, John, (of the Master Attendant's Office, Calcutta), (1840) ''A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time ...''. (Scott).
*''Reports from the Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to enquire into the present state of the affairs of the East India Company, together with the minutes of evidence, an appendix of documents, and a general index'',  (1830), Vol. 2.

{{1805 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:1772 ships]]
[[Category:British ships built in India]]
[[Category:Ships of the British East India Company]]
[[Category:Age of Sail merchant ships of England]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1805]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]