View source for Coromandel (1793 ship)

{{other ships|Coromandel (ship)|HMS Coromandel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
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{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Great Britain
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|civil}}
|Ship yard number=
|Ship owner=*Hogg, Davidson, and Co.,{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=229}} or Reeve & Co.
*1809:W. Gordon
|Ship builder=
|Ship name=''Modeste''
|Ship renamed=''Coromandel''
|Ship namesake=[[Coromandel Coast]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship acquired=1793
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Foundered 1821
|Ship notes=Teak-built
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=
|Ship tons burthen=500,<ref name=LR1800/> or 503, or 515,<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015024214291?urlappend=%3Bseq=154 ''Register of Shipping'' (1820), Seq. №C891.]</ref> or 522, or 522{{small|{{frac|22|94}}}}{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=229}}[[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length={{convert|125|ft|0+1/2|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (overall)<ref name=Howard>Howard, A.J. "Bert" (2006) ''The Coromandel Files''.{{cite web |url=http://coromandel.aussiestory.info/YARMOUTH%20WRECK.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-04-24 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129025817/http://coromandel.aussiestory.info/YARMOUTH%20WRECK.pdf |archive-date=2014-11-29 }} - Accessed 24 April 2013.</ref> 
|Ship beam={{convert|32|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=Howard/>
|Ship hold depth={{convert|16|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}}<ref name=Howard/> 
|Ship propulsion=Sail
|Ship speed=
|Ship complement=47<ref name=LoM/>
|Ship armament=*1800:4 × 9-pounder guns<ref name=LR1800/>
*1802:8 × 9-pounder guns + 6 × 12-pounder guns "of the New Construction"
*1803:14 × 9 and 6-pounder guns<ref name=LoM/>
|Ship notes=Teak-built
}}
|}
'''''Coromandel''''' was the French [[prize (law)|prize]] ''Modeste'', captured in 1793 and refitted at [[Chittagong]], British India (now Bangladesh). She made two voyages transporting [[convict]]s to [[Port Jackson]], the first for the British [[East India Company]] (EIC). A French privateer captured her in 1805, but she had returned to British hands before 1809. An American privateer captured her in 1814, but this time the British [[Royal Navy]] recaptured her within days. She foundered in Indian waters on 6 February 1821.

==Career==
''Coromandel'' first appeared in ''[[Lloyd's Register]]'' (''LR'') in 1800 with A. Sterling, master, Reeve & Co., owners, and trade London–[[Cape of Good Hope]] (CGH).<ref name=LR1800>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015065522479?urlappend=%3Bseq=94 ''LR'' (1800), Seq.№621.]</ref>

{| class=" wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Master
! Owner
! Trade
! Source & notes
|-
| 1802
| A. Sterling
| Reeve & Co.
| London–CGH<br/>London–Botany Bay
| ''Register of Shipping''; damages repaired 1801
|-
|}

===Convict transport===
On her first voyage transporting convicts, under the command of Alex Sterling (or Stirling), she sailed from [[Portsmouth]], England on 8 February 1802, and [[Spithead]], on 12 February, in company with, {{ship||Perseus|1799 ship|2}} and arrived at Port Jackson on 13 June 1802.{{sfnp|Bateson|1959|pp=288-9}} ''Coromandel'' transported 138 male convicts, one of whom died on the voyage.{{sfnp|Bateson|1959|p=326}}

''Coromandel'' left Port Jackson on 22 July bound for China.<ref name="ATCJ">{{cite web |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71247621 |title=Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date= |work=Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.17 |publisher= |access-date=28 April 2012}}</ref> On the way she sighted the islands of [[Nama (island)|Nama]], [[Losap]], [[Murilo, Chuuk|Murilo]], and [[Nomwin]] in the area of [[Chuuk State|Truk]].{{sfnp|Hezel|1994|p=82}}

She arrived at [[Whampoa anchorage]] on 17 September. From there she sailed to "Capshee Bay", which she reached on 12 October, before she returned to Whampoa on 21 November. She left in company with {{ship||Hercules|1801 ship|2}}, and on 5 January 1803, ''Coromandel'' was at [[Nei Lingding Island|Lintin Island]]. From there she sailed to [[Saint Helena|St Helena]], which she reached on 17 April, and then on to [[Gravesend, Kent|Long Reach]], arriving back in Britain on 14 June.<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS045-001114783 British Library: ''Coromandel'' (1).]</ref>

The ''LR'' for 1803 showed her master as changing from Sterling to Robinson. It reported that she had damages repaired in 1802, and that her trade was London–Botany Bay.

On her second voyage, she was under the command of John Robinson. The [[Napoleonic Wars]] had commenced so Robinson applied for and received a [[letter of marque]] on 16 September 1803.<ref name=LoM>{{Cite web |url=http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.pdf |title=Letter of Marque, p.57 - accessed 25 July 2017. |access-date=16 January 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}}</ref> ''Coromandel'' sailed from England on 4 December 1803, with 200 male convicts, and 32 officers and men of the [[New South Wales Corps]], who provided the guards. She left in company with {{ship||Experiment|1798 ship|2}}. While sailing in the [[Bay of Biscay]] ''Experiment'' suffered damage during a gale and had to limp back to [[Cowes]] for repairs. Robinson died off [[Salvador, Bahia|St. Salvador]], and George Blakely took over command. ''Coromandel'' arrived at Port Jackson on 7 May 1804.{{sfnp|Bateson|1959|pp=288-9}} No convicts died during the voyage.

''Coromandel'' left Port Jackson on 10 July bound for China.<ref name="ATCJ"/>

===French capture===
The French privateer {{ship||Henriette|1803 ship|2}} captured ''Coromandel'' on 15 March 1805, as she was sailing from China to London, and sent her into [[Mauritius]].<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735022?urlappend=%3Bseq=121 ''Lloyd's List'' n°4234.]</ref> The EIC put the value of the cargo lost when the French captured her at £35,768.<ref>''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, p.977.</ref>

By 1809, ''Coromandel'' was back in British hands with William Linton, master, and W. Gordon, owner.<ref>''Reports and Papers...'' (1809), p.241.</ref> The question of how she returned to British control and ownership is currently obscure.{{efn|One report states that the British recaptured her on 3 December 1810, following their [[invasion of Isle de France]], and returned her to her owners.{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=229}} However, not only is she not listed among the vessels the British captured there,<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735025?urlappend=%3Bseq=35 ''Lloyd's List'' №4537.]</ref> but she was already in British hands by then.}}

For the invasions of [[Invasion of Île Bonaparte|Île Bourbon]] and [[invasion of Isle de France|Île de France]] (Mauritius) in 1810-1811 the British government hired a number of transport vessels. ''Coromandel'' was among them.

{{main|Transport vessels for the British invasions of Île Bourbon and Île de France (1810)}}

''Coromandel'', Hogue, Davidson, & Co., owners, appeared on a list of vessels registered at Calcutta in January 1811.

===Misadventures===
There was a ''Coromandel'' that was reported to have been totally lost in the [[Karimata strait|Carimata Passage]], together with ''Abercrombie'', the first coming from Bengal bound for Batavia and the second from [[Mumbai|Bombay]] to China.<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735026?urlappend=%3Bseq=87 ''Lloyd's List'' № 4771.]</ref>{{ efn|''Abercrombie'' was a new ship of 1200 tons (bm), out of Bombay. The account that describes ''Abercrombie'' is a listing of vessels that were wrecked in the Carimata passage and does not include ''Coromandel''.<ref>''The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany''. (October 1825), Vol. 20, p.420.</ref>}} Apparently ''Coromandel'' was badly stranded in the Karimata Passage in 1812, but salved and repaired.{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=229}}

===American capture===
The next notable event occurred on 2 August 1814. The American privateer schooner ''York'' (or ''Yorktown''), captured ''Coromandel'', a "country ship" of 500 tons (bm), as she was sailing from Batavia to London.<ref>[https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/629067 ''Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser'' 25 February 1815, p. 1, "British Extracts FROM LONDON PAPERS OF AUG. LAST."/]</ref>{{efn|An American source gives the captor as the 14-gun and 120 ton (bm) schooner ''York'', E. Staples, master. Apparently ''Coromandel'' was armed with only two guns and had a crew of 66 men.{{sfnp|Emmons|1853|p=196}} Another U.S. source gives the British ship's name as ''Carondolet'', as well as ''Coromandel''. The source further states that ''York'', of Baltimore, had divested her prey of 30 tons of coffee and sugar, as well as silks and other valuable goods. ''York''had arrived safely at Boston on 6 October.{{sfnp|Good|2012|p=105}} }} ''Lloyd's List'' reported that ''Coromandel'', Cameron, master, from St Helena, was missing from "the Fleet" on 13 August.<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735026?urlappend=%3Bseq=363 ''Lloyd's List'', 9 August 1814.]</ref> {{HMS|Eridanus|1813|6}} recaptured ''Coromandel'' on the 12th. ''Coromandel'' arrived at Plymouth on 16 August 1814.<ref>[https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735026?urlappend=%3Bseq=371 ''Lloyd's List'' 19 August 1814.]</ref>{{efn|A first-class share of the prize-money was worth [[£sd|£]]788 19[[shilling|s]] 2[[pence|d]]; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £7 13s.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16990|page=425|date=7 March 1815}}</ref>}}

===Ongoing service===
On 12 January 1816 ''Coromandel'' stopped at [[Cape colony|the Cape]] on her way to Madras and Bengal; she was still under Cameron's command.<ref>''Asiatic journal and monthly miscellany,'' Volume 1, p.40.</ref>

What connects this ''Coromandel'' with that of the voyages to Australia is that a ''Coromandel'' appeared in the ''Lloyd's Register'' (''LR'') for 1818 and 1819. ''LR'' described her as a teak-built vessel of 503 tons (bm), launched in 1793 in the East Indies. Her master was "A. Cameron", her owner was "Campbell", and her trade was London to India.{{efn|This last means that her port of registry was now London, which may explain why she did not appear in earlier issues of ''LR''.}}

==Fate==
''Coromandel'' foundered on 6 February 1821.{{sfnp|Hackman|2001|p=229}} ''Coromandel'', W. Butler, master, was sailing for Malacca when her crew had to abandon her off the coast of Borneo as she was in a sinking state. The crew took to three boats and all were saved. Butler and 39 officers and men arrived at "Kemanlie", the second boat with an officer and 12 men arrived at [[Surabaya|Sourabaya]], and the third boat arrived at [[Semarang|Samarang]].<ref>''The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and ...,'' (September 1821), Vol. 12, p.308.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |title =The Convict Ships | first =Charles | last =Bateson | author-link=Charles Bateson | year =1959 | publisher =Brown, Son & Ferguson | oclc =3778075}}
* {{cite web | last=Emmons | first=George F | title=The Navy of the United States from the commencement, 1775 to 1853; with a brief history of each vessel's service and fate as appears upon record. To which is added a list of private armed vessels with their services and fate; also a list of the revenue and coast survey vessels, and principal ocean steamers, belonging to citizens of the United States in 1850 | publisher=Gideon | year=1853 | oclc=848601615 | url=http://books.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=/ebooks/oca7/51/navyofunitedstat00emmo }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Good |editor-first=Timothy S. |title=American privateers in the war of 1812: the vessels and their prizes as recorded in Niles' weekly register |year=2012 |publisher= McFarland |isbn= 978-0786466955}}
* {{cite book |last=Hackman |first=Rowan |date=2001 |title=Ships of the East India Company |location=Gravesend, Kent |publisher=World Ship Society |isbn=0-905617-96-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hezel |first1=Francis X |title=The First Taint of Civilization A History of the Caroline and Marshall Islands in Pre-Colonial Days, 1521-1885 |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8248-4717-3 | oclc=1255364204 |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824847173 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |doi=10.1515/9780824847173 }}
*''Reports and Papers on the Impolicy of Employing Indian Built Ships in the Trade of the East-India Company, and of Admitting Them to British Registry: With Observation on Its Injurious Consequences to the Landed and Shipping Interests, and to the Numerous Branches of Trade Dependent on the Building and Equipment of British-built Ships''. (1809). (London:Blacks and Parry).

{{1821 shipwrecks}}

[[Category:1790s ships]]
[[Category:Convict ships to New South Wales]]
[[Category:Ships of the British East India Company]]
[[Category:Age of Sail merchant ships]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Captured ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1821]]