Othello (1781 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name: | Othello |
| Namesake: | Othello (character) |
| Owner: | Heywood and Earl |
| Launched: | 1769 at Liverpool |
| Fate: | Wrecked 1783 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 100,[1] (bm) |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
| Armament: | 10 × 4-pounder guns[1] |
| Notes: | Coppered 1780 |
Othello (or Ortello), was launched at Liverpool in 1769, possibly under the name Preston. Under the command of Captain James Johnson Othello made two voyages in the African slave trade in 1781 and 1782. She was lost at Tortola in 1783, during the second voyage.
Some general background
Othello enters Lloyd's Register in 1781 with master James Johnson and William Earl (or Earle), owner.[1][Note 1] Othello had been lengthened in 1770, had undergone a good repair in 1778, and had received a large repair in 1780. At that time her name had been Preston.[4]
Slaver
Othello was armed, and carried a letter of marque.
On her first slave trading voyage she captured St Anne, of 300 tons (bm), which was sailing from Buenos Aires to Cadiz. St Anne was carrying 8,500 dry hides, 180 boxes of Peruvian bark (Cinchona), and four sacks of "fine Spanish wool".[5] The value of the prize was put at £10,000,[6] or £20,000,[5] though it is not clear if that included the vessel as well. The prize-master sailed St Anne to Killybegs in September 1781 where he awaited orders from Heywood. He was concerned about the prevalence of French privateers in the Channel and the coast to Liverpool.[5]
On this voyage Johnson apparently gathered slaves at Sierra Leone and took them to Jamaica.[2]
Loss
On his second voyage, Johnson sailed to the Windward Coast,[2] (an old name for the Ivory Coast). In spring 1783 Johnson's crew mutinied and captured the vessel. The second mate and the doctor recaptured her, but only after Johnson had died while trying to quell the mutiny.[7][8] The ship was wrecked at Tortola at some point before 8 July. A total of 213 slaves were rescued.[9][10] Lloyd's Register for 1783 has her name struck out and the notation "Lost".[4]
Notes, citations, and references
Notes
Citations
- 1 2 3 Lloyd's Register (1781), Seq. №O52.
- 1 2 3 Thomas Cozens: Liverpool Slave Ship Voyages Database
- ↑ Earle (2015), p.164.
- 1 2 Lloyd's Register (1783), Seq. №O51.
- 1 2 3 Williams (1897), p.565.
- ↑ Lloyd's List №1299.
- ↑ Lloyd's List №1465.
- ↑ Williams (1897), p.566.
- ↑ "The Marine List". New Lloyd's List (1479). 8 July 1783.
- ↑ Towle et al. (1976).
References
- Earle, Peter (2015) The Earles of Liverpool: A Georgian Merchant Dynasty. (Oxford University Press). ISBN 978-1781381731
- Towle, Edward L.; Marx, Robert F.; Albright, Alan B. (December 1976). "Shipwrecks of the Virgin Islands. An Inventory, 1523 - 1825" (PDF). Virgin Islands: Island Resources Foundation. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- Williams, Gomer (1897; since republished) History of the Liverpool Privateers and Letters of Marque: With an Account of the Liverpool Slave Trade. (W. Heinemann).