Othello (1786 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 England | |
| Name: | Othello |
| Namesake: | Othello (character) |
| Owner: | |
| Launched: | 1786 at Liverpool |
| Fate: | Burnt 1796 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | |
| Length: | 68 ft 0 in (20.7 m) |
| Beam: | 21 ft 1 in (6.4 m) (above the wales) |
| Depth of hold: | 4 ft 1 in (1.2 m) |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
| Complement: |
|
| Armament: | |
| Notes: | Two decks and three masts |
Othello was launched in 1786 at Liverpool for the African slave trade. She made some five voyages before she burnt off the coast of Africa in 1796. During her first voyage her master fired on another British slave ship, which gave rise to an interesting court case. As a letter of marque she recaptured a British ship in 1794.
Career
Othello enters Lloyd's Register in 1787 with McGauley, master, Parke & Co. owner, and trade Liverpool-Africa.[3]
Captain James McGauley sailed Othello in 1788 for the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands.[5] At the coast of Cameroon he delivered trade goods to the natives, but payment, in the form of slaves, was slow in coming.
When the slave ship Banastre, Thomas Smith, master, arrived at Calabar, Captain Patrick Fairweather, of Tarleton, another vessel under the ownership of the Tarleton-Backhouse partnership, and a senior captain for them, sent Banastre to the coast of Cameroon. When she arrived there some natives in a canoe approached to trade with her, but were warned off by a shot from Othello that killed one of the natives. McGauley had ordered the shot fired because the natives on that coast owed him a debt and he had declared that he would permit no trade until they had paid him. In 1793 the case of Tarleton and others vs. McGauley came to trial with the plaintiffs suing McGauley for loss of trade.[Note 2] The court found for the plaintiffs, establishing that it is a tort "to cause damage to a person by maliciously using any unlawful means, (e.g. fraud, or threats of assault), to induce anyone to abstain from entering into a contract with him."[6]
McGauley eventually gathered slaves, and then delivered them to Dominica. He arrived on 2 December 1788 with 150 slaves, having embarked 185,[7] for a mortality rate of 19%.
In 1790 Othello underwent lengthening and repairs.[8] Her burthen increased from 122 to 208 tons. Captain John Powell then sailed Othello for the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands. He delivered his slaves to Grenada.[5]
In 1791 Powell again sailed Othello to the same region, but this time she delivered her slaves to Jamaica. during the voyage Captain William Hewitt replaced Powell.[5]
Captain William Hewitt may have been the intended captain in 1793 for another voyage for the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands. However, Captain Thomas Jolly replaced Powell. The French Revolutionary Wars had just begun when Jolly received a letter of marque on 28 February.[4] Jolly too delivered his slaves to Jamaica.[5]
Captain David Christian received a letter of marque on 21 December 1793.[4] In 1794 he sailed Othello for West Central Africa and St. Helena.[5] On her way to deliver her slaves to Jamaica, on 4 November 1794 she recaptured Minerva. Minerva, Hayes, master, had been sailing from Cork to Saint Domingo when she was captured on 20 October. Othello sent Minerva into Antigua.[9] Christian's letter of marque made the action legal. Othello again delivered her slaves to Jamaica.[5]
In 1795 Christian again sailed Othello for the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands.[5]
Fate
Othella [sic] was reported to have burnt in Bonny River.[10] This occurred possibly in late 1795 or more probably early 1796.[Note 3]
Notes, citations, and references
Notes
- ↑ The Earles were a prominent family of merchants. They invested in several vessels, including this Othello, and its predecessor Othello, lost in 1783.[2]
- ↑ In the description of the case, Banastre is rendered as Banister.[6]
- ↑ One source states that Christian became master of Elliot (371 tons (bm)) later in 1796, and died in 1798 when he was master of Parr (566 tons (bm)) and she caught fire and blew up.[11] Lloyd's List reported that Parr, Christian, master, blew up in 1798, off the coast of Africa as she was sailing from there for the West Indies. Twenty-nine of her crew and some 300 slaves were saved.[12] Lloyd's Register for 1797 has a Parr, 450 tons (bm), of Liverpool, Christian, master.[13] The database of slave voyages does not list Parr, but it does list Parnasus, with Christian, master.[5] However, Parnasus does not appear in Lloyd's List for 1798, or in Lloyd's Register (1797). The database may be suffering from a transposition error.
Citations
- 1 2 Craig & Jarvis (1967), p.44.
- ↑ Earle (2015).
- 1 2 Lloyd's Register' (1787), Seq. №O50.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Register of Letters of Marque against France 1793-1815"; p.80 Archived July 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thomas Cozens: Liverpool Slave Ship Voyages Database
- 1 2 Kenny (1908), pp.524-6.
- ↑ Campbell (2007), p.26.
- ↑ Lloyd's List (1793), Seq. №O55.
- ↑ Lloyd's List №2672.
- ↑ Lloyd's List №2805.
- ↑ Transactions (1991), p.110.
- ↑ Lloyd's List №3031.
- ↑ Lloyd's Register (1897), Supplemental pages "P".
References
- Campbell, Susan (2007) "AFRICANS TO DOMINICA: 100,000 MIDDLE PASSAGES FROM 'GUINEA' to the Eastern Caribbean, 1764-1808".
- Craig, Robert, & Rupert Jarvis (1967) Liverpool Registry of Merchant Ships. (Manchester University Press for the Chetham Society), Series 3, vol. 15.
- Kenny, Courtney Stanhope (1908) A Selection of Cases Illustrative of the English Law of Tort. (University Press).
- Earle, Peter (2015) The Earles of Liverpool: A Georgian Merchant Dynasty. (Oxford University Press). ISBN 978-1781381731
- Transactions of the Historic society of Lancashire and Chester. (1991). Vol. 140. (Alan Sutton). ISSN 0140-332X
- Williams, Gomer (1897; since republished) History of the Liverpool Privateers and Letters of Marque: With an Account of the Liverpool Slave Trade. (W. Heinemann).