Lapwing (1794 ship)

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

History
Great Britain
Name| Lapwing
Owner|

* 1800: G. and J. Fisher
* 1801: C. Anderson

Builder| Bristol[1]
Launched| 1794[1]
Captured| 11 December 1801
General characteristics
Tons burthen|

* 1794: 226[2] (bm)
* 1797: 313[3] (bm; after lengthening)

Complement| 45[3]
Armament| 22 × 9&6-pounder guns[3]

Lapwing was launched at Bristol in 1794, and lengthened in 1797. She was a West Indiaman until in 1801 she became a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. However, on her first enslaving voyage a Spanish privateer captured her. Although the Spanish authorities ordered her restitution to her owners, it is not clear that the order was anything but moot.

## Career

[edit]

Lapwing was first listed in Lloyd's List (LR) in 1794.[2]

Year  | Master  | Owner  | Trade  | Source & notes

|
|
|
|

1794  | D.Brown  | G.Fisher  | Bristol–St. Vincent  | LR
1796  | D.Brown
P.Leyson  | G.Fisher  | Bristol–St. Vincent  | LR
1797  | J.Duncan  | G.Fisher  | Bristol–Tobago  | LR
1801  | J.Duncan
R.Curran  | G&J.Fisher
C.Anderson  | Bristol–Tobago  | LR; lengthened 1797

Transporting enslaved people (1801): Captain Robert Curran acquired a letter of marque on 21 March 1801.[3] He sailed from Bristol on 13 April 1801.[4] On 19 May Lapwing, Corran, master, was "all well" at Cape Mount. On 20 October she was at Cape Coast Castle.[5]

On 11 December as Lapwing, of Bristol, Curran, master, was on her way to Demerara from Africa, a Spanish privateer captured her off Demerara and took her into Orinoco.[6] She was carrying 330 captives, 4480 pounds of ivory, 215 ounces of gold, and some trade goods.[7] Lapwing was condemned and sold.[5]

The Spanish Government ordered her returned to her owner, with damages. The privateer had captured Lapwing one day after the end of hostilities.[8] Her value at the time of capture was estimated at £43,800.[5] It is not clear how much her owners recovered, given that she had been sold and payments disbursed.

Anderson had insured Lapwing for £26,500. In 1806 Anderson petitioned the British Government and gave his losses as £57,511 15s 6d, including interest. The wording of his petition is such that it is not clear whether the claim was net of the proceeds of insurance or not.[7]

In 1801, 23 British ships in the trade in enslaved people had been lost. Ten had been lost in the Middle Passage, sailing between Africa and the West Indies.[9] During the period 1793 to 1807, war, rather than maritime hazards or resistance by the captives, was the greatest cause of vessel losses among British vessels carrying enslaved people.[10]

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Farr (1950), p. 239.
2. ^ a b LR (1794), Seq.NO.389.
3. ^ a b c d "Letter of Marque, p.72 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
4. ^ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Lapwing voyage #18245.
5. ^ a b c Richardson (1996), p. 258.
6. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4239\. 19 March 1802. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735020.
7. ^ a b Inikori (2002), pp. 358–359.
8. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4351\. 20 May 1803. hdl:2027/hvd.32044050633072.
9. ^ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
10. ^ Inikori (1996), p. 58.

## References

[edit]

* Farr, Grahame E., ed. (1950). Records of Bristol Ships, 1800-1838 (vessels over 150 tons). Vol. 15\. Bristol Record Society. OCLC 602853041.
* Inikori, Joseph (1996). "Measuring the unmeasured hazards of the Atlantic slave trade: Documents relating to the British trade". Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer. 83 (312): 53–92.
* Inikori, Joseph E. (2002). Africans and the Industrial Revolution in England: A Study in International Trade and Economic Development. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521010795.
* Richardson, David, ed. (1996). Bristol, Africa, and the Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade to America, Vo. 4 The Final Years, 1770-1807. Bristol Record Society, c/o Department of Historical Studies, Univ. of Bristol. ISBN 0-901538-17-5.