Britannia was a merchant vessel captured from the Dutch. She made one complete whaling voyage to the South Seas. A Spanish vessel captured her at the Galapagos Islands in 1801 on her second whaling voyage.

History
Great Britain
NameBritannia
OwnerW. Boyd[1]
BuilderDutch
Acquired1798 by purchase of a prize
HomeportLondon
Captured1801
General characteristics
Tons burthen296,[1] or 309[2] (bm)
PropulsionSails
Armament8 × 12-pounder carronades[2]

Career

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Britannia was a Dutch prize, captured in 1797 that underwent repairs in 1798.[3] She entered Lloyd's Register in 1798 with W. Shaw, master, W. Boyd, owner, and trade Portsmouth-Jamaica.[1] In 1799 Mortlock replaced Shaw as master, and her trade was listed as Portsmouth-Cape of Good Hope.[4]

Whaling voyage: Captain Mortlake left Britain on 13 March 1799. Britannia called in at Rio de Janeiro in July for sugarcane syrup.[5] She returned to England on 30 May 1800.[6]

Loss: In May 1801 Lloyd's List reported that a Spanish ship of 24 guns had captured "Britannia, late Mortlock, of London", and Castor & Pollux, Anderson, master, in the Galapagos Islands. The Spaniards then took their prizes into Lima.[7] Their captor was the privateer Atlante, under the command of Dominque de Orué.[8]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Lloyd's Register (1798), Supplement, Seq. №B381.
  2. ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1800), Seq. №290.
  3. ^ Register of Shipping (1801), Seq. №379.
  4. ^ Lloyd's Register (1799), Seq.№267.
  5. ^ Clayton (2014), p. 77.
  6. ^ Southern Whale Fishery - Voyages: Britannia.
  7. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4152. 19 May 1801. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735020.
  8. ^ Ortiz Sotelo (2012), p. 258.

References

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