Surprize (1780 ship)
Justinian and Surprize standing into Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island, 23 August 1790; William Bradley
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History | |
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Great Britain | |
Name | Surprize |
Owner | Calvert & Co. |
Builder | Shoreham |
Launched | 1780 |
Captured | 1799 in the Bay of Bengal |
General characteristics [1] | |
Tons burthen | 394,[2] or 402[3][4] (bm) |
Length |
|
Beam | 29 ft 5 in (9.0 m) |
Depth of hold | 13 ft 3 in (4.0 m) |
Complement | 24[3] |
Armament |
Surprize was a three-deck merchant vessel launched in 1780 that made five voyages as a packet ship under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She also participated in the notorious Second Fleet, transporting convicts to Port Jackson. A French frigate captured her in the Bay of Bengal in 1799.
First EIC voyage (1783)
Under the command of Captain David Asquith, Surprize left Bengal on 22 April 1783 and reached the River Shannon on 11 September. She arrived at The Downs on 17 October.[1]
Second EIC voyage (1785)
Captain Asquith sailed for Bengal, leaving Britain on 23 January 1784.
Third EIC voyage
Captain Asquith left the Downs on 10 July 1785. He was sailing to Madras and Bengal. Surprize was then to remain there.[1]
Second Fleet and fourth EIC voyage (1790-91)
It is not clear when Surprize returned to Britain. She was in Britain in 1789, being repaired by Calvert (her owner). At that time her measurements were taken.
In company with Neptune and Scarborough, she sailed from England with 254 male convicts on 19 January 1790. Her master was Nicholas Anstis, formerly chief mate on Lady Penrhyn in the First Fleet, and surgeon was William Waters.
At 394 tons (bm), Surprize was the smallest ship of the fleet, and was an unsuitable vessel for so long a voyage, proving to be a wet ship even in moderate weather. In rough seas and heavy gales the convicts "were considerably above their waists in water", according to the commander of the guards.
She arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on 13 April 1790, and spent sixteen days there, taking on provisions. She was parted from her consorts in heavy weather and came in sight of Port Jackson on 23 June. Contrary winds blew her out to sea again and she did not make port until 26 June 158 days after having left England. During the voyage 36 convicts died (14%), and 121 (48%) were sick when landed.
From Port Jackson Surprize first sailed to
She left
Australian statesman William Wentworth was born onboard Surprize to convict mother Catherine Crowley and surgeon D'Arcy Wentworth just off Norfolk Island.[10]
Slaver (1791-93)
In 1791 and 1793, Surprize attempted two voyages as a slave ship. Her owners for both voyages owners were Anthony Calvert, Thomas King, and William Campbell, and her master was J. Martin, though "Cambell" succeeded him during the second.
On the first voyage she sailed 13 December 1791 but a nautical mishap caused her to end the voyage before she had embarked any slaves.[11]
On Surprize's second voyage she left London on 2 July 1792, bound for the Gold Coast. She gathered her slaves at Cape Coast Castle, which she left on 1 April 1793. She transported the slaves to Kingston, Jamaica, where she arrived on 20 May with 518 slaves. She arrived back at London on 11 October.[11]
Lloyd's Register for 1794 provides the following information:[12]
Year | Master | Owner | Trade |
---|---|---|---|
1794 | J. Martin P. Campbell |
Calvert & Co. | London–Africa London–Botany Bay |
Also, Lloyd's Register indicates that Surprize underwent a thorough repair for damages in 1792.[12]
Second convict transport and fifth EIC voyage (1794-96)
Captain Patrick Campbell received a
Surprize sailed with a convoy of
On 31 May a convict reported to Captain Campbell that the six deserters, all Irish, had been plotting in Gaelic to kill Campbell and take over the ship once it had separated from the convoy. Campbell put the men in chains, together with his first officer, Mr. Macpherson, whom Cambell suspected of knowing of the mutiny.[13]
On 30 June Surprize parted from Suffolk and the East Indiamen.[13]
Surprize arrived at Rio de Janeiro on 2 July, in company with HMS Swift.[a] Due to problems obtaining fresh water, Surprize remained at Rio until 2 August.[13]
Surprize arrived at Port Jackson on 25 October.
Later career and capture
Lloyd's Register for 1799 shows that she underwent a repair in 1796. Then in 1799 her master was S. Moore, her owner was Calvert & Co., and her trade was London - India.
Lloyd's Register for 1800 noted that Surprize had been captured.[4] Lloyd's List further reported that the French frigate Forte had captured Surprize, Osterley, and a number of other East Indiamen in the Bay of Bengal.[15]
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h British Library: Surprise.
- ^ Lloyd's Register (1789).
- ^ a b c d Letter of Marque, 1793–1815, p.8;
- ^ a b c LR (1800), Seq.№400.
- ^ Calcutta Gazette (1864) Selections from Calcutta gazettes of the years 1784 (-1823) showing the political and social conditions of the English in India Selections from the Calcutta Gazettes, pp.50-54.
- ^ "Justinian and Surprize standing into Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island 23 August 1790 | the Dictionary of Sydney".
- ^ "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.17. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ^ Flinders (1814), entry for 3 February 1798.
- ^ Reed (1969).
- ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ a b Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database Voyages: Surprize (1791-93).
- ^ a b Lloyd's Register (1794), Seq. №S454.]
- ^ a b c d e f "Free settler or Felon" - accessed 6 September 2015.
- ^ Hepper (1994), p. 85.
- ^ Lloyd's List 2 August 1799, №3087, accessed 6 September 2015.
References
- Bateson, Charles (1974). The Convict Ships, 1787-1868. Sydney.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Flinders, Matthew (1814). A Voyage to Terra Australis. London: G. and W. Nicol.
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
- Reed, A. W.(1969). Place names of New South Wales, their origins and meanings. Sydney: Reed Books.