For the invasion of Java (1811), under the auspices of Lord Minto, the British government hired a number of transport vessels. Most of the transports were "country ships". Country ships were vessels that were registered in ports of British India such as Bombay and Calcutta, and that traded around India, with Southeast Asia, and China, but that did not sail to England without special authorization from the EIC. In addition, some of the transports for the invasion were "regular ships" of the British East India Company (EIC), and some were "extra ships". Regular ships were on a long term contract with the EIC, and extra ships were vessels the EIC had chartered for one or more voyages.
The data in the table below comes primarily from two sources. An 1814 report from a Select Committee of the House of Commons of the British Parliament provided the data only on country ships, giving the names of a large number of vessels, and their burthen (bm). Then the Naval Chronicle published a list of vessels than had assembled at Malacca in May–June 1811 and then sailed for Java.[1] The list in the Naval Chronicle also included the names of British Royal Navy warships, EIC warships, and other EIC vessels, particularly regular and extra ships. A number of transports in the Select Committee report do not show up as having sailed from Malacca. Equally, a number of transports in the Naval Chronicle list are not in the Select Committee report. Transports without burthen data are in the Naval Chronicle but not in the Select Committee report.
Names of vessels that appear in both lists do not always agree. Some vessels in the Select Committee report that have compound names such as "Bombay Anna" or "Arab Mary" appear in the Naval Chronicle as Bombay and Anna, and as Arab and Mary. Also, transliteration of non-English names shows no consistency across sources, making it extremely difficult to try to find more information about the vessels in question.
Many of the transports gathered at Malacca and then left in four divisions on the following days:
- 1st division: 7 June 1811
- 2nd division: 11 June
- 3rd division: 14 June
- 4th division: 17 June
| Name | Burthen | Division | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander | 750 | 3 | Lost on the Bill of Portland 1815 |
| Ann | 403 | 4 | Built at Pegu? |
| Bombay Anna | 955 | 2 | Lost at sea 1815-16 |
| Anne | 405 | 4 | Possibly victualer |
| Antipodes | 70 | ||
| Asia | 992 | 3 | |
| Asia Felix | 324 | 3 | |
| Batavia | 600 | 1 | EIC extra ship |
| Betsey | 330 | 4 | Hired transport |
| Betsey | 175 | 3 | Hired brig |
| Borneo | 365 | 4 | Possibly a victualer; lost at Madagascar 1814 |
| Britannia | 170 | 1 | |
| Cawdry | 4 | ||
| Charles Baillie | 200 | ||
| Charlotte | 248 | 4 | Foundered in Madras Roads October 1818[2] |
| Cornwallis | 653 | 2 | |
| Countess of Harcourt | 501 | 1 | |
| Derie Beggi / Derea Beggye | 500 | 4 | Foundered 1838 |
| Duncan | 400 | 3 | Built at Beypour in 1803 |
| Estambool / Estaenboole | 310 | 4 | |
| Fattahoul Khyer / Footahoolkeer | 368 | 4 | |
| Fifeshire | 501 | ||
| Fleetwood | 350 | 1 | ex-Jessy (Calcutta; 1802); broken up at Calcutta in 1815.[3] |
| Fort William | 1160 | 1 | |
| Friendship | 872 | 3 | Lost on the Nicobars, 181[4] |
| Futteh Almoneen | 490 | ||
| Harmoody | 415 | 2 | |
| Harriot / Harriet? | 488 | Built at Pegu? | |
| Huddart | 565 | 2 | EIC regular ship |
| Hugh Inglis | 821 | 2 | EIC regular ship |
| James Drummond | 669 | 3 | Built at Demaun 1800 as Adam Smith; broken up at Calcutta, 1823.[5] |
| Kheeleel / Keleel | 310 | 4 | |
| Lord Eldon | 571 | 3 | EIC extra ship |
| Lowjee Family | 926 | 3 | Destroyed by fire in Bombay Harbour, 1849 |
| Macauley | 264 | 4 | |
| Marchioness Wellesley / Marchioness of Wellesley | 510 / 581 | Broken up 1821, or 1824 | |
| Margaret and Francis | 305 | 1 | |
| Mary | 250 | 4 | Lost on the John and Margaretta Shoal 1823.[6] |
| Mary | 400 | ||
| Arab Mary | 350 | 2 | |
| Matilda | 762 | 2 | Wrecked March 1822 |
| Mentor | 400 | ||
| Minerva brig | 160 | ||
| Minto | 190 | 4 | EIC-hired agent vessel[7] |
| Mornington | 770 | 4 | Built at Calcutta |
| Mysore | 831 / 900 | 2 | Built Pegu 1795: Lost off Pulo Sapata 1818 |
| Nadir Shah | 518 | ||
| Northumberland | 600 | 4 | EIC extra ship |
| Olive (or hired brig Olivia) | 420 | 4 | Captured 1806; returned to British hands |
| Perseverance | 280 | 4 | |
| Phoenix | 336 | ||
| Phoenix | 818 | 3 | EIC regular ship |
| Preston | 671 | 4 | EIC regular ship |
| Resource | 400 | 3 | Captured 1807;[Note 1] Returned to British ownership; registered at Calcutta prior to January 1811 |
| Substitute | 4 | ||
| Sullimany, or Solimany | 689 | 3 | Launched at Demaun[9] |
| Sullimany | 350 | ||
| Sultana | 300 | 3 | |
| Sundany | 430 | 1 | |
| Thomas Henchman | 517 | Burnt 1811 at Malacca on the expedition to Java[10] | |
| Troubridge | 800 | 2 | |
| Venus | 250 | 2 | Captured by USS Peacock in 1815; later returned to British ownership |
| Wellesley | 3 | ||
| William Pitt | 819 | 1 | EIC regular ship |
| Windham | 833 | 1 | Wrecked September 1815 |
Notes, citations, and references[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The French frigate Piémontaise captured Resource on 9 October 1807. She was carrying toile and 7,500 sacks of rice. The value of the prize was 215,930.24 francs.[8]
Citations
- ↑ Naval Chronicle, Vol. 27, p.109.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), p. 102.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), pp. 142&179.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), p. 172.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), pp. 172 & 188.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), p. 145.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), p. 104.
- ↑ Roman (2007), p. 223.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), p. 171.
- ↑ Phipps (1840), p. 100.
References
- Phipps, John, (of the Master Attendant's Office, Calcutta) (1840). A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time .... Scott.
- Roman, Alain (2007) Robert Surcouf et ses frères. ISBN 9782844210500
- Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping, House of Commons, Parliament of Great Britain (1814) Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Petitions Relating to East-India-built Shipping. (His Majesty's Stationery Office).
The original article can be found at Transport vessels for the British invasion of Java (1811) and the edit history here.