Hector (1781 ship)

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History
Great Britain
NameHector
Owner
Launched1781, Bristol
Captured1804
General characteristics
Tons burthen338,[1][2] or 361,[2] or 400[3] (bm)
Complement
Armament
  • 1795:10 × 4&6-pounder guns[2]
  • 1801:4 × 6-pounder + 2 × 4-pounder guns
  • 1803:18 × 9-pounder guns[2]

Hector was launched at Bristol in 1781 as a West Indiaman. A new owner in 1802 sailed Hector as a slave ship. She made one complete voyage as a slave ship before a French privateer captured her on her second slave voyage after Hector had disembarked her slaves.

Career[]

Hector entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1783. Between 1781 and 1783, LR conflated her with the Bristol-built Orange Valley.[a] The following data is for Orange Valley.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1781 C.Watson Meyler & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR
1782 C.Watson Meyler & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR; "Now the Hector, Ronaldson"
1783 C.Watson Gordon & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR

The following data is for Hector, with the data for 1783 still reflecting the confusion.[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1783 Ronaldson Meyler & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR; former "Orange Valley"
1786 Ronaldson Maxse & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR

Captain Thomas Harvey acquired a letter of marque on 30 January 1795.[2]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1795 Ronaldson
T.Harvey 		Maxse & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR; good repair 175
1799 T.Harvey
A. Ball 		Maxse & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR; damages repaired 1785, & repairs 1796 & 1798
1802 A.Ball
J.Williams 		Maxse & Co.
T. Parr 		Bristol–Jamaica
Liverpool–Africa 		LR; damages repaired 1785, repairs 1796 & 1798, & large repair 1802

Slave voyages[]

1st slave voyage (1802–1803): Captain Joseph Williams sailed from Liverpool on 3 June 1802. Hector acquired slaves at Calabar and arrived at Trinidad on 9 January 1803 with 339 slaves. She sailed for Liverpool on 20 February and arrived there on 8 April. She had left Liverpool with 37 crew members and had suffered seven crew deaths on the voyage.[5]

2nd slave voyage (1803–loss): War with France had resumed shortly before Hector had returned to Liverpool from her first slave voyage. Before Captain Williams sailed again he acquired a letter of marque on 23 May 1803.[2] Hector sailed from Liverpool on 8 June. She acquired her slaves at Calabar and arrived at Demerara on 14 January 1804 with 300 slaves. She sailed for Liverpool on 27 February. She had left Liverpool with 37 crew members and she had suffered seven crew deaths on her voyage.[6] Parr sold Hector while she was on her way to Demerara.

Fate[]

Lloyd's List reported on 4 May 1804 that privateers had captured Sarah, Caldicot Castle, Skerrett, master, and Hector, Williams, master, and taken them into Guadeloupe. The three were sailing to Liverpool from Demerara.[7]

Caldicot Castle's captor was the privateer Grand Decide, which had brought two prizes into Guadeloupe, suggesting that she may also have been the captor of Hector.

Notes, citations, and references[]

Notes

  1. ^ Unfortunately, Farr has no mention of Orange Valley,[4] probably because Orange Valley was captured and burnt in 1796.

Citations

  1. ^ a b Farr (1950), p. 235.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Letter of Marque, p.67 – Retrieved 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b LR (1783), Seq.No.H99.
  4. ^ Farr (1950).
  5. ^ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Hector voyage #81775.
  6. ^ Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Hector voyage #81776.
  7. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4450. 4 May 1804. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

References

  • Farr, Grahame E., ed. (1950). Records of Bristol Ships, 1800-1838 (vessels over 150 tons). Vol. 15. Bristol Record Society.
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