Molly (1783 ship)

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

History
Great Britain
NameMolly
Launched1783, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Captured1794
General characteristics
Tons burthen80,[1] or 96, or 107,[2] or 144[3] (bm)
Armament10 × 4-pounder guns (1793)

Molly was launched at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1783. From at least 1785 on she sailed from Lancaster as a West Indiaman. In 1792 she made one voyage as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. A French squadron captured her in 1794 at the outset of her second slave voyage, before she could acquire any slaves.

Career[]

Missing online issues of Lloyd's Register (LR) mean that Molly first appeared in the register in 1786,[1] even though she had already appeared in Lloyd's List in 1785. For many years Lloyd's Register gave her origin as simply "Amer", though by the early 1790s it had switched to "Halifax".

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1789 Greenwood
Nunns 		J.Jackson Lancaster–St Kitts LR; raised and repaired 1785
1791 J.Nunns
Boswell 		J.Jackson Lancaster–St Kitts LR; raised and repaired 1785, repaired 1788 & 1790
1792 Bosworth
J.Coulthard 		Jackson & Co.
Fisher & Co. 		Lancaster–St Kitts
Liverpool–Africa 		LR; raised and repaired 1785, repaired 1788 & 1790

1st slave voyage (1792–1793): Captain John Coulthard sailed from Liverpool on 28 September 1792, bound for West Africa. This was his first voyage as a captain. Unfortunately for him, he died on 27 February 1793.[4] Captain Nehemiah Evans replaced Coulthard. Molly arrived at Kingston on 25 May 1793 with 134 slaves. She sailed for Liverpool on 19 July and arrived back there on 2 October. She had left Liverpool with 19 crew members and she had suffered 11 crew deaths on her voyage.[2]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1793 J.Coulthard Fisher & Co. Liverpool–Africa LR; raised and repaired 1785, repaired 1788 & 1790
1794 J.Sellars R.Fisher Liverpool–Africa LR; raised and repaired 1785, repaired 1788 & 1790
1794 J.Sellars R.Fisher Liverpool–Africa LR; raised and repaired 1785, repaired 1788, 1790, & 1794

2nd slave voyage (1794–Loss): Captain John Sillars sailed from Liverpool on 5 July 1794.[3]

Fate[]

In September 1794 a French naval squadron comprising the razee Experiment under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Arnaud, Vigilance, Félicité, Épervier, and Mutine was cruising the West African coast, destroying British factories and shipping.[5] Among many other vessels they captured two vessels belonging to the Sierra Leone Company, Harpy, and Thornton, and Molly, Sellers, master.

Citations and references[]

Citations

  1. ^ a b LR (1786), Seq.No.M432.
  2. ^ a b Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Molly voyage #82785.
  3. ^ a b Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Molly voyage #82786.
  4. ^ Behrendt (1990), p. 134.
  5. ^ Lloyd's List 10 February 1795, №2689.

References

  • Behrendt, Stephen D. (1990). "The Captains in the British slave trade from 1785 to 1807" (PDF). Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire. 140.
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