Betsey (1768 ship)
Betsey was a Guineaman (slave ship), launched at Liverpool in 1768. She made several voyages transporting slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean until 1777 when the British Royal Navy purchased her at Antigua, named her HMS Comet, and armed her as a sloop-of-war. She sailed to England in 1778, where the Navy sold her.
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|---|---|
| Name: | Betsey |
| Owner: | William James & Co. (1768-1777)[1] |
| Builder: | Liverpool[2] |
| Launched: | 1768 |
| Fate: | Sold 1777 |
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| Name: | HMS Comet |
| Acquired: | 1777 by purchase |
| Fate: | Sold 15 September 1778 |
| General characteristics [3] | |
| Tons burthen: | 200,[2] or 250 bm |
| Length: | 87 ft (27 m) (overall); 70 ft (21 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Sloop |
| Complement: | 100 |
| Armament: | 10[4] or 14[5] x 4-pounder guns |
Slaver
Between 1768 and 1777 Betsey made some seven or eight voyages transporting slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean.[1]
| Year | Master | |
|---|---|---|
| 1768 | Samuel Conway | Antigua |
| 1770 | Samuel Conway | Antigua |
| 1770 | Samuel Conway Parkinson |
Antigua |
| 1772 | Samuel Conway William Stevenson |
Jamaica |
| 1772 | Samuel Conway | St Kitts |
| 1774 | John Washington | Jamaica. |
| 1775 | Jere Limeburner | Jamaica |
| 1777 | John Simmons | Dominica |
The 1776 issue of Lloyd's Register is the first issue available online that lists Betsey. It shows her trade as Liverpool-Africa, and her master changing from Limeburner to Simmons. It also records that in 1774 she had damages repaired.[2]
Betsey arrived in Dominica in 1776 from New Calabar. She had embarked 336 slaves and disembarked 272, for a 19% mortality rate.[6]
HMS Comet
Vice-admiral James Young purchased the Guineaman Betsey at Antigua for £1500, and renamed her Comet. On 30 May 1777 he appointed Lieutenant William Swinney (or Swiney), First Lieutenant of Portland, to command Comet.[5]
On 19 March 1778 Lieutenant William Peacock, First Lieutenant of Portland, replaced Swinney, who transferred to Cygnet to replace her previous commander, Lieutenant Robert Stratford, who had died.[7]
In April Young sent Shark and Comet back to England as escorts to a convoy that also included Yarmouth, which Young was sending back for repairs following her engagement with the American privateer Randolph.[8]
Citations and references
Citations
- Thomas Cozens: Liverpool Slave Ship Voyages Database
- Lloyd's Register (1776), Seq. №B133.
- Morgan (1986), p. 102n.
- Colledge & Warlow (2006), p. 86.
- Morgan (1986), p. 101.
- Campbell (2007), p.22.
- Crawford et al. 2005, p. 720.
- Crawford et al. (2013), p. 58.
- "NMM, vessel ID 382607" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol xii. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
References
- Campbell, Susan (2007) "AFRICANS TO DOMINICA: 100,000 MIDDLE PASSAGES FROM 'GUINEA' to the Eastern Caribbean, 1764-1808".
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Crawford, Michael J., E. Gordon Bowen-Hassell, Dennis M. Conrad, & Mark L. Hayes, eds. (2005) Naval Documents of the American Revolution. Vol. 11. (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy).
- Crawford, Michael J., E. Gordon Bowen-Hassell, Dennis M. Conrad, & Mark L. Hayes, eds. (2013) Naval Documents of the American Revolution. Vol. 12. (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy).
- Morgan, William James, ed. (1986) Naval Documents of the American Revolution. Vol. 9. (Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy).
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