HMS Berbice (1804)

HMS Berbice was the Batavian Republic's schooner Serpent that HMS Heureux took possession of at Berbice in 1803 at the capitulation of the colony and that the Navy purchased in 1804. Berbice foundered in 1806 off Demerara.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Berbice.

History
Batavian Republic
Name: Serpent
Captured: 1803
UK
Name: HMS Berbice
Acquired: 1803 by capture
Fate: Foundered 24 May 1806
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 78 (bm)[1]
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Schooner
Armament: 4 or 6 guns

Career

Early in 1802, Kenau Hasselar, under the command of Captain Cornelius (or Cornelis) Hubertus Buschman, was assigned to the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope division of the Navy. After the end of the French Revolutionary Wars, the British ceded the Dutch colonies they had captured in the West Indies to the Batavian Republic. In August 1802, Buschman and Kenau Hasselar took a small squadron that also included the frigate Proserpina, the corvette Hippomenes, the cutter Rose, and the schooner Serpent, to take possession of Curaçao.[2]

Around 8 May 1803 Serpent fired on Dutch mutineers that wanted to turn the colony of Berbice over to the British. The mutiny failed, though Serpent's contribution to this result appears minimal.[3]

On 23 September 1803 Heureux represented the Royal Navy at the capture of the Batavian Republic's colony at Berbice. The British captured the schooner Serpent, as well many arms, troops and the like.[4] The Navy took Serpent into service as HMS Berbice and Admiral Sir Samuel Hood appointed Acting-Lieutenant James Glassford Gooding as her commander.[5] The Navy registered and commissioned her in 1805 in the Leeward Islands.[1] Gooding was confirmed in his rank on 20 November.

Berbice foundered on 24 May 1806 off Demerara. All her crew were saved.[6]

Citations and references

Citations

  1. Winfield (2008), p.366.
  2. Hartog (1968), pp. 197-8.
  3. Southey (1827), Vol. 3, pp.242-243.
  4. "No. 15649". The London Gazette. 26 November 1803. pp. 1655–1659.
  5. O'Byrne (1849), Vol. 1, p.405.
  6. Hepper (1994), p.114.

References

  • Hartog, Johannes (1968). Curaçao, from colonial dependence to autonomy. Aruba: De Wit.
  • Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
  • O'Byrne, William R. (1849). A Naval Biographical Dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive. 1. London: J. Murray.
  • Southey, Thomas (1827). Chronological History of the West Indies: In Three Volumes. Longman.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
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