During the

French Revolutionary The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

''Égyptienne'' ("Egyptian woman"), or ''Egypt'', which commemorated Napoleon's

Egyptian Campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

, was a popular name for French vessels, including naval vessels and

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s. Between 1799 and 1804, warships of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

captured one French frigate and five different French privateers all with the name ''Égyptienne'', and at least one privateer with the name ''Égypte''.

''Égypte conquise''

* ''Égypte conquise'' was a French privateer out of Guadeloupe that the captured on 17 October 1799. * , a

based in Guadeloupe. On 28 May 1801, some to windward of Barbados, pursued and captured the 16-gun French sloop ''Égypte'' from Guadeloupe. The pursuit lasted 16 hours while ''Égypte'' kept up a running fight for three hours. She had a crew of 103 men, and during the engagement apparently had neither inflicted nor suffered any casualties. Bland reported that ''Égypte'' was said to be the fastest vessel out of Guadeloupe. She had sailed 13 days earlier but had made no captures.

''Egyptian''

*''Egyptian'' was a French prize that entered ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'' in 1800. She was of 563 tons (bm), and 22 guns. She made three voyages as a Liverpool-based

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

until she was condemned in the Americas in 1806 after having disembarked her slaves.

''Égyptien''

* , a fluyt. * , a privateer brig. She might be the ''Égyptienne'' captured by HMS ''Mercury'' (see below). She was under the commnd of Louis Mosqueron or Margereau, displaced 74 tons, and carried 56 men and 16 guns. * , a xebec. Built in Sicily, coppered-hulled, she was used as a storeship in Toulon from April 1804 and is not mentioned after 1807.

''Égyptienne''

* , a privateer based in Bordeaux. His Majesty's

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

captured the first French ship named ''Égyptienne'' on record, on 1 May 1799. ''Égyptienne'', a privateer schooner, was pierced for 14 guns but only carried eight, four of which she had thrown overboard while trying to evade capture. She had only 35 men on board, having recently taken four neutral vessels as prizes. ''Netley'' had herself recaptured one of these, a

galiot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...

carrying a cargo of wine from Oporto. * : captured her on 23 November 1799. This ''Égyptienne'' was of 300 tons

burthen Burden or burthen may refer to: People * Burden (surname), people with the surname Burden Places * Burden, Kansas, United States * Burden, Luxembourg Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Burden'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''T ...

, was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 140 men. She was sailing from

Cape François A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

to Jacquemel. , under Commander John Perkins, was in company with ''Solebay''. * , a 24-pounder a designed by Fr. Caro. The British captured the French frigate ''Égyptienne'' on 2 September 1801, after the fall of Alexandria. This ''Égyptienne'' then served in the

under the same name until 1817 when she was broken up. * The French frigate ''Railleuse'' was a 32-gun frigate built in 1777. She was sold and commissioned in 1800 as the privateer ''Égyptienne''. On 27 March 1804 captured ''Égyptienne''. ''Égyptienne'' mounted 36 guns and carried a crew of 250 men. She did not surrender until after a 54-hour-long chase and a running fight of over three hours. The Royal Navy took ''Égyptienne'' into service as the prison ship . * , a .

Incidents involving ships of similar names

*On 5 February 1800, captured the French privateer

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Égyptienne'' off the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. This ''Égyptienne'' mounted 15 brass guns and had a crew of 66 men. She had sailed from Cherbourg the evening before and had not yet taken any prizes. As she was striking her colours her crew suddenly discharged a volley of small arms fire that slightly wounded one man on ''Mercury''. ''Mercury'' sent ''Egyptian'' into Portsmouth. *, a

fire ship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

, captured another French privateer brig ''Égyptienne'' (or ''Égyptien'') in the Mediterranean on 12 May 1800. This ''Égyptienne'' was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 50 men.

Citations and references

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egyptienne (ship) 1790s ships Privateer ships of France Captured ships French Navy ship names Ship names