''Britannia'' was launched in 1794 at Northfleet. She made two voyages as an "extra ship" for the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

(EIC). On her second voyage a French privateer captured her, but the British

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 ...

recaptured her shortly thereafter. She then became a West Indiaman and was lost c.1801.

Career

1st EIC voyage

Captain Thomas Nixon jnr. received a letter of marque for ''Britannia'' on 22 August 1795. He left Yarmouth on 20 September 1795, bound for Bengal. She arrived at

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

on 22 February 1796. There she loaded rice on behalf of the British government which was importing grain to address high prices for wheat in Britain following a poor harvest. Homeward bound, ''Britannia'' was at Culpee on 31 March, and at

Saugor Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capital ...

on 19 April. She reached

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

on 22 July, and arrived at The Downs on 15 September.

2nd EIC voyage

Captain James Stewart received a letter of marque on 17 December 1796. He left Britain on 3 January 1797. The French privateer ''Huron'' (or ''Herion'') captured ''Britannia'' on 22 August 1798 as she returned to Britain. and ''Amaranthe'' were in company when they recaptured her on 27 August at . They took her into

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. She reached home on 8 October.

Subsequent career

In 1799 Timperon purchased ''Britannia''. Captain J. Mann replaced Stewart and her trade became London-Grenada. She was last listed in ''Lloyd's Register'' in 1804, but the ''Register of Shipping'' for 1801 has the notation "LOST". ''Lloyd's List'' for 25 September 1801 reported that ''Britannia'', from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

to London, was lost at Old Harbour, Jamaica.''Lloyd's List'' №4189.
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Notes

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Britannia (1794 ship) 1794 ships Ships built in England Ships of the British East India Company Captured ships Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea