''Commerce de Marseille'' was a 118-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, lead ship''Commerce de Marseille'' was ordered after ''États de Bourgogne'' (which was later renamed ''Océan''), but launched before her; therefore, the ship type is alternatively called ''Commerce de Marseille'' class or ''Océan'' class of the . She was funded by a

don des vaisseaux The ''don des vaisseaux'' (lit. "gift of ships of the line") was a subscription effort launched by Étienne François de Choiseul, Duke of Choiseul and secretary of State to the Navy in 1761 as an effort to rebuild the French naval power, diminis ...

donation from the

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Career

Built on state-of-the-art plans by Sané, she was dubbed the "finest ship of the century". Her construction was difficult because of a lack of wood, and soon after her completion, she was disarmed, in March 1791. Commerce-de-marseille-2

''Commerce de Marseille'' came under British control during the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-Spa ...

. When the city fell to the French, she evacuated the harbour for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. She was briefly used as a

stores ship Store may refer to: Enterprises * Retail store, a shop where merchandise is sold, usually products and usually on a retail basis, and where wares are often kept ** App store, an online retail store where apps are sold, included in many mobile op ...

, but on a journey to the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, in 1795, she was badly damaged in a storm and had to limp back to Portsmouth. She remained there as a

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

until she was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

in 1802.

Notes

Citations

References

* "Le vaisseau trois-ponts l’Océan", Jean Boudriot, in ''Neptunia'' n° 102 (1971), page 21. * * (1671-1870) {{DEFAULTSORT:Commerce De Marseille (1790) Ships of the line of the French Navy Océan-class ships of the line 1788 ships Don des vaisseaux Captured ships