''Hindostan'' was an

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

of the

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 ...

. She was a large vessel of 1,463 tons (bm), launched in 1796 to replace a previous ''Hindostan'' that 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 ...

had bought and turned into a Fourth Rate

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 ...

. Her owner was Robert Williams, M.P., who had been the owner of the previous ''Hindostan''. She made three complete voyages. She was lost on her fourth voyage, wrecking at Margate in January 1803.

Voyages

As was typical for East Indiamen during wartime, ''Hindostan'' made her voyages under a letter of marque, which authorized her to capture enemy vessels should the opportunity arise.

First voyage (1797-1798)

For her first voyage ''Hindostan'' was under Captain William Mackintosh, who sailed her to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and China. Before leaving, she had the misfortune to run over ''Thomas and Alice'' in Blackwell Reach on 21 January 1797, sinking the smaller ship. ''Hindostan'' left for the Far East on 18 March 1797, via Bombay,

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, and Malacca, before arriving at Whampoa on 8 January 1798. For the return voyage she crossed Second Bar on 3 March, 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 5 August, and the Downs on 18 October, finally anchoring on 22 October 1798. Mackintosh had made five earlier voyages for the East India Company, including three as captain of Indiamen. In 1792-94 he was captain of a different when he took George Macartney on Britain's first embassy to China. Mackintosh's letter of marque was dated 7 February 1797.

Second voyage (1799-1800)

For her second voyage, ''Hindostan'' was under Captain George Millett. She sailed to China, leaving Portsmouth on 18 June 1799. On the way out she reached Penang on 28 October and Whampoa on 16 January 1800. On her return trip, she reached

Anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

on 3 May, St Helena on 15 July, and the Downs on 23 September. Because her captain had changed, ''Hindostan'' required a new letter of marque; Millett's was dated 15 April 1799. It would remain valid for his subsequent voyages as well.

Third voyage (1801-1802)

For her third voyage ''Hindostan'' was again under Captain George Millet. This was his eighth voyage for the East India Company, and his fifth as a captain. She sailed to the Coast and China, leaving Portsmouth on 31 March 1801. She reached Madras on 26 July, Penang on 28 August, and Whampoa on 29 September. For her return trip she crossed Second Bar on 7 December. She reached St Helena on 12 April 1802 and the Downs on 10 June, before finally anchoring on 13 June.

Fourth voyage and wreck (1803)

''Hondostan''s fourth voyage was for the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, the Coromandel Coast, and China. She carried mostly woolens and 45,000 ounces of silver bullion in 13 cases for private ventures, not the East India Company. For this voyage her captain was Edward Balston. ''Hindostan'' left London just after the turn of the new year. Unfortunately a severe gale caught her just off

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

on 11 January 1803 and wrecked her on the Wedge Sand. She had about 120 persons aboard, of whom about 20 or 25 died. A more precise accounting states that 24 people died, including three midshipmen. On the morning of the 12th, the Margate

hoy Hoy ( sco, Hoy; from Norse , meaning "high island") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, ''the Ayre'', links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two ...

''Lord Nelson'' and the pilot

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

''Liberty'' saved the rest. One account reported that 129 of the 143 people on board were saved. The Court of Directors of the EIC presented the 16 crew members of ''Lord Nelson'' with 500 guineas for their "gallant and daring rescue of 105 men" from the wreck.''Gentleman's Monthly Miscellany'', Vol. 1, Issues 1-5, p.191. Hindostan wreck

Eleven of the 13 cases of bullion were salvaged. Also 100 bales of wool were salvaged. The Company abandoned the wreck on 24 January. ''Hindostan''s cargo was valued at £100,000. The EIC valued the cargo that it lost at £44,814. The Whitstable museum has exhibits featuring items from ''Hindostan''.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hindostan (1796 Indiaman) Ships of the British East India Company Shipwrecks of England Maritime incidents in 1797 Maritime incidents in 1803 1796 ships Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom