''King George'' was launched in 1784 and made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1785 and 1798. She also participated in the invasion of St Lucia. In 1798 her owners sold her and she became a West Indiaman. An accident in 1800 at Jamaica destroyed her.

Career

EIC voyage #1 (1785-1786): Captain Jonathan Court sailed from the Downs on 11 February 1785, bound for Bombay and Bengal. ''King George'' reached Johanna on 28 May and Bombay on 17 June. She arrived at Diamond Creek on 18 August. Homeward bound, 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 8 April 1786 and arrived at the Downs on 17 June. EIC voyage #2 (1786-1787): Captain George Millet (or Millett), sailed from the Downs on 21 November 1786 bound for Bombay and China. ''King George'' reached Cochin on 23 April 1787 and Bombay on 6 May. She arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 9 September. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 4 January, reached st Helena on 5 April, and arrived at the Downs on 22 June. EIC voyage #3 (1789-1790): Captain John Sherwood sailed from the Downs on 14 April 1789, bound for China. ''King George'' arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 30 August. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 24 November, reached St Helena on 24 February 1790, and arrived at the downs on 28 April. EIC voyage #4 (1792-1793): Captain Richard Colnett sailed from the Downs on 2 May 1792, bound for

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and Bengal. ''King George'' reached Madras on 17 September and arrive at

Diamond Harbour Diamond Harbour () is a town and a municipality of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River. It is the headquarters of the Diamond Harbour subdivision. Histor ...

on 7 October. Homeward bound, she was at "Broken Ground" on 19 February 1793, Madras on 19 April, and St Helena on 31 July. She arrived at the Downs on 27 September. Shortly before she returned, the EIC acquired a letter of marque on 2 September 1793 for Colnett. EIC voyage #5 (1794-1795): The British government held ''King George'' at Portsmouth, together with a number of other Indiamen in anticipation of using them as transports for an attack on Île de France (Mauritius). It gave up the plan and released the vessels in May 1794. It paid £458 8 s 8 d for having delayed her departure by 22 days. Captain Colnett sailed from Portsmouth on 2 May, bound for China. ''King George'' reached '' Anger'' on 7 September and arrived at Whampoa Anchorage on 6 October. Homeward bound, she crossed the Second Bar on 5 January 1795, reached St Helena on 14 April, and arrived at the Downs on 23 July. West Indies Expedition: On 20 October 1795 the Admiralty chartered ''King George'' as a troopship for Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian's expedition to the West Indies. Her captain was John Fam Timins, who had acquired a letter of marque on 12 September 1795. She sailed for the West Indies on 9 December, but bad weather delayed the start of the expedition and the vessels had to put back to England. After numerous false starts aborted by weather issues, the fleet sailed on 26 April to invade St Lucia, with troops under Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby. St Lucia surrendered to the British on 25 May. The British went on to capture Saint Vincent and

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. EIC voyage #6 (1797-1798): Captain Colnett sailed from Portsmouth on 6 April 1797, bound for Madras and Bengal. ''King George'' arrived at Madras on 27 July. Homeward bound, perhaps from Bengal, she arrived at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

on 24 December. While ''King George'' was at the Cape, officers and crew went ashore. While Colnett was on shore, his second mate, Mr. Reid assaulted him. A subsequent court-martial on sentenced Reid to two years in the Marshalsea prison. Because Colnett had a letter of marque, ''King George'' was a "Private man-of-war", and the Navy's Articles of War applied at sea. Had Reid struck Colnett aboard ''King George'', the charge would have been mutiny, for which the penalty would have been death. From the Cape ''King George'' reached St Helena on 3 February 1798 and

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 ...

on 24 June. She arrived at the Downs on 7 July. West Indiaman: In 1798 her owners sold ''King George'' and her new owners employed her in trade with Jamaica. She underwent a good repair that year. She appears in '' Lloyd's Register'' with Cundall, master, and Blight & Co., owners. The ''Register of Shipping'' for 1800 shows J. Cundall as master and owner, and her trade still as London—Jamaica.''Register of Shipping'' (1800), Seq.№19.
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Fate

''King George'' sailed from Jamaica on 7 July 1800 in a convoy for London. She had a cargo of 400 pipes of

Madeira wine Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own, as an apéritif, to sweet wines usually consumed ...

and was also carrying a number of invalided soldiers. She ran aground on Pedro Point, Jamaica, before she had even cleared the island. As she fired guns to signal her distress, the fire communicated itself to her magazine. She blew up, killing the majority of those on board. ''Lloyd's List'' reported that her master was Eilbeck, and that her people were saved.''Lloyd's List'' №4082.
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Notes

Citations

References

* * * {{1800 shipwrecks 1784 ships Ships built by the Blackwall Yard Ships of the British East India Company Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1800 Ship fires Naval magazine explosions Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea