''Sovereign'' was launched at Shields in 1793 as a

West Indiaman West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...

. She made one voyage between 1795 and 1797 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), to New South Wales and then Bengal. She then resumed trading with the West Indies and was last listed in 1822.

Career

''Sovereign'' enters ''

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 1794 with Storey, master, A. Towers, owner, and trade London–Tortola.''Lloyd's Register'' (1794), Seq. №325.
/ref> On 21 February 1795 Captain George Storey acquired a letter of marque. He then sailed ''Sovereign'' to New South Wales and on to Bengal on a voyage for the EIC. She was primarily carrying stores for

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

, but she was also transporting one

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

Joseph Gerrald Joseph Gerrald (9 February 1763 – 16 March 1796) was a political reformer, one of the "Scottish Martyrs". He worked with the London Corresponding Society and the Society for Constitutional Information and also wrote an influential letter, ''A ...

, a political reformer and one of the "

Scottish Martyrs The Political Martyrs Monument, located in the Old Calton Burial Ground on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, commemorates five political reformists from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Designed by Thomas Hamilton and erected in 1844, it is a tall ...

".Bateson (1959), pp.130-1. Storey and ''Sovereign'' sailed from The Downs on 24 May. She reached Rio de Janeiro on 24 July and arrived at

on 5 November. British Library: ''Sovereign'' (1).
/ref> Gerrald survived the journey but he was ill with tuberculosis and died in 1796. ''Sovereign'' left on 17 December, bound for Bengal. By 7 March 1796 she was at

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamor ...

. She reached

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

on 1 April and 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 10 May. On 12 May the ''Calcutta Gazette'' published Storey's account of conditions at Port Jackson.

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

, Clarke and Co. were ''Sovereign''s agents at Calcutta. On 30 May the country ship ''Begum Shaw'', Gavin (or Guy) Hamilton master and owner, arrived at Calcutta from Coringa. Campbell and Clark purchased her, retaining Hamilton as master. They renamed her , loaded her with a variety of produce and goods, and sent her to Port Jackson on speculation. She wrecked on the way. Homeward bound, ''Sovereign'' was at

Kedgeree Kedgeree (or occasionally ) is a dish consisting of cooked, flaked fish (traditionally smoked haddock), boiled rice, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, curry powder, butter or cream, and occasionally sultanas. The dish can be eaten hot or cold. Other ...

on 15 July and 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 7 October. She reached

Saint 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 3 November 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 8 January 1797, before arriving back at The Downs on 31 January. On her return ''Sovereign'' resumed trading with the West Indies. ''Lloyd's Register'' for 1798 gives her master as P. Aylward, changing to S. Chapman, her owner as Baring & Co., and her trade as London–Jamaica. There is a report that ''Sovereign'', Captain Richarson, was wrecked on 24 January 1804 at

Ballycotton Ballycotton () is a coastal village in County Cork, Ireland, situated about east of Cork city. It is a fishing village that sits on a rocky ledge overlooking Ballycotton Bay and has a sandy beach that stretches for about east to Knockadoon Hea ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, with heavy loss of life. She was on a voyage from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. However, this was a different . ''Sovereign'', of 362 tons (bm), launched at Shields in 1793, is no longer listed in ''Lloyd's Register'' in 1814. However, the ''Register of Shipping'' shows a ''Sovereign'', A. Smith, master, Dick & Co. owners, and trade London-St Croix. ''Lloyd's Register'' has the same information. The ''Register of Shipping'' describes this ''Sovereign'' as being of 378 tons (bm), and of French origin. ''Lloyd's Register'' describes her as being of 377 tons, built at "Rochelle", and launched in 1809. In 1815, ''Lloyd's Register'' lists two ''Sovereign'', one of 377 tons (bm), and one of 362 tons (bm). (The ''Register of Shipping'' lists only the French origin ''Sovereign''.) The 362-ton ''Sovereign'' has a launch year of 1794, and location of Sunderland.

Fate

''Sovereign'' is last listed in 1822 with information unchanged since 1820.

Citations

References

* * *Holcomb, Janette (2014) ''Early Merchant Families of Sydney: Speculation and Risk Management on the Fringes of Empire''. (Anthem Press). *Staniforth, Mark (2012) ''Material Culture and Consumer Society: Dependent Colonies in Colonial Australia''. (Springer Science & Business Media). {{ISBN, 9781461502111 1793 ships Age of Sail merchant ships of England Convict ships to New South Wales Ships of the British East India Company