John Bull was a French prize captured in 1798 that was lost on a slave trading voyage in 1802.

History
Great Britain
NameJohn Bull
NamesakeJohn Bull
OwnerM'Dowal & Twemlow (1802)
AcquiredBy purchase of a French vessel captured 1798[1]
FateWrecked c. June 1802
General characteristics
Tons burthen203[2][1] (bm)
Sail planBrig
Complement30,[3] or 21 (slave voyage)[4]
Armament
  • 1798: 12 × 36&6-pounder guns[3]
  • 1801: 12 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 42-pounder carronades[2]

Career

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She may have been the John Bull of 203 tons (bm), that received a letter of marque on 19 May 1798. Her master was Thomas Goodall. He had changed vessels by 1800.[3]

John Bull first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1801.[2]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1801 P.Bogle McDowell Liverpool–Africa LR
1802 T.Wright M'Dowell Liverpool–Africa Register of Shipping

M'Dowell and Twemlow outfitted John Bull c.1801 as a slaver. Captain Thomas Wright sailed her from England on 24 August 1801 to the Bight of Biafra and Gulf of Guinea islands.[4]

She was wrecked at the Portuguese island of Saint Thomas's (probably São Tomé and Príncipe) around June 1802.[5][6] The Register of Shipping for 1802 carried the annotation that she was "lost".[1][a]

Captain Hugh Crow sailed Will in November 1801 for Africa from Liverpool. She was delayed for some time at Cape Palmas due to an absence of wind. After collecting a cargo of slaves at Bonny, Crow sailed for Saint Thomas to resupply. There Crow found Wright, his crew, and slaves from John Bull. Crow took them aboard, including some 60 slaves. Disease broke out among the rescued men and after Crow landed them some time later at Barbados, most died.[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ She had been out an estimated 194 days,[7] and was one of only 12 British slave vessels lost in 1802.[8]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Register of shipping (1802), №468.
  2. ^ a b c LR (1801), Supple. pages "J", Seq.No.J75.
  3. ^ a b c "Letter of Marque, p.70 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database: Voyage 82070, John Bull (1801).
  5. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4266). 22 June 1802.
  6. ^ Inikori (1996), p. 73.
  7. ^ Inikori (1996), p. 81.
  8. ^ Inikori (1996), p. 62.
  9. ^ Crow (1830), pp. 77–82.

References

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  • Crow, Hugh (1830). Memoirs of the late Captain Hugh Crow, of Liverpool; comprising a narrative of his life, together with descriptive sketches of the western coast of Africa; particularly of Bonny ... To which are added, anecdotes and observations illustrative of the Negro character. Compiled chiefly from his own manuscripts, etc. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green.
  • Inikori, Joseph (1996). "Measuring the unmeasured hazards of the Atlantic slave trade: Documents relating to the British trade". Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer. 83 (312): 53–92.