Canada (1786 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Canada (ship).

Canada was launched at King's Yard in 1779 for the Royal Navy, which sold her circa 1782 at the end of the war. Her name while in Royal Navy service is unknown as of November 2022. John St Barbe purchased her and named her Adriatic, but renamed her Canada circa 1786. She made three seal hunting and whaling voyages between 1791 and 1799 under that name. On the first of these a French privateer captured her, but a British merchant ship recaptured her. She was lost at South Georgia in 1800 on her fourth voyage to the southern whale fishery.

History
Great Britain
Builder	The King's Yard, Deptford
Launched	1779[1]
Fate	Sold c.1782
Great Britain
Name	Adriatic
Owner	John St Barbe
Acquired	c.1782 by purchase
Renamed	Canada c.1786
Fate	On 6 June 1800 reported lost at South Georgia
General characteristics
Tons burthen	200,[2] or 213[3] (bm)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	20[3]
Armament	1794:4 × 3-pounder guns 1798:10 × 6-pounder guns[3]

Career

Adriatic entered Lloyd's Register in 1783. Her master was K. St Barbe and her trade was London-Ancona.^[2] In 1786 her master was Cole, her name changed to Canada, and her trade became London-Quebec.^[4]

1st whaling voyage: Captain Alexander Muirhead left Britain on 15 July 1791.^[5] In August 1793 Lloyd's List reported that the French privateer Ajax, of Bordeaux, armed with twenty-six 12-pounder guns and having a crew of 286 men, had captured Canada at 27°0′N 35°0′W as Canada was returning from the South Seas fishery.^{[lower-alpha 1]} However, Prince of Wales, of Greenock, recaptured Canada and took her into Greenock.^[9] Muirhead then sailed her to Gravesend, Kent, arriving there on 28 October 1793. He returned with 15 tuns of sperm oil, seven tuns of whale oil, and 7000 seal skins.^[5]

Smyrna trade: Lloyd's Register for 1794 showed Canada, still with Muirhead, master, changing her trade from London-South Seas to London-Smyrna.^[10] This entry continued until 1797 when J. Cundall replaces Muirhead and her trade became London-Jamaica.^[11]

2nd whaling voyage: In 1798 Canada's owner changed from J. Cundall to J. Hill, and her master from J. Cundall to J. French. Her trade changed from London-Jamaica to London—South Seas. Also, her armament increased.^[12] Captain John French received a letter of marque on 11 June 1798.^[3] He left Britain on 25 June for South Georgia, and returned on 16 July 1799.^[5]

Loss

Canada, Captain Lewis Llewellyn, left Britain on 2 September 1799, bound for South Georgia.^[5][13][1] Canada arrived around March and was lost soon after. The location of her wreck is unknown.^[14] On 6 June 1800 Lloyd's List reported Canada, French, master, lost at South Georgia.^{[15][lower-alpha 2]}

Notes

1. Ajax français, or Ajax was commissioned in Bordeaux in 1793 under Captain Guillaume Gourrège.^[6] She was large (750 tons), and had a crew of 215 men.^[7] She was in commission from 17 April 1793 to 8 December 1793.^[8]
2. In a classic case of the tragedy of the commons, by this time the sealers had so depleted the stocks of seals that the trade ceased soon after.^[16]

Citations

1. Clayton (2014), p. 82.
2. Lloyd's Register Seq. №A446.
3. "Letter of Marque, p.56 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
4. Lloyd's Register (1786), Seq. №C21.
5. British Southern Whale Fishery Database – voyages: Canada.
6. Demerliac (1999), p. 266, n°2330.
7. Marzagalli & Vergé-Franceschi (2002), pp. 144–149.
8. Marzagalli & Vergé-Franceschi (2002), p. 152.
9. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2537. 27 August 1793. hdl:2027/hvd.32044050633098.
10. Lloyd's Register (1794), Seq.№C28.
11. Lloyd's Register (1797), Seq. №C30.
12. Lloyd's Register (1798), Seq. №C27.
13. Lloyd's Register (1799), Seq. №C26.
14. Headland (1984), p. 111.
15. Lloyd's List, 6 June 1800, №4057.
16. Jones (1981), p. 22.

References

• Clayton, Jane M. (2014). Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775-1815: An alphabetical list of ships. Jane M Clayton. ISBN 978-1-908616-52-4.
• Demerliac, Alain (1999). La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 A 1799 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-24-1.
• Headland, R.K. (1984). "Wrecks, hulks, and other vessel remains at South Georgia, Falkland Islands dependencies". British Antarctic Survey Bulletin (65): 109–126.
• Jones, A.G.E. (1981). "The British Southern Whale and Seal Fisheries". Great Circle. 3 (1): 20–29. JSTOR 41562360.
• Marzagalli, Silvia; Vergé-Franceschi, Michel (2002). Bordeaux et la marine de guerre: XVIIe-XXe siècles. Presses Univ de Bordeaux.