History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name: | Britannia |
Owner: |
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Builder: | 1772, or 1773 South Carolina |
Captured: | 1798, and recaptured |
Fate: | Last listed in 1816 |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen: | 320, 296, (bm) |
Propulsion: | Sails |
Sail plan: | Brig |
Complement: |
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Armament: |
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Notes: | Built of live oak. Later described as having pine sides. Between the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars she was unarmed. |
Britannia was built in South Carolina (probably Charleston) in 1772. Prior to 1798, Britannia sailed between London and South Carolina, or simply served as a transport. In 1798 she changed ownership and began a sequence of whaling voyages. Between 1798 and 1807 she made a number of whaling voyages to the South Seas whale fishery, and the coast of South Africa. On one of those voyages a French privateer captured her, but Britannia was recaptured almost immediately. Between 1808 and 1816, the last year in which she is listed, she returned to operating as a London-based transport.
Although Britannia was built in South Carolina, she does not appear in a list of ships registered in the colony between 1734 and 1780, suggesting that she may have been built for the British market. At the time, building ships in America was frequently cheaper than building them in Britain. She first appears in Lloyd's Register for 1776 as a London-based transport.
In 1798 Britannia changed ownership, underwent repairs, and began what would become a number of whaling voyages. On 16 January 1798 Captain E. Clark sailed her for New Holland. On 27 June 1798 she was reported "all well" at 27°53′N 35°10′W / 27.883°N 35.167°W. On 7 August 1799 she was "all well" at Smoaky Coast, near the Cape of Good Hope. She put into Cape Town for supplies on 29 August. Then on 10 October she was at St Helena. She returned to Britain on 13 January 1801.
In 1800 J. Mills (or Miles) replaced Clark. James Miles received a letter of marque on 14 March 1800.Britannia was reported "well" off the coast of Chile 23 April 1801. She was with other whalers, including Charming Kitty and DuBuc at Delagoa Bay on 8 August 1802.