Porcher (1799 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | Porcher |
| Namesake: | East India agent Josias Du Pré Porcher. |
| Owner: |
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| Builder: | Gillett, Larkins & Co., Calcutta |
| Launched: | 24 December 1799 |
| Captured: | 24 February 1802 |
 France
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| Name: | Ville de Bordeaux |
| Acquired: | By capture; condemned in prize in 1803 |
| Captured: | 1804 |
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United Kingdom
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| Name: | Porcher |
| Acquired: | By purchase |
| Renamed: | Cambridge (1810) |
| Fate: | Sold c.1840 |
.svg){kind=small} Qing China
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| Name: | Cambridge (alias Chesapeake) |
| Acquired: | By purchase c.1841 |
| Fate: | Destroyed in battle in February 1841 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 759, 759 71⁄94 or 761, or 768(bm) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 35 ft 4 in (10.8 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 14 ft 1 in (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Notes: | Teak-built; three decks |
Porcher was launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from Bengal to England. A French privateer captured her in 1802, which gave rise to a case in French courts about the validity of the capture given the impending Treaty of Amiens. The French courts condemned her in prize and new owners in Bordeaux named her Ville de Bordeaux. The British recaptured her in 1804. Thereafter she traded between England and India as a licensed ship. In 1809 she sailed to England where in 1810 new owners renamed her Cambridge. As Cambridge she made three voyages for the EIC as an extra ship. In 1818 she was again sold with her new owners continuing to sail her to the Far East as a licensed ship. She then made two more voyages to India for the EIC. In 1840 she was sold to an American trading house at Canton, and then to the Qing Dynasty, which purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. The British Royal Navy destroyed her on 27 February 1821 during the Battle of First Bar at the onset of the First Opium War.
Captain Benjamin Blake sailed Porcher from Calcutta on 5 February 1800. On 17 February she passed Kedgeree. She reached Madras on 31 March and St Helena on 24 June. She arrived at the Downs on 23 September.
Porcher entered Lloyd's Register in the supplemental pages to the 1800 issue. It shows B. Blake as owner and master, her origin as Calcutta, and trade as London-India.
On 28 January 1801 Blake sailed Porcher for Calcutta. She left Calcutta on 18 February 1802 for England. On the way, the French privateer Bellone intercepted her on 24 February 1802 and captured her.Porcher arrived at Île de France on 9 April as a prize to Bellone.
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Wikipedia