Tamer (1801 ship)

Tamer (or Tamar), was a French prize. She made two complete voyages as a slave ship from 1801 until she foundered in 1803 off Barbados as she was delivering her slaves on her third slave voyage. Before leaving the coast of Angola on this last voyage, she had captured a French slave ship in a single ship action. Tamer sailed with her prize, which rescued Tamer's crew and slaves when Tamer foundered.

History
United Kingdom
Name: Tamer
Acquired: 1801 by purchase of a prize
Fate: Foundered circa November 1803
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 392[1][2] (bm)
Complement: 40[2]
Armament: 14 × 6 + 2 × 12-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder carronades[1]

Career

Liverpool owners purchased Tamer in London and had her sail to Liverpool. Tamar first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1801.[1]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1801 W.Brown Lawrence Liverpool–Africa LR

1st slave trading voyage (1801–1802): Captain William Brown acquired a letter of marque on 20 June 1801.[2] He sailed from Liverpool on 19 July 1801 and arrived in the Bahamas in December,[3] having stopped at St Vincent. At the Bahamas she was sold.[4]

Tamer sailed for Liverpool on 31 January 1802 and arrived there on 28 February. She had left Liverpool with 47 crew members and suffered one crew death on the voyage.[3] Her backhaul cargo consisted of cotton, coffee, tortoise shell, hides, sugar, indigo, specie, and one elephant tooth (ivory tusk).

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1802 W.Brown
Vc. May		 Lawrence Liverpool–Africa LR

2nd slave trading voyage (1802–1803): Captain Vincent May sailed from Liverpool on 5 August 1802. Tamer arrived at St Croix on 14 December with 375 slaves. She sailed for Liverpool on 16 February 1803 and arrived back home on 20 March. she left with 40 crew members and had suffered no crew deaths on her voyage.[5]

3rd slave trading voyage (1803): Captain May sailed from Liverpool on 30 June 1803 with 61 crew members.[6] She arrived at Cabinda, near the mouth of the Congo River, on 14 August. She saw a French vessel some six miles away, together with a brig and a ship's tender. The next day, May sailed Tamer towards the French vessel which got under weigh. After a chase over 30 miles, Tamer caught up with her quarry.[7] A two-hour engagement ensued before the French vessel struck. In this engagement Tamer had five men killed and seven wounded; the French vessel had eight men killed and 14 wounded.[8]

The French vessel was Braave, of 386 tons (bm), which had been built at Bordeaux. She was under the command of Jean-David Sers, and had sailed from France on 18 June 1802. She had embarked 760 (or 733) slaves and she arrived at Barbados with 700.[9]

Tamer stayed on the Angolan coast, gathering slaves. On 15 October she sailed from Angola, together with Braave, on which May had put a prize crew.[7]

Fate

Tamer and Braave arrived at St Lucia and then sailed on. As Tamer was approaching Barbados she started to take on water from a leak. Braave, which was still in company, took on all the crew and slaves that Tamer was carrying and delivered them to Barbados.[10] Lloyd's List reported that Braave had come into Barbados having been "taken at St Lucia".[11] Braave arrived on 5 November with the crews and slaves of both vessels.

Tamer's insurers refused to pay for Tamer's loss on the grounds that she had deviated from her voyage by convoying Braave, periodically shortening her sails, waiting for Braave to catch up. Braave was not at risk of sinking, and nor was Tamer, so the deviation from the most expeditious continuation of the voyage was solely due to Captain May obeying Tamer's owners having instructed him to bring any prize in. The justices found for the insurers on appeal.[7]

Citations

Citations

  1. LR (1807), Supple. pages "T".
  2. "Letter of Marque, p.88 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Tamer voyage #83703.
  4. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4232). 23 February 1802. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  5. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Tamer voyage #83704.
  6. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Tamer voyage #83705.
  7. The English Reports. (1910), vol. 102, pp.1204–1208, (W. Green).
  8. "Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday's Posts" (22 December 1803) Trewman's Exeter Flying Post (Exeter, England), issue: 2096.
  9. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Brave voyage #33599.
  10. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4417). 6 January 1804. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  11. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (4402). 15 November 1803. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
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