Thomas (1785 ship)

Thomas was Sally that James Jones acquired in 1785. She made seven voyages from Bristol as a slave ship before the French captured her in 1794 as she was on her way for her eighth voyage.

History
Kingdom of Great Britain
Name: Sally
Builder: Liverpool[1]
Acquired: 1785
Renamed: Thomas (1785)
Captured: After 6 June 1794
General characteristics
Tons burthen:
  • Originally: 174, or 198, or 200[1]
  • 1791: 240, or 241,[2] or 249 (bm)
Complement: 40[2]
Armament: 14 × 4&6-pounder guns[2]

Career

Thomas first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1786, the volume for 1785 being unavailable online, if it even exists. Her entry noted that she had been Sally.[1] Unfortunately, it is not unambiguous as to which Sally she was.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1786 W.Vickers J.Jones & Co. Bristol–Africa LR; almost rebuilt 1785

1st slave voyage (1785–1786): Captain William Vicars sailed from Bristol on 27 April 1785, bound for West Africa. Thomas acquired slaves at New Calabar and then at Bonny. She arrived at St Vincent on 20 December. She had embarked 415 slaves and she arrived with 373, for a 10% loss rate. She sailed for Bristol on 4 February 1786 and arrived there on 22 April.[3]

The owner, James Jones, testified to Parliament that on her first voyage Thomas had acquired 414–415 slaves, and had buried some 10 or 12. She had left Bristol with 35 crew members and had returned with 15. She had arrived at St Vincent with 30 crew members and discharged 15 there. She enlisted one more crew member and had one crew member die on the voyage home.[4]

2nd slave voyage (1786–1787): Captain Vicars sailed from Bristol on 1 June 1786. She acquired her slaves at Bonny, and arrived at Tobago on 8 March 1787. She had embarked 410 slaves and she arrived with 401, for a loss rate of 2%. Thomas arrived back at Bristol on 1 May.[5]

Thomas had sailed from Bristol with 37 crew members and arrived at Tobago with 30. There she discharged three crew members.[6]

3rd slave voyage (1787–1788): Although Captain Vicars was mentioned on the sailing clearance, Captain Thomas Phillips sailed from Bristol on 13 June 1787. Thomas acquired her slaves at New Calabar. She embarked 409 slaves and sailed to Barbados and St Vincent, arriving at St Vincent on 22 February 1788 with 402 slaves, for a loss rate of 2%. She sailed for Bristol on 25 March and arrived there on 16 May.[7]

Thomas sailed from Bristol with 35 crew members and arrived at Barbadoes with 16. There she discharged 14 and enlisted four. She arrived at St Vincent with 20 crew members. At St Vincent she discharged three crew members and enlisted three before sailing for Bristol. She arrived at Bristol with 20 crew members.[8]

4th slave voyage (1788–1789): Captain Thomas Phillips sailed from Bristol on 8 July 1788.[9] Thomas arrived at Cape Coast Castle on 29 August and sailed two days later for Calabar.[10] She acquired slaves at New Calabar and arrived at St Vincent on 28 February 1789 with 349 slaves. She sailed for Bristol on 24 March and arrived there on 15 May.[9]

Thomas had left Bristol with 36 crew members and she returned with 25. She had reached St Vincent with 27 of her original crew, discharged three there, and enlisted one additional man before sailing for Bristol.[10]

5th slave voyage (1789–1790): Captain Phillips sailed from Bristol on 28 October 1789. Thomas acquired slaves at New Calabar. She arrived at St Vincent and then Jamaica, with John Smith, master, on 25 May 1790, with 305 slaves. She sailed for Bristol on 13 July and arrived there on 30 August.[11]

Thomas had left Bristol with 33 crew members. She had taken on three crew members at Anamoboe on 5 January 1790 after six crew members had mutinied and had been transferred to Pomona on 1 January. She arrived at St Vincent with 21 crew members, and discharged two for mutiny. She took on two more men before she left Jamaica, and arrived at Bristol with 20 men, one having died on the return voyage.[12]

She underwent lengthening in 1790–1791.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1791 J.Smith Jones & Co. Africa–Bristol LR; almost rebuilt 1785, lengthened 1791
1792 T.Phillips Jones & Co. Bristol–Africa LR; almost rebuilt 1785, lengthened 1791

6th slave voyage (1791–1792): Captain Thomas Phillips sailed from Bristol on 26 February 1791. Thomas started acquiring slaves at New Calabar on 23 April.[13] Thomas acquired 463 slaves, 237 males and 226 females. Five men and four women died on the coast. Phillips relanded ten men and one woman were relanded, and trans-shipped 150 slaves.[14]

Thomas sailed from Africa on 7 September, and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, on 9 November. Thomas had had left Africa with 293 slaves and landed 280, for a loss rate of 4%. She sailed from Kingston on 20 December, and arrived at Bristol on 8 February 1792.[13]

On her way back Thomas took on board the crew of Chambers, of Liverpool, which had been foundering.[15]

She had left Bristol with 35 crew members and arrived at Kingston with 30. Fourteen men were discharged at Jamaica and five new crew members were signed on. She arrived back at Bristol with 21 crew members.[14]

7th slave voyage (1792–1793): Captain Phillips sailed from Bristol on 19 June 1792. Mentor began gathering slaves at Bonny on 4 August. She left Africa on 25 December and arrived at Kingston on 27 February 1793. She had embarked 368 slaves and she arrived with 227, for a loss rate of 8%. She sailed from Kingston on 15 June and arrived back at Bristol on 3 August.[16]

On her way home, Thomas fell in with Roehampton, which had become dismansted on her way to join a convoy. Thomas towed Roehampton into Grand Camanes (Caymans).[17]

She had left Bristol with 33 crew members and arrived at Kingston with 25. Sixteen men were discharged at Jamaica and seven new crew members, all French, were signed on. She arrived back at Bristol with 16 crew members.[18]

On this voyage Phillips, together with five other captains of slave ships, bombarded Calabar for more than three hours to force the local native traders to lower the prices they were charging for slaves. The bombardment by some 66 guns killed and wounded 50 or so of the local inhabitants and resulted in the traders agreeing to the prices the captains offered.[19][20]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1794 T.Phillips
E.Mentor		 Jones & Co. Bristol–Africa LR; almost rebuilt 1785, lengthened 1791, and repaired 1794

Fate

Captain Edward Mentor acquired a letter of marque on 19 April 1794.[2] He sailed from Bristol on 10 June to gather slaves.[21][22]

In July Lloyd's List reported that the French had captured three Bristol ships on their way to Africa and taken the ships to France. The three were Thomas, Mentor, master, Catherine, Wilson, master, and Nancy, Wilcox, master.[23]

Citations and references

Citations

  1. LR (1786), Seq.No.T64.
  2. "Letter of Marque, p.89 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #17960.
  4. Richardson (1996), p. 107.
  5. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #17979.
  6. Richardson (1996), p. 116.
  7. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #18010.
  8. Richardson (1996), p. 134.
  9. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #18031.
  10. Richardson (1996), p. 145.
  11. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #18057.
  12. Richardson (1996), p. 158.
  13. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #18123.
  14. Richardson (1996), p. 199.
  15. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (2374). 10 February 1792. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  16. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #18170.
  17. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (5230). 2 August 1793. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  18. Richardson (1996), p. 228.
  19. Wilberforce (1899), pp. 25–26.
  20. The other five were Amacree, Betsey, Martha, Recovery, and Wasp, Hutchenson, master.
  21. Richardson (1996), p. 242.
  22. Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database – Thomas voyage #18202.
  23. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (2631). 22 July 1794. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

References

  • Richardson, David, ed. (1996). Bristol, Africa, and the Eighteenth-Century Slave Trade to America, Vol. 4 The Final Years, 1770-1807. Bristol Record Society, c/o Department of Historical Studies, Univ. of Bristol. ISBN 0 901538 17 5.
  • Wilberforce, William (1899). The Enormity of the Slave-trade: And the Duty of Seeking the Moral and Spiritual Elevation of the Colored Race: Speeches of Wilberforce and Other Documents and Records. American Tract Society.
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