Active (1800 ship)

Active was a French ship launched in 1793. She came into British hands circa 1799 as a prize. Peter Everitt Mestaer purchased her and named her Active. She made one voyage to India for the British East India Company (EIC), which held a monopoly at the time on trade between Great Britain and India or China. From 1802 she was a London-based merchantman, trading first with Hamburg and then more generally. She was last listed in 1815.

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

History
France
Launched1793[1]
Capturedc.1799
Great Britain
NameActive
OwnerPeter Everitt Mestaer & Co.
Acquiredc.1799 by purchase of a prize
FateLast listed 1815
General characteristics
Tons burthen496,[2][3][4] or 500[5] (bm)
PropulsionSail
Complement40[2]
Armament
  • 1800:22 × 6&9-pounder guns[2]
  • 1801:18 × 6-pounder + 2 × 9-pounder guns[3]
  • 1809:12 × 6-pounder guns[6]

Career

Active was first listed in the Register of Shipping and in Lloyd's Register in 1801. Both showed her owner as P. Mestaer, and her trade as London-Bengal. Her master was J.L. Smith or J. Smith.[3][7]

Captain John Greitin Smyth acquired a letter of marque on 6 December 1800.[2] She had been tendered to the EIC to bring back rice from Bengal. She was one of 28 vessels that sailed on that mission between December 1800 and February 1801.[5]

See also: Transport vessels for the British Government's importation of rice from Bengal (1800–1802)

It is not clear when she sailed for India, but she arrived back at Portsmouth on 10 November 1801, having left Madras on 5 July and Saint Helena on 19 September.[8]

On her return, Active started to trade between London and Hambro.[9] This continued through Lloyd's Register for 1807. Active was no longer listed in Lloyd's Register in 1808, but she reappeared in the Register of Shipping for 1809 (the Register is not available on line for 1807 or 1808). In 1809 Active's master was J. Welch, her owner was P. Mestaer, and her trade was London transport.[6]

Fate

Active was last listed in the Register of Shipping for 1815. Her master was J. Welsh, her owner was P. Mestaer, and her trade was London transport.[1]

Citations
  1. Register of Shipping (1815), Seq.№119.
  2. "Letter of Marque, p.47 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  3. Register of Shipping (1801), Seq. №A807.
  4. Hackman (2001), p. 220.
  5. Hardy 1800, p. 217
  6. Register of Shipping (1809), Seq. №A111.
  7. Lloyd's Register (1801), Seq. №A795.
  8. Lloyd's List №4202.
  9. Register of Shipping (1802), Seq. №A90.

References
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • Hardy, Charles (1800). A Register of Ships, Employed in the Service of the Hon. the United East India Company, from the Union of the Two Companies, in 1707, to the Year 1760: Specifying the Number of Voyages, Tonnage, Commanders, and Stations. To which is Added, from the Latter Period to the Present Time, the Managing Owners, Principal Officers, Surgeons, and Pursers; with the Dates of Their Sailing and Arrival: Also, an Appendix, Containing Many Particulars, Interesting to Those Concerned in the East India Commerce. Charles Hardy.
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