Royal Charlotte (1774 ship)

Royal Charlotte was launched by Bombay Dockyard in 1774 as a country ship (British ships sailing between India and China). She made one voyage for the British East India Company in 1796 when she sailed from Calcutta to Britain. There she took on British registry. She sailed back to Calcutta where a lightning bolt ignited her magazine, destroying her in 1797.

For other ships with the same name, see Royal Charlotte (ship) and Royal Charlotte (East Indiaman).
History
Great Britain
NameRoyal Charlotte
NamesakeCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Owner
  • 1774:Greenway and Co.[1]
  • 1796:Higgins
BuilderBombay Dockyard[2]
Launched1774
FateDestroyed by explosion 11 October 1797
General characteristics
Tons burthen675,[3] or 677[4][1] bm)
Complement56[4]
Armament14 x 6-pounder guns[4][3]

Career

Royal Charlotte was among the country ships reported at Canton in 1789.[5]

She made one trip for the EIC, under Captain William Greenway, who left Calcutta on 31 January 1796, reached Saint Helena on 8 May, and The Downs on 3 August.[6] After she reached Britain she took on British registry on 4 October 1796.[7]

Royal Charlotte first appeared in Lloyd's Register for 1797 with W. Smith, master, and Higgins, owner. Her trade was London—East Indies.[3] Captain William Logie Smith received a letter of marque dated 30 November 1796 for the Royal Charlotte.[4]

Fate

On 11 October 1797, Royal Charlotte was anchored off Culpee, an anchorage towards Calcutta, and closer than Saugor. She was soon to sail for London when a storm came up. At about 2:24 a.m. a lightning bolt hit her foremast and travelled down to her magazine, where it ignited 500 barrels of gunpowder destined for the Cape of Good Hope. Britannia, which was anchored nearby and which had a like quantity of gunpowder and a similar storage arrangement, observed the disaster; the next day the crew landed their powder to enable the magazine to be more intelligently located.[8]

Although Captain Smith and a few of his officers and crew were ashore, the explosion killed 20 European crewmen, 66 lascars, and some 50 women and children who were traveling as passengers.[8][9] Lloyd's List reported on 24 April 1798 that "The Royal Charlotte, Extra Ship, from Bengal, is blown up with all the crew, at Calpee in Bengal River."[10] The EIC valued her cargo at £3,695.[11]

William Logie Smith was in the country service of the EIC when he died in Bengal in March 1803.

Citations
  1. Hackman (2001), p. 242.
  2. Wadia (1986), p. 332.
  3. Lloyd's Register (1797), Seq.№184.
  4. "Register of Letters of Marque against France 1793-1815"; p.85 Archived July 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Maeres (1791), p. 318.
  6. British Library: Royal Charlotte (4).
  7. House of Commons (1814), p. 86.
  8. Selections (1865), pp.486-487.
  9. Grocott (1997), pp. 61–2.
  10. Lloyd's List, №2997.
  11. House of Commons (1830), p. 977.

References
  • Grocott, Terence (1997). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham. ISBN 1861760302.
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1814). Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping. H.M. Stationery Office.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1830). Reports from the Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to enquire into the present state of the affairs of the East India Company, together with the minutes of evidence, an appendix of documents, and a general index. Vol. 2. Printed by order of the honourable court of directors, by J.L. Cox.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Maeres, John (1791). Voyages Made in the Years 1788 and 1789, from China to the N. W. Coast of America: With an Introductory Narrative of a Voyage Performed in 1786, from Bengal, in the Ship Nootka. To which are Annexed, Observations on the Probable Existence of a North West Passage. And Some Account of the Trade Between the North West Coast of America and China; and the Latter Country and Great Britain. Vol. 2. J. Walter.
  • Phipps, John (1840). A Collection of Papers Relative to Ship Building in India ...: Also a Register Comprehending All the Ships ... Built in India to the Present Time ... Scott.
  • Selections from Calcutta gazettes of the years 1784 [-1823 inclusive] showing the political & social condition of the English in India ... (1865). (O.T. Cutter).
  • Wadia, R. A. (1986) [1957]. The Bombay Dockyard and the Wadia Master Builders. Bombay.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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