Stafford

Stafford was an East Indiaman, a long-distance merchant vessel operated under the chartered trading system of the British East India Company. Launched in 1769, she undertook three company voyages between Britain, India, and China. Her first two voyages were completed successfully, carrying her through major maritime routes linking the English Channel with ports in the Indian Ocean, the Indian subcontinent, the Strait of Malacca, and the China trade at Whampoa. The ship’s movements illustrate the multi-stage nature of East India Company commerce: vessels commonly called at Atlantic and Indian Ocean provisioning points, visited several regional ports, and combined Indian and Chinese destinations within a single voyage. On her first voyage, Stafford sailed under Captain Thomas Lyell. She departed The Downs in February 1770 and proceeded through the Atlantic and Indian Ocean before reaching Madras, Malacca, Trengganu, and Whampoa. After loading and preparing for the return passage, she reached St Helena and completed the voyage by returning to The Downs in June 1772. Stafford’s second voyage, again under Lyell, began in April 1774. It was centered initially on Bombay and involved repeated calls at ports on India’s western and southwestern coasts, including Bassein, Surat, Onore, Tellicherry, Anjengo, Cochin, and Mangalore. She subsequently returned to the Malacca route and proceeded to Whampoa, from which she began the homeward journey in 1777. She reached St Helena in May and arrived back at The Downs in October of that year. Her third voyage began in May 1778 under Captain George Hutchinson, with Madras and Bengal as the intended destinations. The departure was delayed to accommodate Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, who was traveling to India with his wife and household to assume the position of commander in chief of the East India Company’s forces. Stafford called at Madeira and Table Bay and initially sailed with other East Indiamen under the protection of HMS Asia. After the convoy received news of hostilities on the Coromandel Coast and in Bengal, Stafford separated from the group and reached Madras Roads in December 1778. She later proceeded toward Bengal and anchored near Kedgeree in the Hooghly River. On 29 August 1779, Stafford struck a sandbank in the Hooghly and was wrecked. The vessel became a total loss, but the crew survived and were transferred to the East Indiaman Britannia, which then continued the return voyage to Britain. Stafford therefore represents a historical ship and company trading vessel rather than a modern consumer brand. Its significance lies in its documented participation in the British East India Company’s maritime network and in the risks faced by eighteenth-century ocean-going merchant ships navigating the Hooghly and other difficult waterways.

Stafford was launched in 1769 as an East Indiaman serving the British East India Company. The company’s ships connected Britain with commercial destinations in India and China, normally following long routes that included staging, provisioning, and trading stops across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. Stafford’s surviving voyage record provides a detailed example of this operating model. Her first company voyage began when Captain Thomas Lyell left The Downs on 6 February 1770 for Madras and China. After passing Brest and Johanna, Stafford reached Madras at the end of August. She then continued through Malacca and Trengganu to Whampoa, the principal anchorage associated with European trade near Canton. The return passage took her through the Bocca Tigris and St Helena before she arrived at The Downs on 27 June 1772. The second voyage also took place under Lyell. Stafford departed Torbay on 27 April 1774 with Bombay and China as principal destinations. She reached Bombay in January 1775 and made a series of calls along the western and southwestern coasts of India, including Bassein, Surat, Onore, Tellicherry, Anjengo, Cochin, and Mangalore. The vessel also revisited ports during the voyage, reflecting the commercial and logistical pattern of regional collection and redistribution. After further movements between India and Malacca, she reached Whampoa in August 1776. Stafford crossed the Second Bar in January 1777, reached St Helena in May, and returned to The Downs on 1 October. Stafford’s third and final voyage began at Portsmouth on 27 May 1778 under Captain George Hutchinson. She was bound for Madras and Bengal, and her departure was delayed so that Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, his wife, and his suite could board. Coote was traveling to India to take up command of the East India Company’s forces. Stafford called at Madeira and Table Bay. In October she left the Cape of Good Hope in company with two other East Indiamen and under escort from the 64-gun warship HMS Asia. During the passage, the convoy encountered a Dutch vessel from Batavia carrying news that hostilities had begun on the Coromandel Coast and in Bengal. Stafford separated from the convoy, which continued toward Bombay, and reached Madras Roads on 28 December. In the following year, she and Coote proceeded toward Bengal and anchored at Kedgeree in the Hooghly River. On 29 August 1779, Stafford was wrecked on a sandbank in the river and declared a total loss. The crew was saved and transferred to Britannia, enabling that vessel to carry them back toward England. No later commercial or operational history is recorded for Stafford after the wreck.

• 1779

  Wreck in the Hooghly River

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Stafford struck a sandbank near the Hooghly River and became a total loss; her crew survived.

• 1778

  Final voyage begins

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Stafford sailed from Portsmouth toward Madras and Bengal under Captain George Hutchinson, carrying Sir Eyre Coote and his party.

• 1777

  Second voyage completed

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Stafford returned to The Downs after her second successful voyage to India and China.

• 1774

  Second company voyage begins

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  The ship departed Torbay for Bombay and China under Captain Lyell.

• 1772

  First voyage completed

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Stafford returned to The Downs after visiting Madras, Malacca, Trengganu, and Whampoa.

• 1770

  First company voyage begins

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Captain Thomas Lyell sailed from The Downs for Madras and China.

• 1769

  Launch

  [1]Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Stafford was launched as an East Indiaman for service under the British East India Company.

Historical East India Company merchant vessel; not a contemporary commercial brand.

• East Indiaman · 1769

  Stafford

  Stafford was an eighteenth-century ocean-going merchant ship operated by the British East India Company. Her commercial role involved transporting goods and passengers between Britain, India, and China, with repeated port calls for provisioning, regional trade, and route management. She completed two full voyages before being lost during her third voyage in the Hooghly River.

1. 1Stafford (1769 EIC ship)en.wikipedia.org