Sugar Cane

Sugar Cane was launched on the River Thames in 1786 as a three-deck merchantman. By 1789, Lloyd's Register recorded W. Seaton as master, Turner and Co. as owners, and London–Saint Vincent as its trade. The ship was coppered in 1793, shortly before entering government service as a convict transport. Under Thomas Musgrave, Sugar Cane left Portsmouth on 9 March 1793 and Cork on 12 April carrying 110 male and 50 female convicts. A detachment of the New South Wales Corps guarded the prisoners. During the passage, a prisoner who had escaped his irons was executed after another prisoner accused him of plotting mutiny. The ship stopped at Rio de Janeiro and arrived at Port Jackson on 17 September. Apart from the execution, no convicts died during the voyage. Sugar Cane subsequently sailed toward Bengal, separating from Boddington during the passage, and is credited in the available account with discovering or recording Pingelap Atoll in the Caroline archipelago. The ship departed Calcutta in May 1794 and returned to Britain by way of Madras, the Cape of Good Hope, Saint Helena, Ireland, and the Downs, arriving in February 1795. Its next phase involved privateering and the trafficking of enslaved Africans. John Marman received a letter of marque in July 1795, and the vessel's registered route changed to London–Africa. Sugar Cane sailed to the Gold Coast, embarked 228 captives at Cape Coast Castle, and transported them to Montevideo, returning to London in June 1796. A second letter of marque was issued in July 1796. Sugar Cane sailed for Africa again in August and reached Cape Coast Castle in September. During this voyage it recaptured Harlequin, a vessel taken by the French, but was soon captured itself while sailing toward Barbados. The French renamed it Marseilloise or Marsellois. HMS Minerva and HMS Lively recaptured the ship in October 1797 and brought it to Martinique. It was restored to its former owners and apparently returned to the name Sugar Cane. A possible final record concerns Sugarcane, commanded by Campbell, which reached Port Jackson with provisions on 15 October 1798 and later sailed toward India. The identification is not certain. Sugar Cane disappeared from Lloyd's Register in 1798, and no later career is established.

• 1798

  Disappeared from Lloyd's Register

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Sugar Cane was no longer listed in Lloyd's Register, marking the end of its reliably documented career.

• 1797

  Captured and recaptured

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  French forces captured and renamed the vessel, after which British naval ships recaptured it near the Caribbean.

• 1796

  Completed a slave-trade voyage

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  The ship transported 228 captive Africans from the Gold Coast to Montevideo.

• 1795

  Received a letter of marque

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  John Marman received authorization for Sugar Cane to act against French shipping during the French Revolutionary Wars.

• 1794

  Returned from Bengal to Britain

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Sugar Cane completed a return voyage from Calcutta through the Indian Ocean and Atlantic routes to the Downs.

• 1793

  Convict transport voyage to Australia

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  The vessel carried 160 Irish convicts from Cork to Port Jackson, arriving on 17 September.

• 1789

  Recorded in Lloyd's Register

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  The register listed W. Seaton as master, Turner and Co. as owners, and London–Saint Vincent as the ship's trade.

• 1786

  Launched on the Thames

  [1]Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Sugar Cane was launched as a three-deck merchant ship on the River Thames.

A multipurpose eighteenth-century merchant vessel whose documented roles changed with wartime, imperial, and commercial opportunities.

• Three-deck merchant ship · 1786

  Sugar Cane

  The vessel's principal identity was that of a large sailing merchantman. It carried cargo between Britain, the Caribbean, India, West Africa, South America, and Australia, and was adapted to several different commercial and state-sponsored uses over its short documented career.

• Convict transportation · 1793

  Sugar Cane as a convict transport

  In 1793, Sugar Cane transported 160 convicts from Ireland to Port Jackson. The voyage was conducted with military guards and formed part of Britain's transportation system for the penal colony in New South Wales.

• Privateering · 1795

  Sugar Cane as a privateer

  Letters of marque issued in 1795 and 1796 authorized the ship to take action against French shipping. Its wartime role overlapped with its commercial voyages to the African coast.

• 1795

  Participation in the transatlantic slave trade

  Sugar Cane made a documented voyage from Britain to the Gold Coast and then to Montevideo carrying 228 captive Africans. It began a second slave-trading voyage in 1796, although the later capture of the ship interrupted that voyage.

  Source

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• 1797

  Restoration after French captureOther

  Background

  French forces captured Sugar Cane during its second African voyage and renamed it Marseilloise or Marsellois.

  Action taken

  HMS Minerva and HMS Lively recaptured the vessel and brought it to Martinique, after which it was restored to its former owners.

  Aftermath

  The ship apparently resumed the name Sugar Cane but disappeared from Lloyd's Register in 1798.

  Source

• 1795

  Shift to privateering and African tradeStrategy

  Background

  During the French Revolutionary Wars, the vessel's registered trade changed from London–Saint Vincent to London–Africa.

  Action taken

  John Marman obtained a letter of marque, and Sugar Cane sailed to the Gold Coast on a voyage involving the trafficking of enslaved Africans.

  Aftermath

  The ship returned to London in June 1796 and undertook another African voyage later that year.

  Source

• 1793

  Conversion to convict transport serviceStrategy

  Background

  The merchant ship was selected to carry Irish convicts to the British colony at New South Wales.

  Action taken

  Sugar Cane sailed from Cork with 160 convicts and military guards, reaching Port Jackson in September.

  Aftermath

  The ship later returned to Britain through the Indian Ocean and Atlantic routes.

  Source

1. 1Sugar Cane (1786 ship)en.wikipedia.org