''Adventure'' was a vessel built in France that the British captured c.1799. New owners immediately sailed her as a

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

in the

triangular trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset ...

in enslaved people. She then made a voyage as

West Indiaman West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...

during which a French privateer captured her, but the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

quickly recaptured her. She made a second slave trading voyage. Thereafter she became a general trader, trading primarily with the Baltic. She was wrecked in October 1814. Although she was refloated and taken into Copenhagen, she disappeared from subsequent ship arrival and departure data.

Career

''Adventure'' first appeared in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

'' (''LR'') in 1800 with G.Bernard, master, Gibb, owner, and trade London–Africa. She had undergone repairs in 1799. Captain George Bernard acquired a

letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...

on 3 December 1799. 1st enslaving voyage (1800–1801): Captain Bernard sailed from Liverpool on 16 January 1800, bound for Bonny. ''Adventure'' delivered 337 captives to Kingston, Jamaica on 31 August. She returned to Liverpool on 28 January 1801. West Indiaman: On her return from this voyage, new owners sailed her as a West Indiaman. The French privateer ''Mouche'' captured ''Adventure'', Finlay, master, as she was near the Western Islands while sailing from London to Martinique. ''Mouche'' also captured , Redman, master, which was sailing from London to Barbados. recaptured them both. ''Bordelaise'' encountered ''Adventure'', which only struck on 8 January 1801 after a long chase. From her the British found out that ''Mouche'' had captured ''Aurora'' too, and had sent her to Teneriffe. ''Bordelais'' sailed there and intercepted ''Aurora'' on 10 January as she arrived. ''Adventure'' arrived at Barbados on 3 February and from there sailed on to Martinique. 2nd enslaving voyage (1801–1802): Captain William Findlay acquired a letter of marque on 24 August 1801. Captain Findlay sailed from London on 5 September 1801, bound for New Calabar. ''Adventure'' delivered 358 captives to Kingston on 1 March 1802, having passed Demerara on 15 February. She sailed from Kingston on 15 May and arrived back at London on 19 July. In the issue for 8 February 1811, ''

Lloyd's List ''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and i ...

'' (''LL'') reported that ''Adventure'', Walker, master, had probably been lost or taken while sailing from Siloe to London. In the next issue it reported that she had arrived at the Downs on 8 February.

Fate

On 29 October 1814 ''Adventure'', Stonehouse, master was driven ashore at

Dragør Dragør () is the main town of Dragør Municipality, (Denmark), which includes the village of Store Magleby. The city hall and seat of the municipal council lies on Kirkevej 7 (postal code 2791 Dragør) in Store Magleby, which has enough space ...

, Denmark. She was on a voyage from

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. The initial report was that she was full of water but it was expected that her cargo would be saved. ''Adventure'' was later refloated and taken in to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, Denmark. ''Lloyd's Register'' continued to carry ''Adventure'' for several years with unchanged data.

Citations

{{reflist, 30em 1790s ships Ships built in France Captured ships Age of Sail merchant ships of England Liverpool slave ships Maritime incidents in 1814