A number of vessels have been named ''Alexander'':
*, a merchant ship built in Hull and used to transport convicts in the First Fleet to New South Wales in 1788
*, was launched at Bristol. As ''Alexander'', and later renamed ''Prince'', she served as a
slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast i ...
. She foundered in 1800.
*, built in France in 1791 under a different name. She was taken as a prize and her new owners renamed her ''Alexander''. She made one voyage for the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...
, and then made four voyages as a
slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast i ...
between 1798 and 1807.
*, built in
Pembroke, Massachusetts
Pembroke is a small historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Pembroke is a South Shore suburb of the Boston metropolitan area. The town is located about halfway between Boston and Cape Cod. The town is considered rural w ...
, in 1796 and made at least three voyages in the
maritime fur trade
The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in e ...
.
* was launched in France or Spain in 1797, probably under another name, and taken in prize circa 1799, when she was lengthened and raised. She was registered at Liverpool in 1801 and proceeded to make six voyages as a
slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast i ...
. She then sailed to Brazil and the West Indies and was last listed in 1809.
*, a 301-ton merchant vessel launched at
Shields
A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...
; she became a
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...
and made one voyage to New Zealand and the South Seas whale fisheries (1802-06) for Hurry & Co.
*, a ship of 600 or 746 tons burthen, launched in 1803 at Bombay and wrecked in 1815.
*, a ship of 614 tons (bm), launched in 1803 at Liverpool and sold in 1817
* was launched in 1801 in the United States, possibly under another name. She became a
slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast i ...
, sailing from Liverpool. A French privateer captured her in 1807 after she had landed her slaves at Berbice. ''Alexander'' returned to British ownership and became a
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 ...
, and then a transport. She was last listed in 1816 but may have been sold or broken up in 1815.
* was launched in 1800 at Hull, or actually further up the
River Ouse at
Selby
Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731.
The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...
, and probably under another name. From 1807 on she was a
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 ...
. She was wrecked on 19 May 1820 while sailing to Honduras.
*, was launched as a ''Thais''-class
fireship
A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...
of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
. In 1808 the class were re-rated as sloops, and in 1811 they were re-rated as 20-gun
sixth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...
s. ''Comet'' participated in one action that resulted in her crew being awarded the Naval General Service Medal, and some other actions and captures. The Navy sold her in 1815. In 1816 she became the
East Indiaman
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
''Alexander'', sailing under a license from the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...
(EIC). She sailed between the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. It was on one of these journeys that she was wrecked on Cole House Point on the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...
on 9 August 1828.
*, a merchant ship built in the United States in 1811, captured as a prize during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...
; she transported convicts to
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman ...
in 1816
*, was a country ship (i.e., she traded east of the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
) launched in 1812. She was lost in 1835.
*''Alexander'', of 660 tons (
bm), was launched at Chittagong in 1812 and renamed ''Chichester''. She was lost in 1814 on the Mizen Sand, Bengal.
* was built in Aberdeen in 1813 or 1815. She started as a Plymouth-based transport. In 1817 the
British Admiralty hired her as one of two vessels that would go on an expedition to search for a Northwest Passage. The expedition was unsuccessful. After her return in 1818, ''Alexander'' traded between Britain and North America. The last mention of ''Aberdeen'' in online sources was in 1830.
*, of 229 tons (bm), launched at
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
, for Walkinshaw & Co.
*, of 523 tons (bm), launched in 1828 by John Blackett, Millwall Dock, Poplar, London, for his own account.
*, originally built as a cruise ship and later converted into a superyacht.
See also
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Citations and references
Citations
References
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{{shipindex
Ship names