''Fortune'', also known as ''La Fortune'', was a sailing ship built in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. She was taken in

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

in 1804. New owners renamed her and she entered British registers in 1805–6. She twice

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...

s from Britain to

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She was lost c. 1814 on her way to China from Australia.

Career

''Fortune'' was built in Spain under another name. In 1804 she was taken in prize, condemned, and sold. Mestaer and company purchased her and renamed her. She first appeared in the supplemental pages to ''

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 ...

'' for 1805, and in the ''Register of Shipping'' in 1806.''Register of Shipping'' (2006), Seq. №F436.
/ref>

1st convict voyage (1806)

Captain Henry Moore received 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 7 January 1806. This authorized him to engage in offensive action against the French, not just defensive, should the opportunity arise. Captain Moore sailed ''Fortune'' from England on 28 January 1806. She was part of a convoy under the escort of that included the merchant transports ''(Lady Madeleine)'' , ''Elizabeth'', ''Justina'', and the fellow convict transport . The vessels passed Madeira on 25 February and were reported all well on 5 March. ''Fortune'' arrived at Rio de Janeiro on 11 April and left on 30 April. She arrived at

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

on 27 July. ''Fortune'' had embarked some 245 male convicts, three of whom died on the voyage. The 8th Royal Veteran Battalion provided the guard, and one member of the guard also died on the voyage. ''Fortune'' left Port Jackson on 19 August bound for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

2nd convict voyage (1812–13)

Captain Thomas Walker received letter of marque against America №106. He sailed ''Fortune'' on her second convict voyage to Australia, leaving England on 3 December 1812. She stopped at Rio de Janeiro between 3 February and 22 March 1813. She arrived at Port Jackson on 11 June 1813. She had embarked 201 male convicts; five convicts died on the voyage. The 73rd Regiment of Foot provided an officer and 30 rank-and-file to serve as the guard. One soldier died en route. ''Fortune'' left Port Jackson on 14 September bound for China. ''

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 ...

'' for 28 October 1814 reported that ''Fortune'', Walker, master, had left Sydney on 13 September 1813 and had not been heard from since. It was feared that she had foundered. However, on 29 November, ''Lloyd's List'' reported that ''Fortune'' had sailed from Ambonya in the middle of November (1813), and arrived at

Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...

after a tedious voyage from Sydney.

Fate

There was no further trace. ''Fortune'' was presumed to have foundered with the loss of all hands. The 1815 volume of the ''Register of Shipping'' has the notation "LOST" against her name,''Register of Shipping'' (1815), Seq. №F507.
/ref> and she does not appear in the 1816 volume. ''Fortune'' is no longer listed in ''Lloyd's Register'' in 1818.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune 1800s ships Ships built in Spain Convict ships to New South Wales Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Missing ships Ships lost with all hands