West Indiaman was a general name for any

merchantman A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

making runs from the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and the east coast of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The term was used to refer to vessels belonging to the Danish (e.g. ),

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

(e.g. ) West India companies. Similarly, at the time (18th and 19th centuries) people also referred to

East Indiamen East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European Trading company, trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belon ...

(ships trading with the East Indies), Guineamen (

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 ( ...

s), or Greenlandmen ( whalers in the North Seas whale fishery). British West Indiamen tended to be London-built and to sail directly from England (generally London) to the West Indies. Guineamen tended to be built (or owned) in Bristol and Liverpool and to sail from Bristol or Liverpool via West Africa in what is now often referred to as 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. There were London-based Guineamen, (for example ), and Liverpool-based West Indiamen, (for example and ). There were design differences between vessels built for the different trades, but the vessels were not highly specialized. A vessel built as a West Indiaman typically had less height between decks than comparably sized East Indiaman. For instance, had a height of in her upper deck and a mere under her lower deck. , a comparably sized East Indiaman, had a height of below her deck. The cargoes the two types of vessels were designed to carry dictated the difference. West Indiamen brought semi-liquid sugar back to England in casks laid on their sides that were only laid in one course. East Indiamen carried mostly light goods in bales or cases that could be and were necessarily laid to a greater height. Often the same vessel would move between roles and routes over the course of her career as entrepreneurial owners chased profitability. Thus started and finished as a West Indiaman, but in between made a voyage for the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

(EIC) as an

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

, and two voyages as a Guineaman. made one voyage as an East Indiaman for the EIC, then several as a Greenlandman, and ended up a West Indiaman.

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References

Age of Sail merchant ships of England Atlantic slave trade Whaling ships Ship types Whaling Tall ships British East India Company Ships attacked and captured by pirates {{Water-transport-stub

See also

Bibliography

References