''Rolla'' was a French brig launched in 1801 or 1803 (records differ), that came into British hands in 1804. She became a privateer and then 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 ...

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, but before she was able to embark any captives the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

captured her. The British

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 ...

recaptured her and took her into service as HMS ''Rolla''. She served in Sir

Home Riggs Popham Rear Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, KCB, KCH (12 October 1762 – 20 September 1820), was a Royal Navy commander who saw service against the French during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his scientific accomplishment ...

's attack on Buenos Aires. She returned to Britain in December 1807 and was laid up. The Admiralty sold her in 1810 and she became a merchant vessel. She was last listed in 1826, and may have been lost on the coast of Brazil in 1825.

Career

Merchantman

''Rolla'' entered ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (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 and education in science and ...

'' in 1805.''Lloyd's Register'' (1805), Supplement Seq. №R57.
/ref> However, even before her listing she had received a letter of marque. Captain William Miller received the letter on 23 January 1805. The letter declares a rather large crew, suggesting that her owner, J. Ratcliffe, intended to use her as a privateer. The entry in the 1806 ''Lloyd's Register'' gives the name of ''Rolla''s master as W. Byass, and her trade as Liverpool-Africa, indicating a slave-trader.''Lloyd's Register'' (1806), Seq. №R318.
/ref> Byass received a letter of marque on 24 August 1805. She sailed from Liverpool on 31 August 1805, but as she was on her way to gather slaves in West Africa the Spanish (or the French) captured her.

French navy

Admiral Linois's squadron was on its way back to France from the Indian Ocean when it captured ''Rolla'' on either 22 November 1805 or 5 December. On 18 April 1806 ''

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 is ...

'' (''LL'') reported that a privateer had captured ''Rolla'', of Liverpool, and another vessel, off Loango.

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy recaptured ''Rolla'' on 21 February at the Cape of Good Hope as she sailed into Table Bay. The British took ''Rollo'' and the captain of the prize crew, ''enseigne de vaisseau'' Vermet, by surprise and were able to capture some of Linois' letters. Home Popham purchased her there. Home Popham decided to attack Buenos Aires and sailed there from the Cape of Good Hope. On 21 August the second wave of British vessels, ''Rolla'' among them, set sail. ''Rolla'' served as a transport, carrying a detachment of the

38th Regiment of Foot The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the South Staffordshire Regi ...

. On the way , , and the brig ''Rolla'' on 14 May 1806 detained and sent into the Cape of Good Hope the Danish

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Three Sisters'' (or ''Trende Sostre''). At Montevideo ''Rolla'' apparently served to ferry provisions. In November, Home Popham returned to London to face a court martial for having left the Cape. Then in December ''Rolla'' was commissioned under Lieutenant Joseph Acott. On 10 February 1807 she sailed to Rio Grande with an army commissary officer aboard to procure provisions from the Portuguese. While ''Rollo'' was at Montevideo she suffered from desertions. This was a consequence of the fact that when Popham had drawn on the other vessels in his fleet to man her, their captains sent over their worst men. Between 24 and 28 June ''Rolla'' was part of the fleet that moved the troops from Montevideo to attack Buenos Aires. After the British defeat, on 9 July ''Rolla'' sailed for Montevideo. ''Rolla'' was docked at Portsmouth between 7 November and 4 December 1807. She then disappears from records, suggesting that she was laid up. Furthermore, on 13 February 1808 the Navy launched a new . As the Navy tended to avoided having two serving vessels sharing a name, the reuse of the name is consistent with the first ''Rolla'' no longer being active.

Disposal

The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered "Rolla, lying at Portsmouth", for sale on 24 March 1810. she sold there on that day.

Merchantman again, and fate

''Rolla'' re-entered ''

'' (''LR'') in 1811. She then sailed under various masters and to a variety of different destinations. From 1818 on her master was listed as Cowley, her owner as Hancock, and her trade Liverpool-Brazil. ''Lloyd's List'' reported that on 7 December 1817 "The Rolla, Cowley, had sailed from Paraimbo for Liverpool...and has not since been heard of." However, ''Rolla'' continued to be listed and occasionally there were mentions of a ''Rolla'' in ''Lloyd's List''. Then a report dated New York, 9 November 1825, reported that "The Rolla, from Buenos Aires to , is lost on the coast of Brazil."''Lloyd's List'' №6072.
/ref>

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolla (1805 ship) 1800s ships Ships built in France Captured ships Liverpool slave ships Brigs of the Royal Navy Age of Sail merchant ships Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in November 1825