Several vessels have been named ''Tom'':
* was launched in 1771 in Britain. Between 1778 and 1792 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 ...
, trading between Lancaster and Jamaica, St Lucia, and Grenada. New owners in 1792 sailed ''Tom'' 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 was condemned in 1794 at Barbados after having delivered the captives she had acquired in the Cameroons.
* (or ''Toms'') was launched in 1780 in America, possibly under another name. She first appeared in British records in 1792. From 1792 ''Tom'' participated 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 made two complete voyages from Liverpool. French frigates captured her in 1794 before she could acquire any slaves.
* was launched at Whitby in 1798 as 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 ...
. New owners in 1802 resulted in ''Tom'' becoming 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 ...
in the southern whale fishery. The Spanish seized her in 1805 off Peru.
{{ship index
Ship names