Royal Charlotte (ship)

Since the 1760s, there have been numerous vessels named Royal Charlotte, for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of King George III.

Muster rolls exist for a number of vessels that participated in the Atlantic slave trade.^[1] The vessels sailed from Bristol to West Africa (primarily to the Bights of Benin and Bonny), where they picked up slaves for sale in the Caribbean. The rolls exist for 1763, 1767, 1783 to 1789, and 1793. The slaves were delivered to Antigua, Grenada (417 slaves delivered), Jamaica (377 slaves delivered), St Vincent (420 slaves delivered), and Tobago (450-60 slaves purchased). One vessel sailed to West Africa for hardwoods and then returned directly to Bristol. In 1793 the French captured a Royal Charlotte while she was on her way to West Africa, war with Britain having broken out.
Between 1793 and 1810, six apparently different vessels named Royal Charlotte received letters of marque. The four that did not belong to the Excise and Customs service were:^[2]

Ship of 677 tons (bm), Captain William Logie Smith, 56 men, 14 x 6-pounder guns (LoM dated 30 November 1796). This may have been the Indiaman Royal Charlotte that exploded in October 1797 at Calcutta, Smith being the name of her captain and William Logie Smith being the name of a person in the country service of the British East India Company. Captain Smith survived the explosion, and William Logie Smith died in Bengal in March 1803.
Ship of 342 tons (bm), Captain Thomas Bruce, 23 men, 16 x 12-pounder and 6 x 4-pounder guns (LoM dated 13 February 1801)
Brig of 261 tons (bm), Captain Alexander Morris, 30 men, 16 x 6 & 8-pounder guns (LoM dated 15 September 1807)
Cutter of 137 tons (bm), Captain Thomas Robertson, 40 men, 2 x 4-pounder and 8 x 9-pounder guns + four swivels (LoM dated 20 May 1808)

Royal Charlotte (1819 ship) carried convicts from Britain to Australia. She wrecked in 1825.

Citations

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