Princess Royal (1778 sloop) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
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|---|---|
 Great Britain |
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| Name | Princess Royal |
| Launched | 1778 |
| Captured | By Spanish Navy, 1789 |
.svg){kind=small} Spain |
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| Name | Princesa Real |
| Acquired | 1789 |
| Fate | Damaged by a hurricane at Macau, 1791. Sold for salvage. |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 65 (bm) |
| Length | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Beam | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Sail plan | Sloop |
| Complement | 15 crew |
| Armament | 4 x 1 pound (0.5 kg) cannon + 8 swivel guns |
The Princess Royal was a British merchant ship from the late 1700s. It was used for trading valuable furs, especially sea otter furs, in the Pacific Northwest. In 1789, a Spanish captain named Esteban José Martínez captured the ship at Nootka Sound. This event was part of a big disagreement between Britain and Spain called the Nootka Crisis.
After being captured, the ship was renamed Princesa Real by the Spanish Navy. It became a key part of the talks between Britain and Spain to solve the Nootka Crisis. The Princess Royal (and later Princesa Real) also helped both British and Spanish explorers map out parts of the Pacific Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. For example, in 1790, while under Spanish control, the Princesa Real was the first European ship to thoroughly explore the Strait of Juan de Fuca. During this trip, its crew discovered places like the San Juan Islands and the entrance to Puget Sound.
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The British Merchant Ship Princess Royal
The Princess Royal was a type of ship called a Sloop. It was built in 1778 and could carry about 60 tons of cargo. It had a crew of 15 people. The ship was owned by a company called Richard Cadman Etches and Company, also known as King George's Sound Company. This company wanted to collect furs in the Pacific Northwest and sell them in China. This idea seemed very profitable after James Cook's voyages.
First Voyages to the Pacific Northwest
From 1786 to 1788, the Princess Royal sailed with a larger ship called Prince of Wales. Both ships were led by Captain Charles Duncan. They left England in September 1786, sailed around Cape Horn, and reached the Pacific Northwest in the summer of 1787.
They traded for furs with the Native peoples around Haida Gwaii (an archipelago in British Columbia). After collecting furs, both ships sailed to the Hawaiian Islands for the winter. While in Hawaii, the ships had some conflicts with the islanders.
Exploring and Trading in 1788
In the summer of 1788, the two ships returned to the Pacific Northwest to get more furs. This time, they worked separately. Captain Duncan took the Princess Royal to Nootka Sound and then to Haida Gwaii. He explored many islands and inlets, which he called the "Princess Royal's Islands." These islands are now known by different names, like Banks Island and Pitt Island.
Duncan also explored new waters like Milbanke Sound and traded with the Heiltsuk people. He learned that the Prince of Wales had not arrived at Nootka Sound. So, he continued south, trading near Clayoquot Sound and the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On August 17, 1788, Duncan left the Northwest. He sailed the Princess Royal back to Hawaii, where it met up with the Prince of Wales.
Both ships then sailed to China, arriving in November 1788. They sold their furs there. The Prince of Wales returned to England, but the Princess Royal stayed in the Pacific for another fur trading season. Thomas Hudson became the new captain of the Princess Royal.
The Nootka Incident
In the spring of 1789, the Princess Royal, now under Captain Thomas Hudson, arrived at Nootka Sound. Other British fur trading ships were also there, along with two American ships. Esteban José Martínez, a Spanish commander, was in charge of a new Spanish outpost at Nootka. He believed that Spain owned the area.
After a series of events, Martínez captured three British ships, including the Princess Royal. Captain Hudson had left Nootka Sound earlier, promising to go to China. But he collected more furs and returned to Nootka, hoping Martínez would be gone. The Princess Royal got stuck in the water due to calm winds and an incoming tide. A Spanish boat captured the ship and towed it in. During this capture, a Nuu-chah-nulth chief named Callicum was killed.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca Discovery
On June 21, 1789, Martínez sent José María Narváez in a captured British ship (renamed Santa Gertrudis la Magna) to explore south of Nootka Sound. Narváez sailed about 65 miles into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This showed that it was a very large waterway. Martínez thought the Strait of Juan de Fuca might be the entrance to the legendary Northwest Passage, a sea route through North America. This made the strait very important to Spain.
So, Martínez sent Gonzalo López de Haro and Narváez in the captured Princess Royal (now renamed Princesa Real) to the Spanish naval base in San Blas. They carried news about the strait. In October, Martínez left Nootka Sound and returned to San Blas with his prisoners and captured ships.
The events at Nootka Sound led to a big international problem called the Nootka Crisis. Britain and Spain almost went to war. They avoided war by signing agreements called the Nootka Conventions. Spain agreed to return the captured ships and pay money to their owners.
In late 1789, a Spanish force led by Francisco de Eliza was sent to take control of Nootka Sound again. The fleet included the captured Princesa Real, commanded by Manuel Quimper. Eliza arrived at Nootka on April 4, 1790, but found no ships there. The Nootka Convention said the Princess Royal should be returned to the British at Nootka Sound. Since no British were there, Eliza decided to use the ship while waiting.
He sent the Princesa Real, with Quimper in command, to explore the Strait of Juan de Fuca more fully. On the way, Quimper stopped at Clayoquot Sound. He met Chief Wickaninnish and then Chief Maquinna, whose son had been killed on the Princess Royal the year before. Quimper and Maquinna began to make peace between the Spanish and the Nuu-chah-nulth people.
Exploring the Strait of Juan de Fuca
In the summer of 1790, Quimper, with pilots Haro and Juan Carrasco, explored the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the Princesa Real. They carefully mapped harbors and claimed land for Spain. Quimper made maps of Neah Bay and Esquimalt Harbour. On July 5, 1790, Carrasco saw Admiralty Inlet, which is the entrance to Puget Sound. He thought it was a bay and named it Ensenada de Caamaño.
During this trip, they also saw Haro Strait and Rosario Strait, which both lead to the Strait of Georgia. Other places they saw included Deception Pass, Mount Baker, the San Juan Islands, and Whidbey Island.
Quimper realized that Haro Strait was a very important channel to explore, but he didn't have time. His orders were to return to Nootka by August 15 so the Princesa Real could be given back to the British. Quimper got the ship close to Nootka Sound by August 10. However, strong winds and fog kept him from entering. Instead, he sailed the Princesa Real south to Monterey, California, arriving on September 1, 1790. By November, the ship was back in San Blas.
The Last Voyage and Fate
In 1791, Quimper tried again to return the Princesa Real to the British. He sailed the ship from San Blas to the Philippines, stopping in Hawaii along the way. The plan was for another Spanish captain to take the ship from the Philippines to China. The British and Spanish governments had agreed that the ship would be returned to its owners in Macau.
It turned out that James Colnett, the former captain of the Prince of Wales, arrived in Hawaii in March 1791, just as Quimper was there. Colnett demanded that the Princess Royal be given to him right away. Quimper explained his orders were to take it to the Philippines. Colnett was ready to take the ship by force. However, John Kendrick Jr., who was on board the Princess Royal, helped calm the argument. Quimper then quietly sailed away to Manila, arriving in June.
By the end of 1791, the Princess Royal had been taken to Macau. But the ship was in such bad shape when it arrived that the British agents refused to take it. Eventually, the British agreed to accept a small payment of money instead of the ship.
Soon after, a hurricane hit Macau and badly damaged the Princess Royal. The ship was later sold for parts because it was too damaged to be repaired.
