Royal Captain (1772 ship) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
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.svg){kind=small} Great Britain |
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| Name | Royal Captain |
| Owner | Sir Richard Hotham |
| Operator | East India Company |
| Builder | Randall, Rotherhithe |
| Launched | 28 September 1772 |
| Fate | Wrecked on 17 December 1773 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | East Indiaman |
| Tons burthen | 499, or 863 or 864, (bm) |
| Length | 143 ft (43.6 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft (11.0 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
The Royal Captain was a large British sailing ship. It was built in 1772 and sadly sank in 1773 in the South China Sea. This ship was an East Indiaman, which means it was used by the East India Company. This company was a powerful British trading group. In 1999, people found the sunken ship and brought up some of its treasures.
The Royal Captain was built by a company called Randall. It was a "three-decker" ship, meaning it had three main decks. Its owner, Sir Richard Hotham, rented it out to the East India Company. The ship was about 43.6 meters long and 11 meters wide.
Contents
The Ship's First and Only Journey
The Royal Captain's first trip was also its last. It sailed from Portsmouth, England, on January 30, 1773. Captain Edward Berrow was in charge. The ship first stopped at St Helena, an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
After that, it continued its journey to China. It arrived at Whampoa in the Pearl River area of China on August 23. The ship stayed there for a while, loading up with valuable goods. On November 28, it started its trip back home.
How the Royal Captain Was Lost
On December 17, 1773, very early in the morning, the Royal Captain hit a hidden reef. This happened in the South China Sea. The place where it sank is now called Royal Captain Shoal. It is about 76 kilometers from Palawan, an island in the Philippines.
When the ship hit the reef, it was carrying a lot of people and cargo. There were Captain Berrow, six passengers, and 99 crew members. The ship's cargo was very valuable. It included 100,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain, along with tea, silk, glass beads, and gold.
The crew worked hard to save the ship. They managed to get it off the reef two times. But the ship hit the reef a third time, and this caused too much damage. The Royal Captain sank, taking most of its precious cargo with it.
Another British ship, the Union, rescued the people who survived. They were taken to Balambangan Island. Later, the crew returned to England on another ship called the Syren.
Finding the Sunken Ship
Many years later, in 1999, a team led by Franck Goddio found the wreck of the Royal Captain. The ship was lying about 350 meters deep in the ocean. The team used a special ship called the Ocean Voyager. They also had two advanced small submarines called Deep Rover that could dive very deep.
They were able to bring up some of the cargo that was still on the ship. This included many pieces of the Chinese porcelain.
A Documentary About the Ship
The story of the Royal Captain was so interesting that a TV show was made about it. The documentary was called The Treasure of the Royal Captain. It was shown on the Discovery Channel in June 2000.
