HMS Berbice was the Batavian Republic's schooner Serpent that HMS Heureux took possession of at Berbice in 1803 at the capitulation of the colony and that the Navy purchased in 1804. Berbice foundered in 1806 off Demerara.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Batavian Republic | |
| Name | Serpent[a] |
| Captured | 1803 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Berbice |
| Acquired | 1803 by capture |
| Fate | Foundered 24 May 1806 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 78 (bm)[2] |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Schooner |
| Armament | 4 or 6 guns |
Career
editEarly in 1802, Kenau Hasselar, under the command of Captain Cornelius (or Cornelis) Hubertus Buschman, was assigned to the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope division of the Navy. After the end of the French Revolutionary Wars, the British ceded the Dutch colonies they had captured in the West Indies to the Batavian Republic. In August 1802, Buschman and Kenau Hasselar took a small squadron that also included the frigate Proserpina, the corvette Hippomenes, the cutter Rose, and the schooner Serpent, to take possession of Curaçao.[3]
Around 8 May 1803 Serpent fired on Dutch mutineers that wanted to turn the colony of Berbice over to the British. The mutiny failed, though Serpent's contribution to this result appears minimal.[4]
On 23 September 1803 Heureux represented the Royal Navy at the capture of the Batavian Republic's colony at Berbice. The British captured the schooner Serpent, as well many arms, troops and the like.[5] The Navy took Serpent into service as HMS Berbice and Admiral Sir Samuel Hood appointed Acting-Lieutenant James Glassford Gooding as her commander.[6] The Navy registered and commissioned her in 1805 in the Leeward Islands.[2] Gooding was confirmed in his rank on 20 November.
In October 1804 Berbice was at Paramaraibo where she served as a guardship. At the time her crew was suffering from yellow fever, with many having died.[7]
Berbice foundered on 24 May 1806 off Demerara. All her crew were saved.[8]
A week later, the merchants and planters of Demerara voted a sword valued at 100 guineas to Lieutenant Gooding in thanks for his services in protecting the coasting trade as commander of Berbice.[9]
Notes
editCitations
edit- ^ van Maanen (2008), p. 36.
- ^ a b Winfield (2008), p. 366.
- ^ Hartog (1968), pp. 197–8.
- ^ Southey (1827), Vol. 3, pp.242-243.
- ^ "No. 15649". The London Gazette. 26 November 1803. pp. 1655–1659.
- ^ O'Byrne (1849), p. 405.
- ^ Bancroft (1817), p. 137.
- ^ Hepper (1994), p. 114.
- ^ Essequebo and Demerary Gazette (31 May 1806), No. 179. Accessed 21 January 2021.
References
edit- Bancroft, Edward Nathaniel (1817). A Sequel to an Essay on the Yellow Fever: Principally Intended to Prove, by Incontestable Facts and Important Documents, that the Fever, Called Bulam, Or Pestilential, Has No Existence as a Distinct, Or a Contagious Disease. J. Callow. OCLC 1157359383.
- Hartog, Johannes (1968). Curaçao, from colonial dependence to autonomy. Aruba: De Wit.
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
- O'Byrne, William R. (1849). . A Naval Biographical Dictionary. London: John Murray. p. 405.
- Southey, Thomas (1827). Chronological History of the West Indies: In Three Volumes. Longman.
- van Maanen, Ron (2008). "Preliminary list of Dutch naval vessel built or acquired in the period 1700-1799" (PDF).
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.