East India Company - Ships

Ships

Ships of the East India Company were called East Indiamen or simply "Indiamen". Some examples include:

• Red Dragon (1595)
• Royal Captain (before 1773)
• General Goddard (1782)
• Earl of Abergavenny (1797)
• Earl of Mornington (1799); packet ship
• Lord Nelson (1799)
• Kent (1825): Lost on her maiden voyage
• Nemesis (1839): first British built ocean-going iron warship
• Agamemnon (1855)

During the period of the and Napoleonic Wars, the East India Company arranged for letters of marque for its vessels such as the Lord Nelson, not so that they could carry cannons to fend off warships, privateers and pirates on their voyages to India and China, that they could do without permission, but so that should they have the opportunity to take a prize they could do so without being guilty of piracy. Similarly, the Earl of Mornington, an East India Company packet ship of only six guns too sailed under a letter of marque.

The company also had its own navy, the Bombay Marine, equipped with warships such as the Grappler. These vessels often accompanied vessels of the Royal Navy on expeditions, such as the Invasion of Java (1811).

At the Battle of Pulo Aura, which was probably the company's most notable naval victory, Nathaniel Dance, Commodore of a convoy of Indiamen and sailing aboard the Warley, led several Indiamen in a skirmish with a French squadron, driving them off. Earlier, on 15 June 1795, the General Goddard played a large role in the capture of seven Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena.

Lastly, the Royal Navy bought several Company ships to convert to warships and transports. The Earl of Mornington became HMS Drake. Other examples include:

• HMS Calcutta (1795)
• HMS Glatton (1795)
• HMS Hindostan (1795)
• HMS Hindostan (1804)
• HMS Malabar (1804)
• HMS Buffalo (1813)