Tobago

Tobago was a ship launched in 1790. She came into British hands in 1793 and was probably a prize taken immediately after the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in early 1793. She traded with Tobago for several years before new owners purchased her for whaling. She made two whaling voyages to the East Coast of Africa before her owners sold her to new owners. She then made two voyages as a slave ship. She was abandoned or condemned in 1802 after having delivered her captives on her second such voyage. Career Tobago first appears in Lloyd's Register in 1793 with owner J. Sampson, master T. Seward, and trade London-Tobago. Captain Thomas Montague received a letter of marque for Tobago on 13 November 1793. J. Mather purchased Tobago in 1795. (James, John, and Thomas Mather owned a total of 29 whaling vessels at one time or another.) Lloyd's Register for 1805 shows ownership changing from Seward to Mather, and her trade changing from London-Tobago to London-South Seas. In 1795 Captain William Fitch sailed to Delagoa Bay to hunt whales. She was reported "all well" at Trinidad on 31 December 1795. She returned to Britain on 28 March 1797.