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{{short description|Merchant ships operating under charter or license to European East India companies}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
[[File:Robert Dodd - The East Indiaman Delaford, in two positions (1787).jpg|thumb|1787 painting of the British East Indiaman ''Delaford'' in two positions]]

'''East Indiamen''' were [[merchant ship]]s that operated under charter or licence for European [[Trading company|trading companies]] which traded with the [[East Indies]] between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the [[East India Company|British]], [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]], [[Louis XIV's East India Company|French]], [[Danish Asiatic Company|Danish]], [[Swedish East India Company|Swedish]], [[Austrian East India Company|Austrian]] or [[Portuguese East India Company|Portuguese]] East India companies.

Several East Indiamen chartered by the British East India Company (EIC) were known as [[clipper]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Villiers |first1=Alan |author-link=Alan Villiers |title=The Cutty Sark: Last of A Glorious Era |date=1 January 1966|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |orig-year=1953 |location=UK }}{{Page needed|date=June 2019}}</ref> The EIC held a monopoly granted to it by [[Elizabeth I]] in 1600 for all English trade between the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and [[Cape Horn]]. This grant was progressively restricted during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, until the monopoly was lost in 1834. EIC East Indiamen usually ran between Britain, the Cape of Good Hope and India, where their primary destinations were the ports of [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Chennai|Madras]] and [[Kolkata|Calcutta]].

EIC East Indiamen often continued on to China before returning to England via the Cape of Good Hope and [[Saint Helena]]. When the EIC lost its monopoly, the ships of this design were sold off. A smaller, faster ship known as a [[Blackwall Frigate]] was built for the trade as the need to carry heavy armaments declined.

==Description of the sailing vessels and the trade==
[[File:Sjöfartsmuseet Akvariet Memorial Hall East Indiaman Finland 1761 03.jpg|thumb|Model of a [[Swedish East India Company]] East Indiaman]]

East Indiamen vessels carried both passengers and goods, and were armed to defend themselves against pirates. Initially, the East Indiamen were built to carry as much cargo as possible, rather than for speed of sailing.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tea Clippers |url=https://www.tea.co.uk/tea-clippers |publisher=U.K. Tea and Infusions Association |access-date=3 June 2014}}</ref> The [[British East India Company]] had a monopoly on trade with [[British Indian Empire|India]] and [[China]], supporting that design.

East Indiamen were the largest merchant ships regularly built during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, generally measuring between 1100 and 1400 [[Builder's Old Measurement|tons burthen (bm)]]. Two of the largest were the ''[[Earl of Mansfield (ship)|Earl of Mansfield]]'' and ''[[HMS Madras (1795)|Lascelles]]'' being built at [[Deptford]] in 1795. The [[Royal Navy]] purchased both, converted them to 56-gun [[fourth rate]]s, and renamed them ''[[HMS Weymouth (1795)|Weymouth]]'' and ''[[HMS Madras (1795)|Madras]]'' respectively. They measured 1426 tons (bm) on dimensions of approximately 175 feet overall length of hull, 144 feet keel, 43 feet beam, 17 feet draft.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

In England, Queen [[Elizabeth I]] granted an exclusive right to the trade to the [[East India Company#Establishments in Britain|East India Company]] in 1600, a monopoly which lasted until 1834. The company grew to encompass more than the trade between England and India, but the ships described in this article are the type used in the 17th to the early 19th centuries to carry the trade.

Captain Robert William Eastwick gives an account of how EIC ships were chartered in his 1836 manuscript. As was the custom at least by 1791, ships were chartered from their owners, and were often used for four round trip voyages after which they were then considered "worn out." About thirty ships were required per season. When a ship was to be chartered, the owner chose a captain from a selection of applicants or interested parties. The post of captain was "sold" to the prospective captain for as much as 8,000-10,000 pounds per appointment. After the sale of the post, the command was considered transferable property, and could be resold to the highest bidder or passed to an heir. Additionally, the captain had the right to free outbound freight to the extent of fifty tons, and twenty tons on the return trip. This was extremely lucrative, and a prudent commander could average between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds per voyage, sometimes as high as 12,000 pounds. However, in the early 19th century this custom was completely abolished, because it significantly raised the rates of freight. At the time of its abolishment, all captains then in service were given a compensation and removed if necessary. From that point on, a person not qualified to command could not obtain the post, and the command of EIC vessels became merit based.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Compton |first1=Herbert |title=A MASTER MARINER. BEING THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN ROBERT WILLIAM EASTWICK |date=1891 |publisher=T. Fisher Unwin |location=London |pages=41–43}}</ref>

==French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars==
[[File:The East Indiaman General Goddard capturing Dutch East Indiamen, June 1795, by Thomas Luny.jpg|thumb|Painting of the British East Indiaman ''[[General Goddard (ship)|General Goddard]]'' attacking seven Dutch East Indiamen on 14 June 1795]]

During the [[French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars]], East Indiamen were often painted to resemble warships; an attacker could not be sure if gunports were real or merely paint, and some Indiamen carried sizable armaments. The [[Royal Navy]] acquired several East Indiamen, turning them into [[fourth rate]]s (e.g., HMS ''Weymouth'' and HMS ''Madras'', described above), maintaining the confusion for military ships seeking merchant ships as prizes of war. In some cases the East Indiamen successfully fought off attacks by the French. One of the most celebrated of these incidents occurred in 1804, when a fleet of East Indiamen and other merchant vessels under [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] [[Nathaniel Dance]] successfully fought off a marauding squadron commanded by Admiral [[Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois|Linois]] in the [[Indian Ocean]] in the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]].

Due to the need to carry heavy cannon, the hull of the East Indiamen – in common with most warships of the time – was much wider at the waterline than at the upper deck, so that guns carried on the upper deck were closer to the centre-line to aid stability. This is known as [[tumblehome]]. The ships normally had two complete decks for accommodation within the hull and a raised [[poop deck]]. The poop deck and the deck below it were lit with square-windowed galleries at the stern. To support the weight of the galleries, the hull lines towards the stern were full. Later ships built without this feature tended to sail faster,{{when|date=August 2015}} which put the East Indiamen at a commercial disadvantage once the need for heavy armament passed.

==Ships for the India–China trade==

According to historian [[Fernand Braudel]], some of the finest and largest Indiamen of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were built in India, making use of Indian shipbuilding techniques and crewed by Indians, their hulls of Indian [[teak]] being especially suitable for local waters. These ships were used for the China run. Until the coming of steamships, these Indian-built ships were relied upon almost exclusively by the British in the eastern seas. Many hundreds of Indian-built Indiamen were built for the British, along with other ships, including warships. Notable among them were ''Surat Castle'' (1791), a 1,000-ton (bm) ship with a crew of 150, ''Lowjee Family'', of 800 tons (bm) and a crew of 125, and ''Shampinder'' (1802), of 1,300 tons (bm).<ref>{{cite book |last=Braudel |first=Fernand |title=The Perspective of the World: Civilization & Capitalism, 15th–18th Century |volume=3 |year=1979 |publisher= Harper & Row |isbn=0-06-015317-2 |page=506}}</ref>

==Notable ships==

Another significant East Indiaman in this period was the 1176-ton (bm) ''Warley'' that John Perry built at his [[Blackwall Yard]] in 1788, and which the [[Royal Navy]] bought in 1795 and renamed {{HMS|Calcutta|1795|6}}. In 1803 she was employed as a transport to establish a settlement at [[Port Phillip]] in Australia, later shifted to the site of current-day [[Hobart]], Tasmania by an accompanying ship, the ''Ocean''. French forces captured ''Calcutta'' in 1805 off the [[Isles of Scilly]]. She grounded at the [[Battle of the Basque Roads]] in 1809, and was burned by a British boarding party after her French crew had abandoned her.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

The 1200-ton (bm) [[Arniston (ship)|''Arniston'']] was likewise employed by the Royal Navy as a troop transport between England and [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]]. In 1815, she was wrecked near [[Cape Agulhas]] with the loss of 372 lives after a navigation error that was caused by inaccurate [[dead reckoning]] and the lack of a [[marine chronometer]] with which to calculate her [[longitude]].

==End of the era==
[[File:East Indiaman Asia.jpg|thumb|1836 painting of the British East Indiaman ''Asia'']]

With the progressive restriction of the monopoly of the British [[East India Company]] the desire to build such large armed ships for commercial use waned, and during the late 1830s a smaller, faster ship known as a [[Blackwall Frigate]] was built for the premium end of the India and China trades. The last of the East Indiamen was reputed to be the [[Java (1813 ship)|''Java'' (1813–1939)]] that became a coal hulk, then was broken up.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gibraltar-intro.blogspot.com/2015/01/1811-java-triumph-of-skill-w.html|title=The People of Gibraltar |access-date=30 August 2018}}</ref>

A ship named ''[[Lalla Rookh (ship)|Lalla Rookh]]'', involved in an incident in November 1850 off [[Worthing]], [[West Sussex]], in which many local men died after their rescue boat capsized, was described as an East Indiaman bringing sugar and rum from [[Pernambuco]], Brazil.<ref name=macleay>{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234009633 |title=Tragic story of the sea |newspaper=[[Macleay Argus]] |issue=713 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=30 January 1897 |access-date=27 January 2021 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=newcastletyne>{{cite news|work=Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury |title=Maritime Intelligence|date= 30 November 1850 |issue=251|page=8|location=[[Newcastle-upon-Tyne]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Maritime mystery comes to light |website=[[The Argus (Brighton)]] |date=7 July 2000 |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5161295.maritime-mystery-comes-to-light/ | access-date=24 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=timeline>{{cite web |last=Blann |first=Rob |title=Worthing Lifeboat Town: Timeline |website=Worthing Lifeboat Town |url=https://www.worthing-lifeboat-town.uk/ |access-date=24 January 2021}}</ref>

{{Clear|left}}

==In literature==
[[File:Robert Dodd - Commodore Dance's celebrated action against a French squadron.jpg|thumb|1804 painting of the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]]]]

* The [[Battle of Pulo Aura]] is featured in [[Patrick O'Brian]]'s novel [[HMS Surprise (novel)|''HMS Surprise'']], with French [[Counter-admiral]] [[Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois]] in pursuit of a large fleet of British East Indiamen. In the novel, ''Surprise'' under Captain [[Jack Aubrey]] organises the merchantmen to defeat Linois' squadron. In history, all the ships that defeated the French squadron were merchantmen.
* The ''[[Black Pearl (Pirates of the Caribbean)|Black Pearl]]'' in the movie series ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' is based on the East Indiaman
* In the [[Aubrey–Maturin series]], East Indiamen are involved in many of the novels, including the second set in the Peace of Amiens, where some of the sailors took positions on East Indiamen. In other of the novels, Aubrey intercepts enemy vessels that interfere with the merchant ships, earning their gratitude.
* [[Stuart Turton]]'s 2020 novel ''[[The Devil and the Dark Water]]'' is mostly set on a Dutch Indiaman in 1634.
* In [[Jane Austen]]'s 1814 novel ''[[Mansfield Park]]'', one of [[Fanny Price]]'s brothers is a [[midshipman]] on an Indianman.

==Selected examples==
{{clarify|reason=What are the selection criteris?|date=October 2025}}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Nationality
! scope="col" | Length (m)
! scope="col" | Tons burthen
! scope="col" | Service
! scope="col" | Fate
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Comments
|-
! scope="row" | ''Admiral Gardner''
| [[British East India Company|British]]
| 44
| 816
| 1797–1809
| stranded
| Blown ashore on [[Goodwin Sands]] with the death of one crew member. Wreck located in 1985 with plenty of coins (mostly copper) salvaged.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Agamemnon (ship)|''Agamemnon'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
|
|
| 1855
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''Albemarle''
| British
| ?
| ?
| ?–1708
| stranded
| Blown ashore near [[Polperro]], Cornwall, with her freight of diamonds, coffee, pepper, silk and indigo. The ship was a total loss and little of the freight ever recovered, yet it is said that most of her crew survived. The location of the wreck is still unknown.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Amsterdam (VOC ship)|''Amsterdam'']]
| Dutch
| 42.5
| 1100
| 1749
| beached
|Lost on maiden voyage. Wreck still visible at low tide off Bulverhythe, Bexhill-on-Sea, reputed to be the best preserved wreck because of the covering of fine sinking sand. Protected under UK law. Can be dangerous to visit because of sinking sands.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Arniston (ship)|''Arniston'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
| 54
| 1200
| 1794–1815
| wrecked
| [[Longitude]] navigational error due to her not having a [[marine chronometer|chronometer]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17032 |title=The Lieutenant and Commander |first=Basil |last=Hall |author-link=Basil Hall (naval officer)|year=1862|publisher=Bell and Daldy}}</ref> Only 6 of the 378 on board survived.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/memoirlifeandse01raikgoog|quote=arniston wreck giels.|last=Raikes|first=Henry|publisher=Hatchet & Son|title=Memoir of the Life and Services of Vice-admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton|year=1846|page=[https://archive.org/details/memoirlifeandse01raikgoog/page/n544 527]}}</ref> The seaside resort of [[Arniston, Western Cape]], South Africa, is named after the wreck.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Atlas (1812 EIC ship)|''Atlas'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
| 50.5
| 1267
| 1813–1830
| broken up
| She arrived at Gravesend at the end of her last voyage in August 1830 and was sold in May 1831 to C. Carter for breaking. Carter paid £4,100 for the 'Atlas', not a large sum and with a considerable part of the value being no doubt in her furnishings.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Batavia (1628 ship)|''Batavia'']]
| [[Dutch East India Company]]
| 56.6
| 1200
| 1628–1629
| sunk
| Struck a reef on [[Beacon Island (Houtman Abrolhos)|Beacon Island]] off Western Australia but most of the crew and passengers made it to a nearby island. In 1970, the remains of the ship and many artefacts were salvaged.
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Bredenhof]]''
| [[Dutch East India Company]]
| 41
| 850
| 1746–1753
| sunk
| Foundered on a reef thirteen miles off the African coast on 6 June 1753 carrying 30 chests of silver and gold ingots. Her cargo was recovered in 1986.
|-
! scope="row" | [[USS Bonhomme Richard (1765)|''Bonhomme Richard'']]
| France/USA
| 46
| 998
| 1779
| sunk
| Former French East India Company (as the ''Duc de Duras''), gift to the US revolutionaries. Sunk in battle during the Revolutionary War.
|-
! scope="row" | [[VOC ship Candia (1788)|''Candia'']]
| [[Dutch East India Company]]
| {{convert|150|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
| 1150 tons
| 1788–1796
| Dismantled in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] in 1796
| Depicted by Dutch maritime artist Gerrit Groenewegen (1754–1826) near [[Rotterdam]] in 1789.
|-
! scope="row" | ''Ceylon''
| British
| ?
| ?
| ?
| Captured
| Captured in the [[action of 3 July 1810]]
|-
! scope="row" | [[Cumberland (1802 EIC ship)|''Cumberland'']]
| British
| 40.8
| 1350
| ?
| Sold
| The ship was sold to the revolutionary Chilean government 1818 and renamed ''San Martín''. 1821 sunk in Peru
|-
! scope="row" | [[David Clark (1816 ship)|''David Clark'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
| 39.7
| 608
| 1816
| Broken up 1854 at Batavia
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Diemermeer (1736)|''Diemermeer'']]
| Dutch
| ?
| ?
| ?
| Wrecked on the [[Banana Islands]], [[Sierra Leone]], 1748
| The Captain, Christoffel Boort, and some surviving crew members built themselves a fort on the Banana Islands, but became embroiled in a dispute with the inhabitants. They were accused of kidnapping three children.<ref name=Bishop>{{cite web|last1=Bishop|first1=Leigh|title=The Final Circle|url=http://www.divernet.com/other_diving_topics/archaeology/2733340/the_final_circle.html|website=Divernet|publisher=Diver Group|access-date=23 May 2015|archive-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525034903/http://www.divernet.com/other_diving_topics/archaeology/2733340/the_final_circle.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Doddington (ship)|''Doddington'']]
| British
| ?
| 499
| ?–1755
| wrecked in [[Algoa Bay]]
| 23 survivors out of 270 marooned for some time on Bird Island. Ship carried a significant quantity of gold and silver, some of which was later illegally [[marine salvage]]d, with the ensuing legal battle influencing the [[UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage]]
|-
! scope="row" | ''Dutton''
| British
| ?
| 755
| 1781–1796
| stranded
| Chartered to the government to carry troops, blown ashore on [[Plymouth Hoe]], most of the crew and passengers rescued by [[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Sir Edward Pellew]].
|-
! scope="row" | [[HMS Abergavenny|''Earl of Abergavenny (I)'']]
| British
| 48.9
| 1182
| 1789–1794
| Sold
| Sold to the Admiralty in 1795
|-
! scope="row" | [[Earl of Abergavenny (1796 EIC ship)|''Earl of Abergavenny (II)'']]
| British
| 53.9
| 1460
| 1796–1805
| Wrecked, with more than 250 lives lost
| The wreck is located at [[Weymouth Bay]], in England.
|-
! scope="row" | ''Earl of Mansfield (I)''
| British
| ?
| 782
| 1777–1790
| Sunk
| Sunk in 1790
|-
! scope="row" | ''Earl of Mansfield (II)''
| British
| ?
| 1416
| 1795–?
| ?
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Earl of Mornington (1799 ship)|''Earl of Mornington'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
|
|
| 1799–1808
|
| [[Packet ship]]
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship||Exeter|1792 EIC ship|2}}
| [[British East India Company|British]]
|
| 1265
| 1792–1811+
| Unknown
| During the [[action of 4 August 1800]] ''Exeter'' captured the French [[Sailing frigate|frigate]] [[French frigate Médée (1778)|''Médée '']], the only instance of a merchantman capturing a large warship during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. In February 1804 she was present at the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]].
|-
! scope="row" |''[[Friendship of Salem]]''
| [[East India Marine Society]]
| {{convert|171|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|
| 1797–1812
| Captured by the British
| Captured as a prize of war by the British in September 1812
|-
! scope="row" |[[General Goddard (ship)|''General Goddard'']]
|British
| {{convert|143|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
| 799
| 1782–1799
| Captured
| On 15 June 1795 captured seven [[Dutch East Indiamen]] off [[Saint Helena|St Helena]]; Captured by the Spanish in the West Indies; subsequent fate unknown
|-
! scope="row" |[[Gosforth (ship)|''Gosforth'']]
| British
|
| 810<ref>{{cite news|title=Arrival of the Gosforth, with government immigrants|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41032579|access-date=31 March 2014|work=The South Australian Register|issue=26 Dec 1865}}</ref>
| 1856–?
|
|
|-
! scope="row" |[[Götheborg (ship)|''Götheborg'']]
| Swedish
| 40.9
| 788
| 1739–1745
| sunk
| Sank off [[Gothenburg]] in 1745
|-
! scope="row" |[[Wreck of the Grosvenor|''Grosvenor'']]
| British
| ?
| 729 [[Long ton|tons]]
| ?
| sunk
| Sank off the [[Pondoland]] coast of [[South Africa]], north of the mouth of the [[Umzimvubu River]] on 4 August 1782. Of 150 crew and passengers there were 123 survivors of whom only 18 made it to land alive.
|-
! scope="row" |[[Horssen (1784)|''Horssen'']]
| [[Dutch East India Company]]
| {{convert|93|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}}
| 880 tons
| 1784–1792
| Put out of service in [[Goeree]] in 1792
| Transported [[Mary Bryant]] on a voyage from [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]], 21 December 1791, to [[Cape Town]], arriving on 19 March 1792.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Java (1813 ship)|''Java'']]
|British
|48.5 m (159 ft 2in.)
|1175 tons
|1813–1827
|Converted to Coal Hulk
|Built in 1813 at Calcutta, became a troop ship in 1827. Later served as an Australian migrant ship, and merchant ship serving Asia. Reputed as the last East Indiaman, taken to Gibraltar about 1860 as coal hulk number 16 and scrapped in 1939.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gibraltar-intro.blogspot.com/2015/01/1811-java-triumph-of-skill-w.html|title=The People of Gibraltar|access-date=30 August 2018}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''Jonkheer Meester Van de Putterstock ''
|Dutch
| ?
| ?
| ?
| sank
|The Jonkheer Meester Van de Putterstock with a cargo of sugar, coffee, spices and [[Bangka Island|Banca tin]] with a value of £50,000 was wrecked under Angrouse Cliff near [[Mullion, Cornwall|Mullion Cove]], Cornwall in March 1667.<ref name="McBride">McBride, P. W. J.; Richard, L. & Davis, R. (Ferdinand Research Group). (1971) "A Mid–17th Century Merchant Ship-wreck near Mullion, Cornwall: interim report". ''[[Cornwall Archaeological Society|Cornish Archaeology]]'' 10: 75–78</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Joanna (East Indiaman)|''Joanna'']]
| British
| ?
| ?
| ?
| Wrecked
| Wrecked near [[Cape Agulhas]] on 8 June 1682
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Kent (1799 ship)|Kent]]''
| British
| ?
| 820
| 1800
| Captured
| Captured by [[Robert Surcouf]], [[Bay of Bengal]].
|-
! scope="row" | {{ship||Kent|1820 EIC ship|2}}
| British
| ?
| 1,350
| 1825
| Burned at sea
| She was lost in 1825 on her third voyage to China, shortly after setting out. Some 550 persons of the 650 passengers and crew were saved.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Lord Nelson (East Indiaman)|''Lord Nelson'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
|
|
| 1799
|
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Nemesis (1839)|''Nemesis'']]
| [[British East India Company|British]]
|
|
| 1839
|
| First British-built ocean-going iron warship
|-
! scope="row" | [[Nossa Senhora dos Mártires (nau)|''Nossa Senhora dos Mártires'']]
| [[Portuguese East India Company|Portuguese]]
| ?
| ?
| 1605–1606
| Sunk
| Struck a submerged rock at the mouth of the [[River Tagus]], near [[Lisbon]], and went down close to shore. Wreck located in 1994, and excavated between 1996 and 2001.
|-
! scope="row" | ''Ogle Castle''
| British
| ?
| ?
| 1803–1825
| Wrecked
| When ''Ogle Castle'' docked at Bombay in May 1825, the crew mutinied and were held in jail until loading was complete; on the return voyage, it was driven onto the [[Goodwin Sands]] on 3 November 1825, with the loss of over 100 crew members.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Biden |first1=Christopher |title=Naval Discipline : Subordination Contrasted with Insubordination |date=1830 |publisher=Palala Press |isbn=978-1358250682 |pages=338–339 |edition=2016}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''Ponsborne''
| British
| 43.6
| 804
| 1780–1796
| Wrecked
| Sailed ports such as Bombay and China. Requisitioned for an expedition against the French in the West Indies in 1795, was wrecked off the coast of Granada on 26 March 1796.[http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20499/lot/34/]
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Red Dragon (1595)|Red Dragon]]'' (also ''Dragon'')
| British
| ?
| 300
| 1601–1619
| Sunk
| Was the flagship of the first voyage of the English [[East India Company]] in 1601. Sunk by Dutch fleet.
|-
! scope="row" | ''Repulse''
| British
| ?
| 1334
| 1820–1830
| ?
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Royal Captain (1772 ship)|''Royal Captain'']]
| British
| 44
| 860
| 1772–3
| sunk
| Struck a reef in the [[South China Sea]], 3 lives and the entire freight was lost. Wreck located in 1999.
|-
! scope="row" | ''Sussex''
| British
| ?
| 490
| 1736–1738
| sunk
| Sunk off [[Mozambique]], located in 1987. No actual wreck, but the freight was dispersed over a large area on the [[Bassas da India]] atoll due to wave movement. Several cannon, two anchors and thousands of porcelain fragments were salvaged.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Tryall|''Tryal'']]
| British
| ?
| 500
| 1621–1622
| sunk
| The likely wreck site was found in 1969 off Western Australia ([[Monte Bello Islands]]). At least 95 of the crew of 143 were lost and due to use of explosives while searching for treasures, there are only very few remains.
|-
! scope="row" | [[Chilean ship Lautaro (1818)|''Windham'']]
| British
| 36.2
| 830<ref name="dmarley">{{cite book |first=David |last=Marley |title=Wars of the Americas: a chronology of armed conflict in the New World, 1492 to the present |year=1998 |publisher=ABC-CLIO Ltd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdvp3cGJUZoC |page=422|isbn=9780874368376 }}</ref>
| 1800–1828
| Scrapped
| The French captured ''Windham'' at the [[action of 18 November 1809]], but the British recaptured her in December. The French again captured her at the [[action of 3 July 1810]], but the British recaptured her at the [[Battle of Grand Port]]. ''Windham'' was sold to the revolutionary Chilean government 1818 and renamed ''Lautaro''.<ref name="clopezurrutia">{{cite book |first=Carlos Lopez |last=Urrutia |title=Historia de la Marina de Chile |trans-title=History of the Chilean Navy |publisher=Editorial Andrés Bello |year=1969 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IyV_C94lNRoC |page=94 |language=es}}</ref> Beached at Valparaiso and scrapped 27 September 1828
|}

==Sailing replicas==
Several East Indiamen have been reconstructed in recent decades. Some of these are (semi) permanently moored and can be visited as part of a museum collection.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
! scope="col" | Name
! scope="col" | Nationality
! scope="col" | Replica of
! scope="col" | Original service
! scope="col" | Replica construction period
! scope="col" | Replica length (m)
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Status
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Amsterdam (1748)#Ship replica|Amsterdam]]''
| [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]]
| ''[[Amsterdam (1748)|Amsterdam]]''
| 1748–1749
| 1985–1991
| 48
| Moored at the Dutch [[Het Scheepvaartmuseum|National Maritime Museum]] (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Batavia (1628 ship)#Replica|Batavia]]''
| [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]]
| ''[[Batavia (1628 ship)|Batavia]]''
| 1628–1629
| 1985–1995
| 56
| Moored at the Dutch Batavialand museum (former {{interlanguage link|Bataviawerf|nl}}, Lelystad, Netherlands)
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[Götheborg (ship)|Götheborg III]]''
| [[Swedish East India Company|Swedish]]
| [[Götheborg (ship)|Götheborg I]]
| 1738–1745
| 1995–2003
| 58
| Sailing (August 2022)
|}

==In other media==
The 2018 video game ''[[Return of the Obra Dinn]]'' features an East Indiaman as the fictional title vessel,<ref name=Fahey2014>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/the-next-game-from-the-maker-of-papers-please-is-a-1-b-1581111389 |title=The Next Game From The Maker of Papers, Please Is A 1-Bit Mystery |first=Mike |last=Fahey |date=24 May 2014 |website=Kotaku |access-date=9 May 2020}}</ref> with gameplay requiring players to thoroughly explore a 3D model of the ship and observe the crew's activities.

''[[Empire: Total War]]'' features Indiaman as the primary Trading Ship for the European, Indian as well as the [[United States]] faction in game. Players move one or several of these ships to "trade nodes" in [[West Africa|West]] or [[East Africa]], [[Brazil]] or the [[East Indies]] to gain significant trade profit.

==See also==
*[[East India Company (disambiguation)]]
*[[Armed merchantman]]
*[[Chinaman (ship)]], a ship used to transport [[colonial goods]] from China
*[[Guineaman]], a ship used to transport slaves from the [[Guinea (region)|region of Guinea]]
*[[West Indiaman]], a ship used to transport [[colonial goods]] from the [[West Indies]]
*[[French frigate Brillant (1757)]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|East Indiamen}}
*[http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.136/chapterId/2781/The-East-India-Company.html The East India Company] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113110058/http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.136/chapterId/2781/The-East-India-Company.html |date=13 January 2008 }}
*[https://www.gotheborg.com/project/index.shtml The East Indiaman Gotheborg project]
*[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54561/54561-h/54561-h.htm The East Indiaman] [[Project Gutenberg]]

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs}}

[[Category:Ship types]]
[[Category:Age of Sail]]
[[Category:Merchant ships]]
[[Category:Tall ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the British East India Company]]
[[Category:Ships attacked and captured by pirates]]

East Indiaman - Revision history

Riya parik at 09:15, 26 March 2026