Eliza Stewart (1845 ship)
Eliza Stewart was a three-masted sailing ship built in 1845 in the United Kingdom. She was about 115 feet long, 26 feet wide, and carried around 495 tons. Owned by Stewart & Co. and crewed by a master named Henderson later on, she sailed on routes such as Newport to Ceylon.
In 1847 a cyclone near Hong Kong damaged Eliza Stewart when another ship drifted into her, forcing her to unload sugar bound for Shanghae in order to repair.
Eliza Stewart is best known for carrying indentured laborers (coolies) from India to Trinidad in three voyages.
- Departing Calcutta before 5 February 1851, she carried 178 people (159 men, 12 women, 7 children) and landed 176 on 23 April.
- On 31 May 1851 she carried 20 workers back to Calcutta.
- She arrived at Trinidad again on 30 April 1852 with 183 immigrants, three of whom died on the voyage.
- On 13 May 1853 she landed 214 immigrants, six of whom died on the voyage.
A bounty scheme offered $50 to immigrants who extended their indenture term by five years, encouraging many to stay in Trinidad and save money for their homes.
Eliza Stewart is recorded as wrecked around 1865. Her 1865 Lloyd’s Register entry notes the fate as Wrecked.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:42 (CET).