Elizabeth (1816 ship)

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Elizabeth (1816 ship) was a merchant vessel built at Calcutta, British India, in 1816. She sailed mainly between India and England under a license from the British East India Company (EIC).

Key facts
- Built by J. Gilmore & Co. in Calcutta for Nichols & Co. She was about 505 tons (bm) and sailed on a full sail rig.
- Convict transport: Under Captain Walter Cock and surgeon Joseph Hughes, she left Cork on 27 August 1827 and reached Sydney on 12 January 1828, carrying 194 female convicts. Two convicts died on the voyage.
- Duel incident: In April 1828 at Garden Island, New South Wales, the chief mate Penberthy was shot by Atkins (the third mate’s); Atkins and Atkins’ ally Chalmers were tried and found guilty of manslaughter, receiving three months in jail.
- EIC service: Elizabeth spent much of her career trading under an EIC license. The voyage she made for the EIC is notable as the last voyage conducted for the company after Parliament ended the EIC monopoly in 1833.
- Registry changes: She transferred registry from Calcutta to Bombay at some point. The 1827 East India register lists her at Calcutta with W. Swann as master and Gilmore & Co. as owners; the 1833 Register of Shipping lists John Craigie as master and Nichols & Co. as owners, with trade London–New South Wales, then London–China.
- 1833–1834 voyage and captain’s death: Captain John Craigie sailed from the Downs on 25 July 1833 toward China and Halifax; he died at sea on 2 August. By December she was at Copang Bay, reached Whampoa on 2 February 1834, crossed the Second Bar on 12 March, passed Saint Helena on 19 June, and arrived at Halifax on 18 August.
- End of service: Parliament ended the EIC’s monopoly in August 1833, making Elizabeth’s voyage the last EIC-backed voyage. She returned to London in December 1834 and was no longer listed after 1834/1835.