Hope (1770 ship)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Hope |
| Owner | W. Wilton |
| Builder | Liverpool[1] |
| Launched | 1770[1] |
| Fate | Last listed in 1798 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 245,[2] or 300[1] (bm) |
Hope was built at Liverpool in 1770, though it is not clear under what name. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1786 as a Greenlandman, a whaler in the British northern whale fishery. From 1789 on she was a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She then made five whaling voyages to Africa or the South Pacific. On the fifth she captured Haasje; this resulted in a court case over the distribution of prize money. Hope was last listed in 1798.
Hope's early years are obscure. She first appeared in LR in 1786 with J. Beddy, master, replaced by J. Iseman, W. Wilton, owner, and trade London–Greenland. The entry gave her origin as Liverpool, and her launch year as 1770. It also reported that she underwent a good repair in 1785.[1] Missing volumes, and missing pages in extant volumes, have made it impossible to identify her earlier history. Searches for vessels launched at Liverpool in 1770 have turned up no candidates. A compendium of vessels on the Liverpool Registry in 1786–88 yielded nothing.[3] The report that she underwent a good repair in 1785 suggests that she may have been a naval vessel, though they were rarely built in Liverpool, or possibly a government transport, perhaps sailing under another name, but prepared for sale. The 1785 volume of Lloyd's Register is among the many from the earlier years that are not available online.