HMS Arrogant was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built of Suffolk oak[1] by John Barnard and launched on 22 January 1761 at King's Yard Harwich. She was the first of the ships of the line, designed by Sir Thomas Slade.[2]
Her first captain was John Amherst.[3]
Francis Light, founder of Penang, was a midshipman on Arrogant in 1761.[4]
In 1770 she was a guard ship at Portsmouth.[5]
Captain Taylor Penny took command in January 1779.[6]
On 12 April 1782 she was recently re-equipped and was second in line in the main wave of attack on the French fleet at the Battle of the Saintes under captaincy of Samuel Cornish and under the overall command of Admiral George Rodney.[7]
Arrogant was at Plymouth on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, East Indiamen, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands.
Later in 1795 Arrogant was posted to the East Indies.[8]
She took part in the action of 8 September 1796 and in January 1799 was with the British squadron at the defence of Macau during the Macau Incident.
On 7 May, 1800 she was anchored in the Sunda Strait.[9]
By 1804 she had been downgraded to a hulk ship (masts and rigging removed) at Bombay where she served as a receiving ship, sheer hulk, and floating battery. In 1810 she was condemned as unfit for further service.[10] She was sold out of service at Bombay in 1810.[2] It is unclear if she was then broken or re-used as an Indian ship.