Seaflower (ship) explained

The Seaflower was a sailing ship (likely a fluyt) built in England. Regarded as sister ship to the Mayflower, the Seaflower also transported settlers to the New World, specifically to Jamestown, Virginia, colony in 1621.[1] [2] It was most notable for helping settle Puritans on the Caribbean Providence Island colony in 1631.[3] [4] The Colombian Marine Protected Area and Biosphere Reserve surrounding the islands is named after the ship.[5] [6]

First ship

Seaflower (or Seaflour[7]) was 140 tons, and frequented Bermuda (then known as the Somers Isles). Some time before, the ship was accidentally sunk by a gunpowder explosion in the cabin.[8] Apparently the explosion was caused by the captain's son mishandling lighted tobacco in the gunroom.[9] It was carrying supplies for a relief mission to Virginia.[10]

Second ship

Records indicate that the a second ship was named Sea Flower . It is unknown whether the first or second ship were distinctly different in design or construction. This Sea Flower is documented to have been captained by Ralph Hamor with 120 settlers who arrived in Virginia colony, February, 1622.[11] This ship also sailed back to England (arriving in June, 1622) with news of the Indian attacks on Englishmen that began in March.[12]

In 1629, Privateer Captain Daniel Elfrith (aboard the Robert) scouted the archipelago of "Santa Calatina" for riches and as a staging point for Spanish ship plundering.[13] The Earl of Warwick was looking for a new location to build a colony, yielding the setup of Providence Island Company.[14] In February 1631, 100 men and boys (mostly Puritans recruited from Essex, England) boarded the Seaflower, sailing from Deptford to Providence Island.[15] Ninety passengers settled the island in May 1631,[16] intending to load the ship with exotic plants and produce for profit in London.[17]

Seaflower returned to London, England, in March, 1632. It was attacked-at-sea by Spanish during the return voyage, with Captain John Tanner and crew narrowly escaping. The ship's cargo was only a small batch of poor quality tobacco.[18] Later, the Seaflower returned to Providence Island and was loaded again, this time with 1t of "mechoacan potatoes" (Ipomoea purga), used as a medicine.[19]

Between 1671 and 1675, a ketch called the Seaflower operated in Barbados, Jamaica, and Boston, Massachusetts.[20] In autumn 1676, the Seaflower was in use as a transport for slaves from Africa to the Caribbean.[21] During and after King Phillip's War, the Seaflower was used to transport Native Americans as slaves to Bermuda and other Caribbean colonies.[22] [23]

In 1696, notorious pirates Henry Every and Joseph Faro most likely used the ship during their time in and around Rhode Island.[24] [25]

See also

Notes

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 32 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  2. Web site: Seaflower 1621 . Stevens . Anne . Packrat Productions. 23 April 2024.
  3. Coldham, Peter Wilson (1987). The Complete Book of Emigrants: 1607–1660. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-1192-0. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  4. Web site: The island that disappeared: the lost history of the mayflower's sister ship and its rival puritan colony [us edition]]. www.tomfeiling.com.
  5. Web site: Providencia: An island with a ‘sea of seven colours’. www.bbc.com.
  6. Web site: October 23, 2012 . The Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean (SPAW): Seaflower Marine Protected Area . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230311000506/http://www.car-spaw-rac.org/IMG/pdf/Factsheet_Colombie_Seaflower_Marine_Protected_Area.pdf . March 11, 2023 . April 23, 2024.
  7. Kolb . Avery E. . October 1980 . Early Passengers to Virginia: When Did They Really Arrive? . The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography . 88 . 3 . 401-414 . July 22, 2024.
  8. Book: Lefroy, Sir John Henry. Memorials of the discovery and early settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands, 1515-1685. 1877. XXXV,119,264,287,326.
  9. Web site: A Brief History of Jamestown, Virginia. October 17, 2007. web.archive.org.
  10. Book: Story of Virginia's First Century. Stanard, Mary Newton. Mary Newton Stanard. 1928. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott. 179-181 .
  11. Boddie . John Bennett . April 1933 . Edward Bennett of London and Virginia . The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine . 13 . 2 . 117-130 . 10.2307/1921133 . July 24, 2024.
  12. Vaughan . Alden T. . January 1978 . "Expulsion of the Salvages": English Policy and the Virginia Massacre of 1622 . The William and Mary Quarterly . 35 . 1 . 57-84 . 10.2307/1922571 . July 23, 2024.
  13. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 3 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  14. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 9 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  15. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 30-33 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  16. Book: Hamshere, Cyril. The British in the Caribbean. 1972. 41-44. 9780674082359.
  17. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 39 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  18. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 43 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  19. Book: Feiling, Tom. The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony . 48 . 978-1-61219-708-1.
  20. Web site: Account Book of John Pynchon, Jr.,. Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
  21. Newell, 2015, p. 148. https://mayflowermavericks.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/news2/
  22. Book: Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. Viking. 2006. 9780670037605. 364.
  23. Web site: Mayflower to Seaflower. March 3, 2017.
  24. Web site: Coins found in New England help solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate: "One of the greatest crimes of the 17th century" - CBS News. December 8, 2022. www.cbsnews.com.
  25. Web site: Ancient coins may solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate | National News | wacotrib.com. April 1, 2021. web.archive.org.

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