Butterworth (1785 ship)

History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameAméricaine (or Amérique)
OwnerBretel, Ernouf, and La Houssaye, of Granville[1]
LaunchedFrance, 1778
CapturedCaptured 26 January 1781[1]
Great Britain
NameAmerica
Acquired1784 by purchase
RenamedButterworth (1785)
FateLost 1802
General characteristics
Tons burthen
Sail planShip
Complement
Armament
  • 1778-1782:32 guns
  • 1793:16 × 9-pounder guns[3]
  • 1796:12 × 6-pounder guns[3]
  • 1797:18 × 6&18-pounder guns[3]

Butterworth was launched in 1778 in France as the highly successful 32-gun privateer Américaine, of Granville. The British Royal Navy captured her early in 1781. She first appeared in a commercial role in 1784 as America, and was renamed in 1785 as Butterworth. She served primarily as a whaler in the Greenland whale fisheries. New owners purchased her in 1789. She underwent a great repair in 1791 that increased her size by almost 20%. She is most famous for her role in the "Butterworth Squadron", which took her and two ship's tenders on an exploration, sealing, otter fur, and whaling voyage to Alaska and the Pacific Coast of North America. She and her consorts are widely credited with being the first European vessels to enter, in 1794, what is now Honolulu harbour. After her return to England in 1795, Butterworth went on three more whaling voyages to the South Pacific, then Africa, and then the South Pacific again. In 1802 she was outward bound on her fourth of these voyage, this to the South Pacific, when she was lost.

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Americaine was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference LR1784 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Letter of Marque, p.55 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  4. ^ Clayton (2014), pp. 79–80.
  5. ^ Barrington & Beaufoy (1818), pp. 181–3.