| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Spy |
| Launched | 1780, France |
| Acquired | 1781 by purchase of a prize |
| Fate | Wrecked August 1795 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 150,[1] or 190,[2] or 192,[3] or 200[4] (bm) |
| Complement | 30[3] |
| Armament | 10 guns[3] |
Spy was built in France in 1780, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize. The British East India Company (EIC) purchased her in 1781 and used her for almost two years as a fast packet vessel and cruiser based in St Helena. It then sold her and she became a London-based slave ship, making two voyages in the triangular trade carrying enslaved people from West Africa to the West Indies. She then became a whaler, making seven whaling voyages between 1786 and 1795. She was probably wrecked in August 1795 on a voyage as a government transport.
- ^ Hackman (2001), p. 243.
- ^ Hardy (1811), List of Packets, etc..
- ^ a b c British Library: Spy (2).
- ^ LR (1784), Seq.No.462.