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Seaflower (ship)

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Seaflower (or Sea Flower) was the name of several sailing ships operating in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea in the 1600s and 1700s. The first Seaflower, regarded as sister ship to the Mayflower,[1] also transported settlers to the New World, specifically to Jamestown, Virginia, colony in 1621.[2][3] It was most notable for helping settle Puritans on the Caribbean Providence Island colony in 1631.[4][5] The Colombian Marine Protected Area and Biosphere Reserve surrounding the islands is named after the ship.[6][7][additional citation(s) needed]

First ship

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Engraving of the Dutch fluyt Mayflower (sister ship to the Seaflower model of c. 1620)

Seaflower (or Seaflour[8]) was 140 tons, likely a fluyt, operating out of London in 1620,[9] and frequented Bermuda (then known as the Somers Isles) and Virginia Colony.[10]

A Sea Flower is documented to have been captained by Ralph Hamor with 120 settlers who arrived in Virginia colony, February, 1621/22.[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]

Some time before March 20, 1622/23 (O.S./N.S.), the ship was accidentally sunk in Bermuda by a gunpowder explosion.[13] Apparently the explosion was caused by the captain's son mishandling lighted tobacco in the gunroom.[14][additional citation(s) needed] It was carrying supplies for a relief mission to Virginia.[15][additional citation(s) needed]

Second ship

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Records indicate that the a second ship was named Sea Flower (or Seafloure) operating in 1624/25.[16] It is unknown whether the first or second ship were distinctly different in design or construction.

Satellite photo of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina--part of the ship's namesake Seaflower Marine Protected Area

In 1629, privateer and Captain Daniel Elfrith (aboard the Robert) scouted the archipelago of "Santa Calatina" for riches and as a staging point for Spanish ship plundering.[17] The Earl of Warwick was looking for a new location to build a colony, yielding the setup of Providence Island Company.[18] In c. February 1631, 100 men and boys (mostly Puritans recruited from Essex, England) boarded the Seaflower, sailing from Deptford to Providence Island.[19] Ninety passengers settled the island in c. May 1631,[20] intending to load the ship with exotic plants and produce for profit in London.[21]

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.[22] Later, the Seaflower returned to Providence Island and was loaded again, this time with 1 tonne (1,000 kg) of "mechoacan potatoes" (Ipomoea purga), used as a medicine.[23]

Between 1671 and 1675, a ship classified as a ketch, called the Sea-flower, operated in Barbados, Jamaica, and Boston, Massachusetts.[24] The Sea-flower was ordered (by owner, John Hull) from Boston to Long Island to collect whale oil for trade in England, captained by a John Harris.[25] In autumn 1676, the Seaflower was in use as a transport for slaves from Africa to the Caribbean.[26] During and after King Phillip's War, the Seaflower was used to transport Native Americans as slaves to Bermuda and other Caribbean colonies.[27][28]

In 1696, notorious pirates Henry Every and Joseph Faro used a "sloop"[29] named Sea Flower during their time in and around Rhode Island.[30][31]

Other ships

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1729 drawing of an "armed sloop" in Boston Harbor
Diagram of a Bermuda sloop

In 1699, a 35-ton ketch named Sea Flower was captained by a Samuel Lambert.[32]

A possible other ship operating with the name Seaflower, described as a Bermuda sloop that supported sea salt raking, was seized in 1701 in the Turks and Caicos Islands and impounded.[33]

During Queen Anne's War, a "new sloop" (probably a sloop-of-war) by the name of Seaflower captained by Cyprian Southack from 1702 to 1703.[33] The ship was crewed by 50 men and had six guns, and operated around Boston.

In c. 1704, a Seaflower was partially owned and commanded by a privateer Captain named Stevens.[33] Accompanied by another sea captain, Regnier Tongrelow, the Seaflower raided villages in Tabasco, Mexico, using a letter of marque from the Governor of Rhode Island (John Cranston). An uprising occurred, and Stevens was captured. Tongerlou took command of Seaflower and privateered around Curaçao. This same sloop was sunk on November 25, 1704, in a gale near Cape Henry.[33]

In 1706–1707, a sloop was built in Salem Harbor for shipping items to Surinam. This vessel was called Johanna but also named Sea Flower, was 18-feet wide and had a deck designed in "Rhode Island fashion" (rounded house).[32]

In 1709, a 20-Ton "snow or barke" named Sea Flower was built in Newburyport, Massachusetts.[34]

See also

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Notes

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Footnotes

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References

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  1. ^ Ross, James. “Routes for Roots: Entering the 21st Century in San Andrés Island, Colombia.” Caribbean Studies, vol. 35, no. 1, 2007, pp. 3–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25613090. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.
  2. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  3. ^ Stevens, Anne. "Seaflower 1621". Packrat Productions. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  4. ^ Coldham, Peter Wilson (1987). The Complete Book of Emigrants: 1607–1660. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-1192-0. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  5. ^ "The island that disappeared: the lost history of the mayflower's sister ship and its rival puritan colony [us edition]". www.tomfeiling.com.
  6. ^ "Providencia: An island with a 'sea of seven colours'". www.bbc.com.
  7. ^ "The Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean (SPAW): Seaflower Marine Protected Area" (PDF). October 23, 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  8. ^ 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. JSTOR 4248428. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Lefroy, Sir John Henry (1877). Memorials of the discovery and early settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands, 1515-1685. pp. XXXV, 119, 264, 287, 288, 326.
  10. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20041205211349/http://english-america.com/spls/620va009.html#Seaflower
  11. ^ Boddie, John Bennett (April 1933). "Edward Bennett of London and Virginia". The William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine. 13 (2): 117–130. doi:10.2307/1921133. JSTOR 1921133. Retrieved 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. doi:10.2307/1922571. JSTOR 1922571. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  13. ^ Lefroy, Sir John Henry (1877). Memorials of the discovery and early settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands, 1515-1685. pp. XXXV, 119, 264, 287, 288, 326.
  14. ^ "A Brief History of Jamestown, Virginia". October 17, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-17.
  15. ^ Stanard, Mary Newton (1928). Story of Virginia's First Century. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott. pp. 179-181. Free access icon
  16. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20041213071421/http://english-america.com/spls/625va053.html#Seaflower
  17. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  18. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  19. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 30-33. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  20. ^ Hamshere, Cyril (1972). The British in the Caribbean. Harvard University Press. pp. 41–44. ISBN 9780674082359.
  21. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  22. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  23. ^ Feiling, Tom (20 March 2018). The Island that Disappeared: The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony. Melville House. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-61219-708-1.
  24. ^ "Account Book of John Pynchon, Jr". Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
  25. ^ Dow, George Francis. Whale Ships and Whaling: A Pictorial History. United States, Dover Publications, 2013.
  26. ^ Newell, 2015, p. 148. https://mayflowermavericks.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/news2/
  27. ^ Philbrick, Nathaniel (2006). Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. Viking. p. 364. ISBN 9780670037605.
  28. ^ "Mayflower to Seaflower". March 3, 2017.
  29. ^ Acts of the Privy Council of England: Colonial series. Vol. 2. H.M. Stationery Office. 1908. p. 301.
  30. ^ "Coins found in New England help solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate: "One of the greatest crimes of the 17th century" - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. December 8, 2022.
  31. ^ "Ancient coins may solve mystery of murderous 1600s pirate | National News | wacotrib.com". April 1, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-04-01.
  32. ^ a b Perley, Sidney. 1671-1716. United States, Higginson Book Company, 1928.
  33. ^ a b c d Chapin, Howard M. (1926). Privateer Ships and Sailors: The First Century of American Colonial Privateering, 1625-1725. Imprimerie G. Mouton.
  34. ^ Robinson, John, and Dow, George Francis. The Sailing Ships of New England, 1607-1907. United States, Marine Research Society, 1922.
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