Althea
Althea was an East India-built merchant vessel launched at Calcutta in 1801 that sailed for the British East India Company, was captured by France, later recovered or recaptured, and was wrecked in 1812.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Althea was a large merchant vessel launched at Calcutta in 1801 during the period when Indian shipyards supplied substantial tonnage for British commercial and imperial activity in Asia. Although the surviving record identifies her with the British maritime and East India trade rather than with a modern consumer brand, the vessel’s exact builder, original owner, dimensions, and construction details are not established in the available material. Her documented career began with a voyage from Bengal to Britain under charter to the British East India Company. Captain Arundel Roberts left Calcutta on 24 January 1802, passed Saugor on 15 April, reached Saint Helena on 24 July, and arrived at Deptford on 15 October. Althea was subsequently entered in the Registry of Great Britain on 25 November 1802, giving her a formal place in British shipping records. The vessel’s career was disrupted by the Napoleonic Wars. On 6 April 1804, while sailing from Bengal near Ceylon, Althea became separated from her convoy during a gale. On 17 April she was intercepted in the Indian Ocean by the French frigates Belle Poule and Atalante. Captain Miller attempted to resist, but the French ships’ long 18-pounder guns could engage from beyond the effective range of Althea’s carronades. He surrendered after Belle Poule joined the action. Althea reached Port Napoleon on Île de France, present-day Mauritius, on 8 May, where both ship and cargo were condemned as prizes. The vessel had been insured for £400,000, while the East India Company valued the lost cargo at £6,698. The subsequent history of Althea is partly uncertain. Evidence indicates that British interests recovered her at some point after the 1804 capture, because she reappeared in Asian waters under Captain William Richardson. Reports place her at Pulo Timoan in March 1806, on a voyage from China toward Bengal in July 1806, at Salayer Island in August, and sailing from Bencoolen to Bengal in April 1807. The record also includes a serious criminal case involving a Portuguese cook and the killing of a young Muslim boy in 1807; the court acquitted the cook of murder but convicted him of manslaughter. Althea was apparently captured again during the renewed maritime conflict around Mauritius in 1807. Contemporary reporting listed her among numerous merchant vessels taken by privateers or French naval forces, and later evidence suggests that the French ship Sémillante may have been responsible for her capture. At Port Napoleon, Althea was laid up and used as a prison ship. When British forces captured Île de France on 3 December 1810, Royal Navy personnel found a vessel identified as L’Althea, described as being of 1,000 tons. The precise sequence of her recovery and possible subsequent loss and recapture remains unclear. After returning to mercantile service, Althea’s career ended in July 1812 when she was wrecked at Fultah Point on the Hooghli River. She is therefore recorded as a defunct historical vessel, not an Italian food company or consumer-goods brand. Her story illustrates the risks faced by East India shipping: long-distance trade, convoy separation, naval capture, prize condemnation, uncertain ownership, wartime imprisonment, and eventual riverine wreck.
History
Althea was launched at Calcutta in 1801 and became part of the maritime network connecting British India, Britain, China, and other ports around the Indian Ocean. Her first documented voyage began at Calcutta on 24 January 1802 under Captain Arundel Roberts. She reached London-area waters via Saugor and Saint Helena and arrived at Deptford on 15 October. On 25 November she was admitted to the Registry of Great Britain. In 1804, while returning from Bengal and sailing near Ceylon, Althea lost contact with her convoy in a gale. French frigates Belle Poule and Atalante intercepted her in the Indian Ocean on 17 April. Captain Miller engaged Atalante but surrendered when Belle Poule came alongside, partly because the French ships’ long guns could fire from outside the useful range of Althea’s carronades. The French took the vessel to Port Napoleon on Île de France, where the ship and cargo were condemned as prizes. The record of her next phase is incomplete. Althea appears to have returned to British or allied commercial control, as Captain William Richardson was documented operating her in Southeast Asian and Chinese waters in 1806 and 1807. She visited Pulo Timoan, sailed toward Bengal from China, and later traveled from Bencoolen to Bengal. In 1807, a Portuguese cook aboard the vessel was prosecuted over the killing of a young Muslim boy. The court did not convict him of murder but found him guilty of manslaughter. During the same period, French privateers and naval forces captured numerous merchant vessels operating in the region. Althea was reported among them, and evidence from prisoners at Port Napoleon points to a possible capture by the French ship Sémillante. The vessel was subsequently kept at Mauritius as a prison ship. When Britain seized Île de France in December 1810, Royal Navy forces found L’Althea at Port Napoleon. The exact chronology of recovery, recapture, and wartime custody is unresolved. Althea later resumed commercial activity, but in July 1812 she was wrecked at Fultah Point on the Hooghli River. No later service is documented in the supplied references.
- 1812
Wrecked on the Hooghli River
[1]Althea was lost at Fultah Point in July, ending its known history.
- 1810
Found by British forces at Port Napoleon
[1]Following the British capture of Île de France, L’Althea was listed among the vessels found at Port Napoleon.
- 1807
Captured again and used as a prison ship
[1]Althea was apparently taken again by French forces or privateers and laid up at Mauritius as a prison ship.
- 1804
Captured by French frigates
[1]Belle Poule and Atalante captured Althea in the Indian Ocean after she separated from her convoy.
- 1802
Completes voyage to Britain
[1]Captain Arundel Roberts took Althea from Calcutta to Deptford under charter to the British East India Company.
- 1802
Entered in the Registry of Great Britain
[1]Althea was admitted to the British shipping registry on 25 November.
- 1801
Launched at Calcutta
[1]Althea was launched at Calcutta, then a major center of shipbuilding and trade in British India.
Products and positioning
Historical merchant vessel associated with British East India trade and wartime maritime transport.
Merchant vessel / East Indiaman · 1801
Althea
A large sailing merchant vessel launched at Calcutta in 1801. Althea carried cargo between Bengal, Britain, China, and other Indian Ocean ports, operated under East India Company charter during at least one voyage, and was later used by the French as a prison ship after capture.
Controversies
Brand decisions
1807
Conversion to prison-ship useStrategyBackground
After an apparent second French capture in the Indian Ocean or Bay of Bengal, Althea was held at Mauritius.
Action taken
The French authorities kept the vessel at Port Napoleon as a prison ship.
Aftermath
British forces found the vessel there after capturing Île de France in 1810, although the precise sequence of custody remains uncertain.
1804
Captain Miller surrenders to French frigatesOtherBackground
Althea had separated from its convoy during a gale and faced two French frigates whose long guns outranged the vessel’s carronades.
Action taken
After engaging Atalante and being brought under fire from Belle Poule, Captain Miller struck the ship's colors.
Aftermath
Althea was taken to Port Napoleon and condemned as a prize.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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