Elephant
Trademark
UnclaimedElephant was an East Indiaman operated by the Danish Asiatic Company on voyages between Copenhagen and Tranquebar before being wrecked near the Cape of Good Hope in 1750.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Elephant, also recorded in historical sources as Elephanten or Elefant, was an eighteenth-century East Indiaman associated with the Danish Asiatic Company. It was a commercial sailing vessel used in the company's long-distance trade between Copenhagen and Tranquebar, the Danish settlement on the Coromandel Coast of India. The ship is the subject of the article Elephant (DAC ship) and should not be confused with modern consumer brands or other ships bearing the same name. Sources disagree on aspects of the vessel's acquisition. One account states that the ship was purchased in England in 1745 for the equivalent of 25,909 Danish rigsdaler, while another reports that it was imported from Rotterdam in 1746. These accounts may reflect different stages of the vessel's acquisition, transfer, or registration. Elephant began its first documented expedition by saluting Kronborg Castle on 13 November 1746. Its outward cargo was valued at 130,131 rigsdaler, with silver accounting for approximately 93 percent of that amount. The ship reached Tranquebar on 4 June 1747. During the return voyage, Elephant departed Tranquebar on 23 October 1748 and reached Danish waters on 6 June 1748 according to the supplied reference chronology; the source material contains a likely chronological or transcription inconsistency in these dates. The Danish Asiatic Company's share of the return cargo was sold at auction for 322,366 rigsdaler. The first voyage is also documented through a logbook covering 19 October 1746 to 12 June 1748, kept by chief mate Jesper With. Elephant undertook a later expedition under Captain Andries Evertsz Grimstra. The supplied historical accounts differ over some departure and arrival dates, but agree that the ship sailed from Tranquebar on a homeward voyage in 1750 and subsequently encountered severe illness among the crew. The vessel was lost near the Cape of Good Hope, close to the Gourits River and the Mossel Bay area. According to the Cape Archives account, the crew deliberately ran the ship ashore in an effort to save the lives of seriously ill sailors. That account states that no lives were lost in the wreck itself and that 65 crew members made their way overland to Cape Town. Contemporary reporting and later accounts give different survival totals, apparently reflecting separate rescue and repatriation groups and calendar differences. Elephant is therefore best understood not as a continuing commercial brand but as the name of a historical merchant vessel. Its significance lies in its connection with the Danish Asiatic Company's India trade, the unusually valuable silver cargo recorded for its first expedition, surviving ship logs, and the documented loss of the vessel and rescue of its crew in southern Africa.
History
Elephant was an East Indiaman of the Danish Asiatic Company during the company's eighteenth-century trading activity between Denmark and India. Historical references use several forms of the name, including Elephanten and Elefant. The vessel's acquisition history is not completely consistent across sources: one account places its purchase in England in 1745, while another says that it was imported from Rotterdam in 1746. The reported purchase value in the former account was the equivalent of 25,909 Danish rigsdaler. The ship's first documented expedition began when it saluted Kronborg Castle on 13 November 1746. It sailed toward Tranquebar, the Danish Asiatic Company's principal settlement on the Coromandel Coast, and arrived there on 4 June 1747. The outward cargo was valued at 130,131 rigsdaler, of which 120,071 rigsdaler, or about 93 percent, consisted of silver. The ship's personnel included master Nathaniel Aars, who, together with some other crew members, had transferred from Kronprinsessen af Danmark during the voyage. A surviving logbook kept by chief mate Jesper With covers the period from 19 October 1746 to 12 June 1748. Elephant returned from Tranquebar to Copenhagen, with the supplied source reporting a departure on 23 October 1748 and a salute at Kronborg on 6 June 1748. Because those dates do not form a consistent sequence, the chronology should be treated cautiously pending examination of the underlying records. The Danish Asiatic Company's portion of the return cargo was sold at auction for 322,366 rigsdaler, illustrating the commercial importance of the voyage. Elephant later sailed under Captain Andries Evertsz Grimstra on another expedition to Tranquebar. The reference material also contains conflicting dates for the start of this voyage, but records the ship at Tranquebar in 1749 and places its homeward departure in 1750. Serious disease spread among the crew after the vessel left India. While attempting to reach Mossel Bay, the ship was lost near the Gourits River on the southern African coast. The Cape Archives account describes the grounding as intentional, undertaken to save the lives of the desperately sick sailors. It states that 65 crew members survived and walked to Cape Town. Other contemporary reporting gives different numbers, including a report that only 35 crew members were saved, while later accounts describe rescue by the Dutch ship Onwerkirk and the transfer of 35 men to the Danish ship Haabert for the return to Copenhagen. Differences may result from distinct survivor counts and the use of different calendar systems. A second ship's log, kept by assistant Hans Wandel, covers 27 February 1750 to 17 April 1751. Together, the logs and archival reports preserve evidence of the vessel's operation, cargo, personnel, illness, wreck, and crew rescue. Elephant ceased to exist as an operating vessel after the 1750 wreck and has no continuing corporate or consumer-brand activity.
- 1750
Wreck near the Cape of Good Hope
[1]After a disease-stricken homeward voyage from Tranquebar, Elephant was intentionally run ashore near the Gourits River and was lost.
- 1748
Return cargo auction
[1]The Danish Asiatic Company's share of Elephant's return cargo was sold at auction for 322,366 rigsdaler.
- 1747
Arrival at Tranquebar
[1]The ship reached Tranquebar on 4 June 1747 with a cargo valued at 130,131 rigsdaler, predominantly silver.
- 1746
First expedition begins
[1]Elephant saluted Kronborg Castle on 13 November 1746, marking the beginning of its first documented voyage to Tranquebar.
- 1745
Reported acquisition of the vessel
[1]One historical account states that the Danish Asiatic Company bought Elephant in England for the equivalent of 25,909 Danish rigsdaler.
Products and positioning
A Danish Asiatic Company East Indiaman serving as a long-distance merchant vessel in the eighteenth-century Copenhagen–Tranquebar trade.
East Indiaman
Elephant
A Danish Asiatic Company merchant ship used for long-distance trade between Copenhagen and Tranquebar. Its documented cargo included a particularly large silver component, and its voyages formed part of the company's commercial route to Danish India.
Brand decisions
1750
Intentional grounding to save the crewStrategyBackground
Severe illness affected many crew members after Elephant left Tranquebar on its homeward voyage.
Action taken
The vessel was run ashore near the Gourits River while attempting to reach Mossel Bay, with the stated purpose of preserving the lives of the sick crew.
Aftermath
The ship was lost, while archival accounts report that surviving crew members reached Cape Town and some were later repatriated.
Recent events
Sources3 sources
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