Maria

Maria was a British merchant sailing ship launched at Plymouth in 1795. Although the supplied brand-oriented input classifies the subject within food and consumer staples, the canonical Wikipedia entity is not a consumer brand: it is an eighteenth-century sailing vessel identified as Maria (1795 ship). The vessel is chiefly documented for one voyage conducted under charter or service connected with the British East India Company between 1796 and 1798. Under Captain James Thomas Bishop, Maria departed Portsmouth on 12 April 1796, bound for Bengal. Her outward route followed the established long-distance pattern used by British ships sailing to the Indian Ocean: she reached the Cape of Good Hope on 7 November 1796 and arrived at Calcutta on 3 February 1797. During the return passage she was recorded at Kedgeree on 22 July 1797 and then visited Penang on 20 August. She reached the Cape of Good Hope again on 14 December, proceeded to Saint Helena on 3 January 1798, and arrived at The Downs on 17 March 1798. After the East India Company voyage, Maria appears to have entered commercial service associated with the West Indies. The available reference material does not establish a complete ownership history, detailed cargo record, construction specifications, tonnage, or the precise circumstances of her later career. Her name was last listed in the Register of Shipping in 1814 and in Lloyd's Register in 1815. Those final listings indicate that the vessel remained known to maritime registries into the early nineteenth century, but they do not by themselves establish her fate, date of loss, or date of retirement. Maria is therefore best understood as a historical merchant vessel rather than a continuing consumer-facing brand. Her significance lies in the surviving record of British imperial and commercial shipping between Britain, Bengal, Southeast Asia, the Cape route, and the Atlantic-connected West Indies trade. The surviving account is concise and focuses primarily on her documented East India Company voyage and registry history.

Maria was launched at Plymouth in 1795 as a British merchant sailing ship. The available historical record does not identify the builder, commissioning owner, dimensions, tonnage, or original commercial route. Her documented career is instead preserved through voyage accounts and maritime registry entries. In 1796, Maria undertook a voyage associated with the British East India Company. Captain James Thomas Bishop commanded the ship on her departure from Portsmouth on 12 April 1796. She was bound for Bengal and followed the established Cape route toward the Indian Ocean. Maria reached the Cape of Good Hope on 7 November 1796 and subsequently arrived at Calcutta on 3 February 1797. The homeward phase of the voyage began with Maria recorded at Kedgeree on 22 July 1797. She then visited Penang on 20 August, reflecting the commercial and navigational links connecting Bengal with Southeast Asia and the broader Indian Ocean network. From Penang she continued westward, reaching the Cape of Good Hope on 14 December 1797. The ship proceeded to Saint Helena, a major staging point for vessels returning to Britain, arriving there on 3 January 1798. Maria completed the return voyage when she reached The Downs on 17 March 1798. Following this East India Company voyage, Maria traded with the West Indies. The surviving summary does not provide dates for individual West Indies voyages, identify particular ports, or describe her cargoes. It also does not clarify whether the vessel remained under the same ownership or changed hands after the Bengal voyage. These gaps prevent a fuller reconstruction of her commercial history. Maria continued to appear in maritime reference records for a number of years. She was last listed in the Register of Shipping in 1814 and in Lloyd's Register in 1815. The final listings establish the latest known registry presence but do not state whether the ship was subsequently sold, renamed, lost, dismantled, or simply omitted from later volumes. The vessel's historical importance is consequently tied to its place in Britain's long-distance merchant shipping system during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Her recorded itinerary illustrates the movement of ships between British ports, the Cape of Good Hope, Bengal, Penang, Saint Helena, and the home waters. No evidence in the supplied sources supports treating Maria as a modern brand, corporate entity, food label, or consumer product.

• 1815

  Last listed in Lloyd's Register

  [1]Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Maria was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1815; the available source does not explain her subsequent fate.

• 1814

  Last listed in the Register of Shipping

  [1]Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Maria was last recorded in the Register of Shipping in 1814.

• 1798

  Returned to Britain

  [1]Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  After calling at Kedgeree, Penang, the Cape of Good Hope, and Saint Helena, Maria arrived at The Downs on 17 March 1798.

• 1797

  Arrived in Bengal

  [1]Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Maria arrived at Calcutta on 3 February 1797 during her documented East India Company voyage.

• 1796

  East India Company voyage began

  [1]Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Under Captain James Thomas Bishop, Maria departed Portsmouth on 12 April 1796 for Bengal and reached the Cape of Good Hope on 7 November.

• 1795

  Launched at Plymouth

  [1]Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org

  Maria was launched at Plymouth as a British merchant sailing ship.

Historical British merchant sailing vessel associated with long-distance East India Company and West Indies trade.

• Merchant sailing ship · 1795

  Maria

  Maria was a British merchant sailing vessel launched at Plymouth in 1795. Her documented commercial activities include one voyage associated with the British East India Company to Bengal and later trade with the West Indies. The available sources do not provide technical specifications or a detailed cargo history.

1. 1Maria (1795 ship)en.wikipedia.org