Marine Department Records

IOR/L/MAR

Marine Department Records

1600-c 1879

The records cover most aspects of the organisation and operations of the East India Company's maritime service; the Bombay Marine; the Indian Navy and the Bengal Pilot Service. The commander of each vessel chartered by the East India Company returning or arriving from the East Indies was required to deliver a fair copy of his journal of the voyage to East India House. These were preserved by the Company as evidence of the proper performance by the vessel of the terms of the charter. As a series of records of voyages, the journals were available for study by any East India Company commander and the observations and track information they contain were extensively used by successive hydrographers in the improvement of charts published by the Company. There are no documents in the India Office Records for the ships in the following list; however the catalogue records do give information about the vessels and their voyages:. Abigail, Advance, Advice (1), Advice (2), Advice (3), Advice (4), African, Aleppo Merchant, American (1), American (2), Amoy Merchant, Ann and Amelia (1), Anne (1), Anne (2), Anne (3), Anne (4), Antelope (1), Antelope (2), Armenian Merchant, Asia (1), Attendant, Bantam, Barbados Merchant, Bawden, Bear, Beaufort (1), Bee, Benin, Benjamin (2), Blackamoor, Blessing (2), Bombay (1), Bombay Merchant, Bonito, Brilliant, Buckhurst, Caesar (1), Caesar (2), Canterbury, Cassandra, Castle, Charles (2), Charles (3), Chestnut, Christopher, Claw, Coast (1), Coast (2), Coast (3), Coaster (1), Comfort, Concord (1), Consent, Constantinople Merchant, Convertine, Cornwallis, Countess of Harcourt, Crown (1), Crown (2), Curtana, Darling, Defence (1), Delight, Diamond (1), Diamond (2), Diana (1), Diligence, Discovery (1), Discovery (4), Dispatch, Dolphin (1), Dolphin (2), Dorcas, Dorothy, Dove (1), Dove (2), Dover (1), Dragon (3), Dragon (4), Duke of Buccleugh (2), Duke of Gloucester (1), Eagle (3), Eagle (4), Eagle (5), Earl of Chatham, Earl of Dartmouth, East India Merchant (1), East India Merchant (2), Elizabeth (6), Emerald, Endeavour, Endymion, England, Europe (1), European, Expectation, Expedition (3), Experiment (1), Falcon (3), Farewell, Francis (1), General Barker, George (1), George (2), George (4), George and Martha, Gift, Gloucester, Godspeed, Golden Fleece (1), Golden Fleece (2), Good Hope (1), Good Hope (2), Gosfright, Greyhound (1), Greyhound (2), Hannibal, Happy Entrance, Hare, Henry, Henry and William, Hester (1), Hound, Humphrey and Elizabeth, James (2), James (3), James and Mary (1), Johanna, John (1), John and Alexander, John and Margaret, John and Martha, John and Mary (1), John and Mary (2), Jonas (2), Josiah (1), Katherine (1), Kempthorne, Kent (1), King George (2), Lady Nugent, Lancaster, Lawrell, Lioness (1), Little Josiah, London (3), London (4), Lord Holland (1), Love, Loyal Captain, Loyal Merchant (1), Loyal Subject, Madras Merchant (1), Marigold, Marlborough (1), Mary (2), Mary (5), Mary Rose, Mayflower, Maynard, Mediterranean Merchant, Merchant Adventure, Merchant's Delight, Mexico Merchant, Mocha, Modena, Morning Star, Morris, Nancy (1), Nathaniel (1), New London, Oaklander, Orange, Pearl (1), Pearl (2), Pearl (3), Perseus, Persia Merchant (1), Phoenix (1), Portland, Powderham Castle, Priaman, Prince of Orange (2), Prudent Mary, Rainbow (1), Rainbow (2), Rebecca (1), Rebecca (2), Recovery (1), Reformation, Regard, Release, Restoration, Return, Richard and Martha, Robert and Nathaniel, Rochester (1), Roebuck (2), Rose (1), Royal Charles, Royal James and Henry, Royal Katherine, Royal Oak, Ruby (1), Ruby (2), Ruby (3), St George (1), Samaritan (1), Samaritan (2), Sampson (1), Sampson (2), Samuel (1), Samuel (2), Samuel and Henry, Sapphire, Satisfaction, Scipio Africanus, Seaflower, Sedgewick, Seymour, Shrewsbury (1), Shrewsbury (2), Siam Merchant, Smyrna Merchant, Smyrnaote, Society (1), Society (2), Solomon, Speedwell, Spy (1), Starling Adventure, Success (1), Success (2), Sun, Supply (1), Supply (2), Surat, Surrey (3), Susan (1), Susannah, Swallow (1), Swan (1), Swan (2), Tartar (2), Telegraph, Thomas (1), Thomasine, Three Brothers, Three Sisters, Tiger, Trial (1), Truro, Tuscan, Tywan, Ulysses, Unicorn (1), Unicorn (2), Union (1), Unity (1), Unity (2), Vansittart (1), Vine, Welcome, Welfare, Whale, White Bear, William (2), William and Mary, William and Richard, Williamson, Worcester (1), Zant. The catalogue records include links to records for individual ships, which list journals and other archival records relating to that ship. The History sections of these records include itineraries of the voyages undertaken by the ship, numbered chronologically (1), (2) etc. The details of each voyage are introduced by a double date (e.g. 1621/2). These dates indicate the 'seasons' the ship went out, as used by the Company throughout the period 1600-1857, and thereafter by the India Office, and researchers generally. The Company used these season dates because the contracts for charter parties and hire of ships, and the appointment of captains and crew etc., were arranged the year before the ship was due to sail, and the double dates were used to indicate this.

Public Record(s)

English

c 10,571 volumes

Unrestricted

The standing Committee of Shipping of the post-1709 United East India Company supervised all the Company's shipping concerns, particularly arrangements for taking up and freighting ships offered by consortia of private owners for voyages to the East Indies within the limits of the Company's royal charter. Individual directors had served as committees for shipping matters in the last years of the seventeenth-century companies. After the closure of the Company's commercial operations (and the direct chartering of vessels for trade), enacted by the Charter Act of 1833, the Company's marine activities were of a different scale and character. From 1837 the Marine Branch of the Secretary's Department (and, after 1857, the Marine Department of the India Office) handled questions concerning the introduction of steam navigation, the Indian Navy, the Bengal Pilot Service, troop transport, and other correspondence with India on marine matters. In 1867 the Marine Department was abolished and its main work transferred to the Military Department.