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Princess Royal
The "Princess Royal" was sloop
rigged and a very fine vessel to be sent around Cape Horn
to the North Pacific. These small sloops carried a tremendous
amount of sail, especially with her studding sails set.
Rated at 65 tons, she had four two pounders
(carriage guns) and four swivels which would be much more
useful to thwart Indian attacks in her travels along the Northwest
coast.
Off the bow of the "Princess Royal"
in this profile can be seen a Hawaiian holding on to the bobstay.
The sloop would have been too small for a wheel and so a hand
can be seen steering by tiller on the quarterdeck. The "Princess
Royal" carried a crew of 15 in tight quarters.
She actively traded throughout the Pacific
during the 1790s under the British flag and was briefly captured
by the Spanish. An event that brought Spain and England to
the brink of war.
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