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BLACK PRINCE

Black Prince was a 120-ton schooner commissioned by Benjamin Franklin when he was Ambassador to France to raid British merchant shipping. Black Prince's captain was praised by an American officer as the most skilled and fearless captain he ever sailed with, surpassing even John Paul Jones.

That captain's name was Luke Ryan (1750–89). Ryan started his smuggling/privateer carrier in 1779, when he captained the cutter Friendship.

In April 1779, the authorities, learned that the Friendship had landed contraband, seized the ship and arresting those onboard. Escaping capture, Ryan arranged for six men to break his twelve crewmen out of the Black Dog Gaol, Dublin, on the night of the 11–12 April. They boarded the Friendship, overpowered the guards and sailed to Rush where Ryan joined added another eighteen hands. His crime was punishable by death so he decided to go privateering against British shipping.

To become a privateer, Friendship needed to convert the into a sloop. To finance that, Ryan entered a fifty-fifty contract with another person whose name was Torris. The new ship was named Black Prince.

Aware that the Continental Congress, unlike the French crown, did not take one-third of the privateering profits, Ryan sought an American commission. The American Minister to France, Benjamin Franklin, wanted to use privateering for the purposes of arranging prisoner exchanges, but was wary of associating with Irish smugglers. Thus, Ryan duped a Boston shipmaster, Stephen Marchant, into acting as their captain to obtained commission from Franklin.

Black Prince had seventy-four-strong crew (about half were Irish, from the close-knit smuggling community around Rush). In her first cruise (12–22 June) she took eight merchant ships, ransoming one and keeping seven. He achieved surprise by approaching targets with his gun ports closed flying a British or neutral flag. Realizing that keeping the ships was not sound (six of the prizes, along with twenty-one of Ryan's men, were eventually recaptured by the British), Ryan later relied mainly on ransoms.

On the second day of the fourth cruise (4–24 September), Ryan assumed the captaincy. Black Prince then preyed on ships in the middle of the Irish Sea and ranged off western Scotland where it bombarded the residents of a village in Argyll until they offered provisions. During this voyage, he robbed neutral vessels.

Although Ryan delivered few prisoners – because taking more would diminish supplies, forcing an early return to port – Franklin endorsed his captaincy. Franklin also commissioned a second privateer, the Black Princess. The Black Prince and the Black Princess enjoyed great success in the Irish Sea during 1779–1780.

Falling ill, Ryan sold his half interest of the Black Prince to his half partner Torris. In March 1780, Ryan resumed privateering with the 150-ton Fearnot, which was also commissioned by Franklin. He sailed north, swinging around the top of Scotland and descending on the Hebrides and the shipping routes north of Ireland. He caused panic by landing plundering parties in defenseless locations in the Hebrides and western Scotland.

The three ships crippled trade and drove marine insurance premiums to exorbitant heights. However, the Irish privateers' habit of straying into outright piracy embarrassed Franklin. Also, their recruitment of local sailors short handed the French navy. So, Franklin withdrew their commissions in fall 1780. By then, they had captured and sunk 114 ships. The Black Prince  herself, under American colors, took fifty ships  of which thirty-one were ransomed, three brought in and the rest either burned, lost or retaken. An American officer praised Ryan for being the most skilled and fearless captain he ever sailed with, surpassing even John Paul Jones. For all that and despite becoming renowned in Ireland, Britain and France, Luke Ryan was unknown in America.

This primarily wood Black Prince is 21" long x 18" tall x 7" wide  $1,900  shipping and insurance in the USA included. Other countries: $200 flat rate. This model is in stock and can be shipped within three business days.