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The ''Luxborough Galley'' was an English ship involved in a notorious maritime incident during the 18th century. == Last voyage == The vessel, commanded by William Kellaway, was 340 tonne and fitted to carry 26 guns.〔 She was employed by the South Sea Company in a triangular trade route, transporting cotton goods, slaves and rum between England, Africa and the Americas. The delivery of enslaved people to the Spanish territories was made under the conditions stipulated in the ''Assiento'' contract. The disastrous journey had seen one third of the human cargo, 600 African slaves, die from smallpox before they were delivered. Having left England in October 1725, her end came in the mid-atlantic on 25 June 1727; she caught fire while carrying rum and sugar on the return leg to England and sank. The testimony of William Boys is often referred to in later notices; he was a 24-year-old second mate on the voyage, having already served with the Royal Navy for ten years. The vessel left Jamaica on the 23 June, being destined for England on the final leg of the journey. Her position on the 25th was determined to be latitude 41° 45' north, longitude 20° 30 east, from Crooked Island, Bahamas when the final disaster struck. The cause was reported as resulting from the actions of two youths, described as "black boys", who were in the hold of the ship when they noticed liquid on the floor. Fearing this was water leaking from a keg, they held a candle to it to investigate; the substance turned out to be rum and it quickly caught fire.〔 The two boys then hid themselves, afraid of the consequences of their actions. At half past twelve the Captain's cook noticed flames emerging from the forecastle, as he raised the alarm a keg exploded and filled the hold with flame. Several members of the crew attempted to quench the fire with water, even stripping their clothing to smother the flames, but the hold had become an inferno. The deck overhead was breached in an attempt to douse the flames, this allowed air to enter, increasing the intensity of the fire, and the front of the ship was soon ablaze.〔 During the conflagration the panic-stricken captain and some crew had fallen to their knees and prayed, expecting at any moment that the gunpowder below the fire would explode, others sought to escape on a yawl that had been hurriedly launched. The sixteen foot boat contained three oars, its fourth was lost, but held no other equipment or provisions. The ''Luxborough Galley'' was equipped with a longboat, but despite the efforts of some of the crew this could not be launched, probably because the tackle had caught fire.〔 The smaller boat was filled beyond its regular capacity, 22 men and boys, when this was under-way there were sixteen persons left behind. The yawl was turned into the waves to avoid swamping, putting distance between any salvage or survivors. The huddled occupants watched the ''Luxborough'' continue to burn to the waterline and eventually explode.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Luxborough Galley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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