Asia (1797 ship)
Dona Maria II (centre) at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Great Britain | |
| Name | Asia |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | Bombay Dockyard |
| Launched | 1797 |
| Fate | Sold 1805 |
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Sir Francis Drake |
| Namesake | Francis Drake |
| Acquired | 1805 by purchase |
| Commissioned | 1808 |
| Honours and awards | Naval General Service Medal (NGSM) with clasp "Java" |
| Fate | Sold 1825 |
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Asia |
| Owner | Blythe & Co. |
| Acquired | 1825 by purchase |
| Fate | Sold 1831 |
| Portugal | |
| Name | Dona Maria II |
| Namesake | Maria II of Portugal |
| Acquired | 1831 by purchase |
| Fate | Destroyed in an explosion at Macau in 1850 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 735, or 736, or 740, or 75130⁄94, or 783 (bm) |
| Length | 81 ft 9 in (24.9 m) |
| Beam | 20 ft 9 in (6.3 m) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
Asia was built at Bombay Dockyard in 1797. She made at least two voyages for the East India Company (EIC) before the Royal Navy purchased her in 1805 in the East Indies. The Royal Navy renamed her HMS Sir Francis Drake and rated her as a frigate. She served in the Java campaign of 1806–1807. When she returned to England in 1813 she was refitted as a storeship. Later, she became the flagship, at Newfoundland, for the governors of Newfoundland before the Admiralty sold her in 1825.
Her owners renamed her Asia and she sailed between Britain and London until 1831 when Portuguese interests purchased her. She then became the frigate Dona Maria II for the Liberal forces that were attempting to install the rightful queen, Maria II, to the Portuguese throne, and overthrow Miguel I, who had usurped the throne. In early 1849, a conflict developed between the Portuguese authorities in Macau and China over who would collect the colony's taxes and tariffs. Dona Maria II sailed to Macau as part of a small squadron, where an internal explosion destroyed her in the harbour on 29 October.