View source for French ship Pélican (1693)

[[Image:Le pélican.jpg|300px|thumb|Replica of ''Le Pélican'']]
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[Image:The Sinking of the Pelican.jpg|300px]]
|Ship caption=The ''Pélican'' sinks following the [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|New France}}
|Ship name=''Pélican''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Félix Arnaud, Bayonne 
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down=April 1692
|Ship launched=January 1693
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=May 1693
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Sank after the [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]] 1697
|Ship notes=   
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics 
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Ship of the line]] (''Vaisseau du troisième rang'')
|Ship tons burthen=500 tons 
|Ship length={{convert|118|ft|lk=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|32.5|ft|adj=on}} 
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|12.5|ft|adj=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship sail plan=Three masts
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=50 cannons, comprising 22 x 12pdrs, 20 x 8pdrs and 8 x 4pdrs
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

The '''''Pélican''''' was a French warship from the late 17th century. Built in [[Bayonne]], France, the original ''Pélican'' was launched in January 1693.<ref name=Threedecks>{{cite web |url=https://threedecks.org/index.php?display_type=show_ship&id=13999 |title=French Fourth Rate ship of the line 'Le Pélican' (1693) |publisher=Threedecks |accessdate=2 September 2019}}</ref> A 500-ton ship fitted with 50 guns and commanded by Captain [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]], she ran aground on the shores of [[Hudson Bay]] a few days after a heroic battle in 1697, badly damaged by the encounter and by a fierce storm. In five short months the ship's place in history had been assured, as the victor in the greatest naval battle in the history of [[New France]].

==History==
===Nine Years' War===
{{main|Battle of Hudson's Bay}}
Upon learning that [[Kingdom of England|the English]] were planning to maintain control of Hudson Bay, French King [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] assembled a fleet of warships, consisting of the ''Pélican'', the ''Palmier'', the ''Wesp'', and the ''Profond''. The goal was to recapture ''Fort Bourbon'', as the French called [[York Factory]], [[Manitoba]], the heart of the fur trade.

''Pélican'' set sail from [[France]] on 8 April 1697. On the morning of 5 September 1697 in present-day Canada, temporarily separated from her sister ships, she came face to face with three English ships &ndash; the ''Hampshire'', the ''Dering'', and the ''Hudson Bay'' &ndash; which were carrying supplies to the nearby fort. Although they were outnumbered, the crew of the ''Pélican'' engaged in battle and triumphed. The ship, however, was fatally damaged in the battle. With holes below the waterline, ''Pélican'' had to be abandoned; it was run aground on 8 September.

The ''Pélican''{{'}}s victory, later known as [[Battle of Hudson's Bay]],  was certainly due in large part to the leadership of Captain Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville. In addition to setting an example of courage and valour for his crew, he fought a remarkable strategic battle &ndash; with the result that the ''Hampshire'' sank, the ''Dering'' retreated, and the ''Hudson Bay'' was captured complete with its cargo.

== Le Pélican (1992) ==
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
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|Ship image=
|Ship caption= Le ''Pélican'' after being struck in the Mississippi.
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=
|Ship flag= 
|Ship name=''Pélican''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship original cost=
|Ship laid down= 1987
|Ship launched= 1992
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service= 2004
|Ship fate= Sank 2004
|Ship notes=   
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics 
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|Ship tons burthen=
|Ship length=
|Ship beam=
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|Ship hold depth=
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|Ship sail plan=Three masts
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Three centuries later, an authentic replica of the ''Pelican'' was built in [[La Malbaie]], [[Quebec]]. Construction began in 1987, but the project encountered many problems.  In 1991, the architect François Cordeau was removed from the project management. The concept was then changed quite a bit. The wooden hull gave way to steel, up to the waterline. AML Naval Shipyard remade the ship's bottom. All sorts of other important changes reinforced the vessel. The ship was completed in 1992.<ref name= USAT-2008-06-09 />

For two years, the ''Pelican II'' was in the [[Old Port of Montreal]] as a museum but it was sold to a [[Louisiana]] company in 1995.<ref name= USAT-2008-06-09 />

The ship was placed in the [[port of New Orleans]] from 1995 to 2002. It was then moved to [[Donaldsonville, Louisiana]], farther up the [[Mississippi River]], where it became the property of the [[Fort Butler (Donaldsonville, Louisiana)|Fort Butler]] Foundation. It sank once in 2002 and was refloated. It was struck by a tugboat in 2004, and the city decided not to raise the ship. On 19 January 2008, a barge towboat struck ''Pélican II'' again.  Fuel leaking from the towboat caused the river to be closed to boat traffic.<ref name= USAT-2008-06-09 >{{cite news |url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-01-20-2476859973_x.htm |title= Barge hits sunken warship replica in La. |accessdate= 2008-06-09 | work=USA Today | date=20 January 2008}}</ref>
 
Half of the hull of the ship was made of metal, so that lifting her out of the water became a problem. Today not much is left of the ship except for a marker.

=== Photos during construction ===
<gallery>
File:Le Pélican 5.JPG|The Pelican under construction in 1990
File:Le Pélican 6.JPG|The Pelican under construction in 1991
File:Le Pélican 7.JPG|The Pelican under construction in 1992
</gallery>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelican (1693)}}
[[Category:Age of Sail frigates of France]]
[[Category:Ships built in France]]
[[Category:Frigates of the French Navy]]
[[Category:Replica ships]]
[[Category:New France]]
[[Category:1690s ships]]