HMS Majestic was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 launched on 11 December 1785 at Deptford

Deptford

Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...

. She fought at the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

, where she engaged the French ships Tonnant

HMS Tonnant (1792)

Tonnant was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy and lead ship of the Tonnant class. Admiral Nelson captured her at Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798. The Royal Navy then took her into service...

 and Heureux

French ship Heureux (1783)

The Heureux was a Centaure class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She cruised in the Mediterranean in 1794 and 1795.Under Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne, she took part in the Expedition to Egypt, and in the Battle of the Nile. The first ship to spot the British fleet on 1 August, Heureux...

, helping to force their surrenders. She was captained by George Blagdon Westcott

George Blagdon Westcott

George Blagdon Westcott was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American Revolutionary and the French Revolutionary Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Captain...

, who was killed in the battle.

On 22 February 1799, Majestic was in sight when , under the command of Captain James Sanders, captured the Spanish 14-gun xebec

Xebec

A xebec , also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzen mast...

 Africa some three leagues from Marbello

Marbella

Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....

 on the Spanish coast. Captain Cuthbert, of Majestic, transmitted Sanders's letter, adding his own endorsement extolling "the meritorious Conduct of Captain Sanders and his Ship's Company on the Occasion." Espoir and Majestic shared the prize money for the xebec, whose full name was Nostra Senora de Africa.

Majestic was razee

Razee

A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...

d into a 58-gun fourth-rate

Fourth-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 in 1813.

On 22 May 1814 she recaptured the former British naval schooner , which the American privateer Decatur

Decatur (privateer)

The Decatur was an American schooner built in Charleston, South Carolina for privateering during the Atlantic Ocean theater of the War of 1812. She was named for the United States Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur who served with distinction in many of America's earliest conflicts...

 had captured the year before. At the time of her recapture, Dominica was sailing under a letter of marque

Letter of marque

In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...

, had a crew of 38 men, and was armed with four 6-pounder guns.