The three-masted merchant ship H.M.S. Falmouth was launched at the port of Blackwall in 1752. Owned by the English India Company, she was the first trading vessel to be armed with 36 cannon. The Falmouth carried a crew of 180, made up of the best gunners of the time. The loyalty of the crew was guaranteed, as each seamen was allowed to trade, sell or barter five tons of goods as his own.