Harriet sails from Boston.

(Dec.) Commanded by Capt. Bangs Hallet, it sails east for China. At the Cape of Good Hope, however, Hallet is persuaded to sell his cargo of ginseng for double its weight in tea by officials of the British East India Company, who wish to prevent American incursion into the China trade. The ship returns home, thus losing the opportunity to be the first from Boston to engage in trade with China to one that sails in 1784.*