She made nine voyages as a Liverpool-based slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people.

The explosion occurred during a single ship action on 17 December 1797, with a French privateer.

Eliza was a prize taken from the Americans in 1782 and condemned at the Vice admiralty court at Antigua on 29 July.

[1] She was reported to have been on the Windward Coast of Africa on 1 January 1784, together with a number of other enslaving ships.

She had gathered her captives first around Nunez River and Assinie-Mafia, and then at the Sierra Leone estuary at Bunce Island.

Eliza arrived at Grenada on 17 November, having gathered her captives at Îles de Los.

Eliza left Africa on 12 October, and arrived at Dominica on 14 November with 315 captives.

Dolben's Act apparently resulted in some reduction in the numbers of captives carried per vessel, and possibly in mortality, though the evidence is ambiguous.

[4] Enslaving voyage #6 (1790–1792): Captain Thomas Ashburner sailed from Liverpool on 21 March 1790 for the Cameroons.

[2] Enslaving voyage #7 (1792–1793): Captain Archibald Thomson sailed from Liverpool on 20 August 1792, and arrived at Grenada in March 1793.

[3] Eliza re-entered Lloyd's Register in 1794 with Toben, master, Case & Co., owners, and trade Liverpool–Africa.

[17] Enslaving voyage #8 (1794–1795): Captain John Tobin acquired a letter of marque on 24 May 1794.

[7] He sailed from Liverpool on 22 June for Africa, and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, on 11 January 1795.

[18][d] Enslaving #9 (1795–1796): Captain Hamlet Mullion acquired a letter of marque on 31 August 1795.

[19] Enslaving voyage #10 (1797–Loss): Captain James Bird acquired a letter of marque on 5 July 1797.

[21] Earlier, Eliza had recaptured a large Portuguese brig carrying a cargo of tobacco and rum.

Of the losses in 1797, 13 occurred in the Middle Passage, as the ships were on their way from Africa to the West Indies.