Phaeton (carriage) Phaeton (carriage) A phaeton (also phaéton) was a form of sporty open carriage popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Drawn by one or two horses, a phaeton typically featured a minimal very lightly sprung body atop four extravagantly large wheels. With open seating, it was both fast and dangerous, giving rise to its name, drawn from the mythical Phaëton, son of Helios, who nearly set the earth on fire while attempting to drive the chariot of the sun. With the advent of the automobile, the term was adapted to open touring cars, also known as phaetons. The
HMS Phaeton (1782) Fleetwood Pellew succeeded him. After the French had conquered the Batavian Republic and Napoleon began to use its resources against England, Royal Navy ships started to prey on Dutch shipping. In 1808, "Phaeton", by now under the command of Pellew, entered Nagasaki's harbour to ambush a couple of Dutch trading ships that were expected to arrive shortly. "Phaeton" entered the harbour on 4 October surreptitiously under a Dutch flag. Despite the arrival of this "Dutch" ship being later in the season than normal, the Japanese and Dutch representatives did not suspect anything. So, Dutch representatives from their Nagasaki trading enclave