Owners, Ships and MastersOver the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery some 300 families or individuals owned over 900 vessels which sailed in the British whaling and sealing trade. Over 1,000 men served as Master on a British south seas whaleship.
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Owners, Ships and Masters
Owners
Over the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery some 300 families or individuals owned south sea whaleships. Initially, the trade was driven forward by two groups, American owners engaged in the trade as a consequence of their loyalty to Britain in preference to support for the American revolutionary cause and secondly, a group of London based owners who had previously been involved in the trade as importers of oil or oil products. A consequence of the war and its aftermath was that the American owners never exerted the sort of political and trade influence that the London based owners were able to elicit in support of the trade but the influence of the Americans, particularly as many Nantucket whalemen commanded British whaleships should not be underestimated.
Image: The Whaleship Owner Daniel Bennett - Reproduced with permission of the Copyright Owner - Al Cane - Farringdon. Read more here ... |
Ships
Over the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery arounf 950 vessels sailed as part of the British Southern Whale Fishery. For much of the life of the trade the main source of vessels were re-purposed merchantmen or Admiralty prizes. Only after 1825 did specialist built whaleships start entering the trade in any numbers. These specialist built whaleships were designed to sail to the whaling grounds and back as quickly as possible and did not have the characteristic bluff-bowed shape favoured by British Arctic whalers and the Americans. British vessels of this period also tended to favour a different colouring scheme to the whaleships of other nations, being characterised by brown futtocks and yellow-orange -cream gun ports rather than the black futtocks and white gun ports favoured by American, Colonial and French whalers. Many whaleships in the trade had long careers in the fishery with over 160 vessels undertaking five or more voyages but the trade was certainly a dangerous business with around 200 vessels (or 1 in 5) lost. Exact figures are available from Facts of the British Southern Whale Fishery which is available here
Image: The Whaleship Harpooner - Collection of the Science Museum - London Read more here about some of the ships in the British South Seas Whaling Trade ... |
Masters
Over the 85 years of the British Southern Whale Fishery over 1000 men served as Master on a British south seas whaleship. At least 60 lost their lives or died whilst in command. Initially, the majority of Master’s came from Nantucket - over 160 of them. Some arrived directly from Nantucket, others via Dartmouth in Nova Scotia. Many Masters had long careers and were highly successful. Some even went on to share ownership or own their own whaleships, a development encouraged by some owners, who allowed their whaling captains to invest in the success of their own voyages.
Image: The Whaling Master William Tolley Brookes - Collection of the National Maritime Museum Read more here ... |