Timeline of the British Southern Whale Fishery 

Over a period of 85 years there were hundreds of unique events and misadventures which occurred in the day to day life of the British Southern Whale Fishery.  Our timeline records the facts including changes in Government support as well as discoveries, losses and the unusual!

Facts and Timeline for the British Southern Whale Fishery​

Facts drawn from data in the BSWF Voyage and Crew Datasets and Website – July 2023

Number of known voyages – 2514

Number of known vessels – 924

Number of Masters – around 1100

Number of masters who died during the voyage – 103 including two during one voyage

Number of primary owners – around 300

Number of men who served – unknown but estimated at between thirty and forty thousand men – around eleven thousand names are known mostly drawn from Admiralty Protections and BT98 Crew Lists – current dataset 16,195 entries

Most whales taken on a cruise - William – George Fitch - April 1796 to July 1798 – to the west coast of South and North America - 124 whales as at July 1797 [incomplete!]. Syren took 183 whales on its 1819 to 1822 cruise to the Moluccas and the Japan Grounds. Argus took 156 whales on its 1832 to 1834 cruise to the Moluccas.

Most whales taken in a day - William – George Fitch – 1 January 1797 in company with the Atlantic took 16 whales.  On 24 March 1797 the William took eleven whales.

Most successful voyage - barrels / no. of days out - Mary Ann – 21 July 1819 to 16 March 1821 – Owned and captained by James Todrig – 950 casks (over 3000 barrels) + 230 skins – in 605 days. Harriett (Dixon) sailed 23 August 1823 to 4 November 1824 returns to London in 483 days with 550 casks of oil having supposedly filled up in just two months!

Most successful vessel - Lady Amherst – 16,000 barrels in six cruises plus a box ambergris.

Most voyages - Cyrus (18); Perseverance (16)

Largest number of crew to serve on a single voyage – 123 on the Bombay in 1836 on a 4 ½ year cruise

Longest serving vessel - Cyrus (1802 – 1853) – built at Salem in 1800

Losses – 209 vessels (127 lost – 62 taken (some retaken) – 20 condemned)

Worst year for losses – 1825 with 10 losses but the period from 1807 to 1813 was particularly costly with cumulative losses to the Spanish and the United States of America though many vessels were retaken

Long serving seaman – John Raven who transferred from the Elizabeth to the Japan on 6 April 1834 to facilitate his return to England as he was no longer able to fulfil his duties as 2nd Mate. Raven commenced his career when he was indentured as an Apprentice in 1797! A career of 38 years.  William Watson appears to be the longest serving Master (if he is one person) taking out the Betsey in 1803 and assuming command of the Tuscan in 1837 until she was condemned at the Bay of Islands in 1840

Dangers of the trade – Tristram Bunker and Owen Bunker (both Nantucket born) who were married to two English girls (sisters Celia and Mary Fenn) were both killed by whales in 1808 leaving their wives widowed. In February 1821 Captain Henry Hales, along with the second mate and eight seamen, put into the Islands of Santa Maria, to refit, and were murdered. Having been reported back to London a subscription for the widows and children, was taken and £210 collected.

At least 167 Nantucket born men served as a Master on a British Southern Fishery Whaleship.

Important records about whales by British Whaling Surgeons – Thomas Beale – Natural History of the Sperm Whale and Frederick Debell Bennett – Narrative of a Whaling Voyage around the Globe. There are at least eight excellent accounts of whaling by British whaleship surgeons comprising a remarkable record of the business of whaling and broader natural history.

Colour of British whaling vessels - Log of the William (1796 to 1798) has an illustration of two British whaleships (circa. 1797) with upper half red – lower half black – yellow line along the rail.  Both have London on the stern but this may be an added artist’s addition.  From at least the 1820s British vessels appear to have been painted BROWN above and below the gunports which were painted YELLOW/CREAM.  Examples:-
Syren of London - 1822
Whaleship Harpooner ‘1830’ - painted by Huggins?
The ships' Vigilant' and 'Harpooner' offshore – painted by W J Huggins
 
‘Fictitious’ British whaleships – the Desmond of London and the John Day of Bristol. In an article [The Terror of the Sea  - A Sailor's Story] published 2 April 1892 in the Detroit Free Press (page 7) an Anonymous author sought to build on the story of Mocha Dick as first recorded by  J. N. Reynolds. "Mocha Dick: or the White Whale of the Pacific: A Leaf from a Manuscript Journal," in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine. Vol. 13, No. 5, May 1839, pp. 377–392.  The anonymous tale provides a vivid account of the exploits of "Mocha Dick" recording two encounters with British south seas whaleships - neither of which appear in any records of the British Southern Whaling Fleet [Reynold had also claimed that Mocha Dick had been killed in 1838]. The first encounter in June 1840 records an encounter between Mocha Dick and the "Desmond, the English whaler ... some 200 miles off the coast of Chile ... Two of the small boats carrying men ... launched to chase it. But as they drew near, the 70ft-long, giant bull sperm whale dramatically turned the tables and charged his pursuers. He hit the first boat head-on and smashed it. He then erupted from the water right under the second boat and destroyed that too. After looking over the damage, he swam calmly away. Two men were never found ... The following year, the captain of John Day, a Bristol whaler, swore to finish off the shipkiller. That May [1841] in the South Atlantic, as if by pre-arrangement, the great bull rose from the sea just a few hundred yards from the ship. Three boats were sent after him, but again he smashed them all. For years, stories of Mocha Dick, as he came to be called, spread around the world. When, half-blind and weary, he was eventually killed in 1859, he was found to have 19 harpoons embedded in his body. [Reynolds account records 19 harpoons in Mocha Dick’s body in 1838]. They were the souvenirs of more than 100 fights that had left 30 men dead and sunk scores of boats."
 
 
 
Timeline of Events in the BSWF
The information in the following timeline is drawn primarily from the BSWF Voyage database. Given the paucity of logs and newspaper coverage prior to 1815 the timeline before that period is primarily a record of losses and government interventions. Vessels taken prior to 1815 were often ransomed and re-joined the whaling fleet. Post 1815 there was much greater coverage of sailings and events contained in newspaper, private and government sources.
1775- Nantucket whaleships the Minerva, Abigail, Diana, Falkland and Enterprise  [aka the Falklands Fleet] taken by the British off the Azores then four of them (not the Minerva) deployed by British owners.
 
1776 – Whaler Unity taken.

1777 – Whaler Sally lost. Whaler Sidney taken by the French then retaken.

1778 – Whaler Columbus taken by the French.

1779 – Whaleships Egmont, Enterprize, Elizabeth, Experiment, Falklands, Beaver, Mary and Fanny, Pitt and Palliser all taken by the French.

1780 - Whaleships Dennis, Renard, Betsey, Bridge, May and Britannia taken by the French. Whalers Kezia and Neptune taken by the Americans.

1781 – Whalers Renard and Reward taken by the French.

1784 – Whaler Gibson reported lost on the Brazil coast

1785 – Whaler Nancy put into the Bahammas leaky and was condemned.

1787 – Vessel Attempt lost at the Falkland Islands. Whaler Diana condemned in the West Indies.

1788 – Whaler Nimrod lost.

1789 – The Emilia first vessel round Cape Horn and into the Pacific in January 1789. Whaler General Elliott reported as lost between the Cape of Good Hop and St Helena. Whaleship Lord Hawkesbury returns home with the first packet of ambergris taken by a British whaler. Whaler Nancy lost on the Brazil coast. Whaler London lost near the Gabon River.

1791 – Whaler Good Intent lost at Delagoa Bay late 1791. Whaler Mentor condemned on the South American coast December 1791. Whaler Prosperous wrecked on the Barbary Coast. Vessel Olive Branch lost off Patagonia.

1792 – Whaler Harpooner of Bristol captured and taken into Boston. Whaleship Matilda which had sailed as part of the Third Fleet to Australia was lost at Mururoa in February 1792.

1793 – Whaler John and Susanna taken off Scilly in May by the French.

1794 – Whaler New Hope lost at Delagoa Bay. First recorded use in the newspapers of the term “south seaman”.

1795 – The Edward of Hull wrecked off Peru. The whaleship Rasper abandoned off Peru. The Pomona taken by the French corvette La Vengeance off Falmouth only 2 days into her voyage and set adrift. The vessel was found by the Susanna of Liverpool and taken into Cork. On board the Pomona and taken prisoner by the French was a surgeon, Robert Thomas Crossfield, who was wanted by the British Crown for plotting to kill the King.

1796 – The whaler Lord Hawkesbury lost near the Cape of Good Hope in May 1796. Whaler Princess captured while anchored at Delagoa Bay. Whalers Ocean and Speedwell taken by the French off the Coast of Africa in August.

1797 – The whaler Lydia captured by the Spanish but later released. Whaler Alderney taken by the Spanish of Chile. Whaler Atlantic taken by the Spanish. Whaleships Beaver, Triumph, Betsey, Commerce, Levant and Charmilly taken off the coast of Chile. Whaler Hercules taken by the French.

1798 – Whaler Liberty lost off the Coast of California. Whaler Pritzler lost near Beachy Head.

1799 – Whaler Alliance taken. Whaler Prince Edward lost off the coast of Brazil. Whaler lost Sierra Leone of Milford Haven lost off the Cape of Good Hope in November 1799.

1800 – Whaleship Canada lost at South Georgia.

1801 – The practice of issuing Letters of Marque to armed whaleships is now well established. The Daniel Bennett owned Active sailed 22 May 1801 with a Letter of Marque issued that month. The Perseverance, a purpose built whaleship, launched for the Mellish family [there appear to have been two vessels named Perseverance operating at this time with the other one taken in 1801 by the French and its crew not released until 1807]. Whaler Henry condemned at the Cape of Good Hope in May 1801.

1802 – HM Government forces the HEIC to licence British whaleships to catch fish east of 180 degrees (centre of the Pacific to the west coast of the Americas) and to ships under 350 tons the Indian Ocean as far north as Timor but not including Batavia (Java) or anywhere further north.  This effectively opened up the Molucca Grounds which became a favoured British whaling ground and was still being frequented by British whaleships in the 1850s. Salisbury and Winchester Journal - Monday 31 January 1803 - A letter received by the Comet from St Helena says "We are glad to hear by the Ocea, south seaman, that the whale fishery to the Eastward [i.e east of the Cape of Good Hope] has been successful beyond all former precedent; and that all the vessels which went out last year are expected to return with a very valuable freight."
The Harriet (Chase) off New Zealand in September 1802. Whaler Barbara taken into Rio de la Plata in March 1802. Whaleship Pacific, another whaleship specifically built for the whale fishery launched for the Mellish family.

1803 – Whaleship Redbridge condemned at Valpariso. Whaleship Aurora of Milford Haven captured and taken into Valpariso but later released. Astrea lost at Desolation [Kerguelen] Island in early 1803. Whaler Defiance lost off the coast of France outward bound January 1803. Whaler Flirt taken by the French frigate Blond off the coast of Africa. Whaleship Perseverance taken by the French privateer Valiant and then retaken by HMS Sirius.

1804 – Whaler Kent (Bunker) taken and sailed to France in March 1804. Whaler Diamond taken off the Cape of Good Hope returning from Desolation Island by the French privateer Napoleon. Whaler Speculator taken on the Line in the Atlantic by a French corvette.  Ganges and Cyrus (probably Dunkirk ships) brought to London by the Isis having become prizes of the Scorpion (Dagg) of London. The Cyrus went on to have the longest career in the British South Seas Fleet. Third mate, William Brown, on the whaler Indispensible sailing from London5 March 1804 born in Owyhee. Whaler Recovery sails for Desolation Island with four Prussians in her crew.

1805 – Whaler Tom captured and taken into Talcahuano in February 1805. Amasa Delano records then that the Betsey and Thomas, whalers, attacked the port of Tacahuano sometime mid-February 1805 in retaliation for injury sustained by the Tom. The Betsey suffered a number of casualties and the Thomas was captured. Whaler Iris condemned at St Helena on her return voyage. Whaler Dart taken at Guayaquil in mid-1805 with the loss of many of the crew. Whaler Antelope taken by the Spanish in October 1805. Whaler Duke of Clarence of Liverpool lost off the River Plate in March 1805 master drowned. Whaleship Minerva lost late 1805 off Lima reported that the master was shot by a member of his own crew.

1806 – The whaler Commerce taken near Amboyna in early 1806 but retaken. The Britannia lost off NSW in August 1806. Whaler Ganges taken by the French and sunk in March 1806. Whaler John and James lost in January 1806 with the master returning to Nantucket! Whaler Vigilant taken off the South American coast in May 1806 but likely ransomed or released.

1807 – The whaler Edwinstowe of Newcastle burnt. Whaler Crescent lost off Patagonia in March 1807. Whaler Lucia taken by the Spanish in March 1807 near Kingston (?) with all crew killed. Whaler Betsy condemned at the Cape of Good Hope in September 1807. Whaler Rambler taken by a French privateer. Whaler Atlantic lost. Whaler Memphis lost. Whaler Pandour lost? Whaleship Vigilant lost of the west coast of South America.

1808 – Whaler Lively lost on Mermaid Reef off the NW coast of Western Australia. Whaler Adventure lost off Ramsgate outward bound. Whaler Antelope captured by the Spanish. Whaler Neptune of Greenock taken by the Spanish. Whalers Scorpion and Vulture taken by the Spanish near Valpariso in October 1808.
In 1808 a court case was held in London to determine what precedent should be followed when two vessels (or more) have been involved in taking and killing a fish. The case concerned the vessels William Fennings and Caerwent and had occurred in the Galapagos in 1805.

1809 - Tariff on British Oil was £0:8:3 3/4 per tun. Colonial Oil £18:3s per tun. Foreign Sperm and Train Oil £18:3s per tun. Whaler (?) Port au Prince seized at Tongataboo in early 1809 crew all killed. Whaler DuBuc condemned by survey in Hobart in June 1809.

1810 – Whaler Active lost. Whaler Mary lost off New Zealand. Whaler Speke lands Matara, son of the Bay of Islands Chief Te Pahi, in London.

1811 – The Santa Anna wrecked off New Guinea. Whaler Young William reported taken.

1812 – Adventure scuttled April 1812 near the Island of St Thomas (West Africa). The Master and 1st Mate both murdered by the 2nd Mate. The whaler Argo taken and sent into Norfolk, Virginia.

1813 –Greenwich taken in May 1813 by the USS Essex, scuttled and burned and the Atlantic taken and renamed the USS Essex Junior. Whalers Catherine, Hector and Rose taken by the USS Georgiana near James Island [Galapagos] April to May 1813. The whaler Atlantic taken in May 1813 by the USS Essex. The whalers Charlton, Seringapatam and New Zealander taken by the USS Essex in July 1813. Governor Dodswell taken by the Spanish at Valpariso.
HM Government preserves the rights of the HEIC to solely trade with China but allows British whaleships to venture north of the equator under licence.

1814 – Whaler Policy taken by the USS Essex in January 1814 but later retaken.

1816 – Captain John Stavers and James Baxter, Chief Mate of the Thames, were charged by the father of an apprentice of the murder of his son on board on return to London. Stavers and the mate were found guiltyof manslaughter and sentence to one year in prison and fined 50l and 20l respectively.
In London the Customs Bills of Entry commences publication recording in detail the cargoes landed in London from British whaling ships.

1817 - Admiral Colpoys lost at South Georgia 28 November 1817 crew saved. Princetown wrecked when she struck a rock on the Isle of Grande 21 March 1817.
In 1817 a Hull newspaper estimated that between 700 to 900 tons of train [black] oil per month was required to satisfy the market.

1818 - Inspector reported 6 November 1818 taken into Valparaiso unseaworthy and condemned. Emerald sunk at the docks on her return home but was re-floated and cargo saved.

1819 – The ability of the HEIC to limit the movement of British whaleships is effectively removed. Within two years British whaleships will be on the coast of Japan. Ocean owned by the Enderby’s returns with 550 casks and 2 ‘tanks’ – this is the first recorded use of ‘tank’s’ on a British whaleship.

1820 – Lydia condemned at Rio homeward bound. The Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser for 24 October 1820 reported that a young woman with an infant went on board of a south sea whaler [vessel name unknown but given the date possibly the Wildman] to visit her husband who had just returned from a long voyage and fell from the gangway losing her life. The child was saved.

1821 - The Echo wrecked on Cato's Shoal [Coral Sea off Australia] 1 April 1821. Perseverance (Clark) taken in March 1821 whilst at anchor off Santa Maria by the pirate Benavides and carried into the Tubul River a few leagues north of Aranco where she was burnt in October 1821. The master, two mates and part of the crew were murdered by Benavides.
On 18 February 1821 the Indian of Liverpool rescued Owen Chase, Benjamin Lawrence and Thomas Nickerson, three survivors of the US whaleship Essex which had been stove by a whale some 90 days previous.
Captain Henry Hales of the Offley, along with the second mate and eight seamen, were murdered when they put into the Islands of Santa Maria, Chile on 24 February 1821, to refit. Having been reported back to London a subscription for the widows and children, was taken and £210 collected. Contributors were Curling, Young and Company; Mrs K. Curling & W. Curling; Samuel and Mrs Enderby; Daniel Bennett; J. Gales & Son; Joseph Somes; Boulcott & Hill and S. Boulcott; Thomas Ward; Thomas Sturge and others of the south seas trade (The Sun – London – 16 November 1821).
Public Ledger and Daily Advertiser of Friday 21 December 1821 records that the executor of the estate of Henry Elliot who sailed as cook on the Reynard sought to recover his lay from the Captain. Elliot had been employed at 140th part and the ship made a good voyage [1600 barrels]. The cook had been lost, washed overboard, ten weeks prior to the vessel reaching London. The cargo realised was £13,495 of which the owners deducted as charges £9 11s 6d upon each ton of oil reducing the net proceeds of the voyage to £11,649 of which Elliot's share was said to be £84 3s. The Court found for the plaintiff awarding a total of £60.
The Kentish Weekly Post or Canterbury Journal for Tuesday 13 March 1821 reported on the death (possible murder) of Mr S. Richards, third mate on an unknown south sea whaler who was found in the canal with wounds to his body and head.

1822 – Whaler Ceres wrecked on Hapaee [Lifuka] Island with eight crewmen killed by natives. The whalers Pearl and Hermes lost in the Hawaiian Islands.  A charge of murder against Captain Laban Russell of the Emily is examined in court and thrown out as the master was defending himself against mutineers. On 24 May 1822 the cooper on board the L’Aigle whaling between Payta and the Galapagos Islands was killed when his boat was stove by a whale being seen on the back of the whale three times. 

1823 – Golden Grove lost on her way to the Sandwich Islands? Grace [Plymouth] reported lost off Cape Horn in May 1823. The Brussa wrecked 31 July 1823 on the South American coast a total loss crew saved. Anthony Sterry wrecked when almost home on the Shivering Sands, near Margate, on 25 April 1823. Harriett (Dixon) sails 23 August for the fishery and returns to London in 483 days with 550 casks of oil having supposedly filled up in just two months! From mid-year 1823 the tariff on British Oil was £0:8:3 per tun. Colonial Oil £1 per tun. Foreign Sperm and Train Oil £33:5s per tun.

1824 - The Elizabeth (Captain Douglas) was taken at the Friendly Islands (Tonga) in September 1824 carrying 1500 barrels with the master, 1st and 3rd mates and some other crew killed. The cargo was saved and shipped home in the Countess of Morley. The Spring Grove lost off the North-West Coast of Africa [Safi, Morocco] on 23 November 1824 with two crew drowned. The Arab discovered off Cape Horn in May 1824 sinking after being caught in a gale. Crew rescued by the Ocean (Harrison) on route from Sydney to London. The Policy lost at Otahaiti (Tahiti) May 1824. King George, late Bryan, reported 19 October 1824 condemned at Guayaquil.

1825 - The Rambler was lost in the Mozambique Channel when the crew went ashore on 11 August at the island of St Felix (22:4’S) – the commander, 2nd officer and eleven of the crew were killed. The 1st officer and thirteen of the crew were saved; The Transit of Bristol was condemned at Manila in late 1825; The Adam was lost off Deal 1 March 1825 on a voyage to the south seas. The Royal George was lost at Wahoo 9 April 1825 with 600 barrels. The Bridges was lost at the Marquesas. Mary (Edward Reed or possibly Edward Reed Lacey) lost near Jarvis' Island [Line Islands] with 1800 barrels sperm oil on 20 January 1825. The Eliza Ann condemned and sold at Honolulu in February 1825. Sisters (Winslow) reported missing in 1825 [West Pacific?] though it appears the Master at least made it back to Nantucket.
The Imperial Measurement scheme introduced though the Trade retains the old measurement (which was in its favour) for day to day use.
From mid-year the tariff on British and Colonial Sperm and Black Oil 1 shilling. Tariff on Foreign Sperm and Train Oil £26:12s per Imperial Tun and £22:3:4 per Standard Tun

1826 - From mid-year the tariff on British and Colonial Sperm and Black Oil 1 shilling. Tariff on Foreign Sperm and Train Oil £26:12s.  The Rapid (Wright) struck on shoals in the Straits of Flores on 11 September 1826 where the crew were attacked by natives. The crew fought until their ammunition was expended and had to take to the boats and after ten days reached Macassar. The Mercury (McNally) struck a reef of rocks whilst proceeding from Bouganville [sic] towards Gabay [sic] and was obliged to put into Mauritius where she was condemned as unseaworthy. In August 1827 a court case found in favour of the owners broker and awarded a salvage loss on the ship and an average loss on the cargo from the Underwriters. William of London lost near the Bonin Islands – at least two men survived and 400 barrels. In October 1826 Samuel Libbey, a crew member on the Kent on its 1823 voyage found guilty of the manslaughter of fellow crew member Thomas Tate.

1827 - The Florida was taken on 28 March 1827 off the Castillos by a privateer commanded by Fournier. The Louisa was lost sometime between July 1827 and late 1828 (not 1825 or 1826 as Jarman reports) on Sumba in Indonesia. The Lady Amherst (Lisle) returns with 750 casks oil + 2 tanks oil + 1 cask teeth + 2 jaws [285 tuns oil]. One of the jaws can still be viewed in the Great Northern Museum at Newcastle on Tyne in England. 1828 - The Asp was wrecked on the Mudge Rocks, Madagascar on 17 December 1828 with the crew saved; the whaleship Daniel IV (full cargo) was lost to fire on 5th March 1828 on the way from Otaheite to London at 25 S x 150 W with the crew saved by the British whaleships Charles and Elizabeth

1829 - Whaling surgeon, John Lyell, sails on the Ranger and keeps a journal.

1830 - The L'Aigle was lost 6 March 1830 was totally wrecked on a reef 10 to 15 miles NE of Tongataboo with the crew saved; The Cape Packet was condemned at Copang [kupang] 1830.
Whaling surgeon, Thomas Beale, author of The Natural History of the Sperm whale …, London, 1839, sails on the Kent.

1831 - The Sarah on shore at Delagoa Bay in a heavy gale in mid-1831; The Caroline was lost off Tonga 24 March 1831; The Castor was condemned at the Cape of Good Hope 11 September 1831; The Phoenix was lost at Mounts Bay. The Betsey and Sophia lost 16 March 1831 at Desolation with 100 tuns oil fifteen crew arrived at Hobart February 1832. Elizabeth owned by Birnie sail on a near 4 year cruise on which 72 crew serve on board.

1832 - The Borneo struck on a small coral spit at 12 S x 46 E [Glorioso Islands] abandoned and crew landed at Johanna; The Frindsbury struck on a coral reef on 9 March 1832 in lat. 5.2S long. 159.19E [Ontong Java Islands) and was lost; the Oldham went on shore and was plundered at Wallace Island early 1832 with all crew murdered except a cabin boy with a loss of 1000 barrels; the Princess Mary totally lost at Aldabra November 1832; the Lady Hamilton was lost in the Mozambique Channel in early 1832 with all hands saved; The Royalist was condemned as unseaworthy at Ternate, Timor, on 5 August 1832. The London Merchant was lost on Youl (Yowl or Aiou Reef) with all hands to the NW of New Guinea 18 December 1832.

1833 - The Sir Francis McNaughton was condemned at Ternate in late July 1833 as a consequence of storm damage incurred of the Cape of Good Hope when sailing to Western Australia; The Woodrup was wrecked near "Cape Negre" on the Barbary Coast; The Amelia Wilson was lost in May or June 1833 off the Bonin Islands with 1440 barrels crew saved; the Sir Charles Price lost in the Society Islands (Huahine) in April 1833 crew saved; The whaler Sophia burnt with loss of 1000 barrels 16 March 1833 at 5 S x 54 E crew arrived in the Trois Freres; The Greenwich lost at Danes Island in the Seychelles 18 February 1833 crew saved and to Mauritius.
Announced in The Times that a trial is being undertaken from Sydney (Australia) in which the Betsey, Captain Petrie, will use whaling harpoons with Prussic Acid inside the harpoon head in order to kill the whale more quickly. A letter to the Nautical Magazine dated 10 December 1833 from one John Lewthwaite states that he came up with the idea in 1828 and that he had six specially designed harpoons prepared for use by his brother-in-law, Captain Kendrew, of the whaler Ann Elizabeth. He also advised that he received advice via a letter in 1830 from Honolulu that the process had been successfully tested.
The whaler, John Palmer, whilst undergoing an extensive refit is treated with Kyan’s anti-rot process to protect her timbers.  The result is written up in A Lecture on the Dry Rot (1837) page 41.
Whaling surgeon, Frederick Debell Bennett, author of a  Narrative of a whaling voyage round the globe, 1833-36, with an account of the southern whales, the sperm whale fishery and the natural history of the climates visited, … 2 Vols, London, Richard Bentley, 1840 sails on the Tuscan (Stavers).

1834 - The Enderby smack Rose, consort to the Hopeful, crushed by ice north of Clarence Island in the South Shetland Islands 1 January 1834. The Argus arrives in London with a cargo comprising the oil of 156 sperm whales.
The whaleship Samuel Enderby’s timbers are treated with Kyan’s anti-rot process whilst the vessel is being constructed. On completion of the voyage a report was contributed to A Lecture on the Dry Rot (1837) page 31.

1835 - The Corsair struck rocks 13 January 1835 and was lost at the Kingsmill Islands the Master, surgeon and 13 crew murdered with the surviving crew sailing to Guam where they joined English whaling vessels Henrietta, Walmer or Resolution.Two men from the Sandwich Islands were killed in the incident but neither their names or their deaths were recorded in newspaper accounts.  Coquette lost at Guam out 27 months with 1700 barrels 4 November 1835.  Mary Ann (Hingston) sails from London with 31 crew and during its voyage recruited 56 more! The Brixton which sailed in 1835 had 73 crew in total serve on its three year voyage.

1836 - The whaler Reliance was lost on the coast of Arabia [Island of Soda] 18 December 1836; The whaler Briton was lost at Christmas Island [Pacific] 10 October 1836; The whaler Falcon drifted ashore at Ascension Island [Asuncion, Marianas] 1 June 1836 the master and 5 crew murdered by the natives. The Bombay sails for the southern fishery – in total 123 crew served on the vessel on a 4 ½ year voyage.
On its 1836 cruise the owner, H. G. Paice, of the Harriet (Christie) put in place the following profit sharing arrangements prior to the voyage. A deduction of Ten Guineas per tun to be deducted in lieu of ‘Customary charges and expenses’.  The Crew Agreement also records the following ‘allowances of Provisions to each man per day viz. Beef days ¼lb per man – Pork days 1/4lb per man – Pea ½ pint per day – Flour 1 pint per man – Tea coffee with sugar allowed daily 1 pint per man – The issuing of spirits to the discretion of the Captain.’ The Harriet, under a new Master as Christie had died, was lost the following year on Providence Reef!

1837 - On Sunday 10 July 1837 the Harriet, of London, Thomas Ridout, master, struck on Providence Reef, in latitude 18 [SE of Levuka]; The James Colvin was destroyed by fire, at sea, in October 1837 [crew taken to the Sandwich Islands]; The whaler Gledstanes was wrecked on a reef [Kure Atoll or Ocean Island NW of Hawaii] in the North Pacific June 1837.

1838 - The Toward Castle was lost on a shoal 7 January 1838 at Lat 28:47 N Long 108:30 W off Cadiz, lower California with 1800 barrels lost; The Lucinda wrecked 20 January 1838  on an unknown reef, E. by N. distance 75 miles from the NW end of Caledonia with 1500 barrels of sperm oil 25 months out. The vessel Brixton sailed with many Pacific Islander crew named after where they were recruited e.g. Manuel Timor and Peter Rotumah.
The Resident of Timor, Diderik Johan van den Dungen Gronoviu, reports in 1838 that 42 English and 9 American ships entered Coupang [Kupang] Harbour. The Resident records that the majority of vessels were whaleships.

1839 – The Duke of Wellington was lost somewhere near Desolation Island in the second half of 1839; The Sabrina lost 25 March 1839 off the Antarctic Coast at 95 E; The Jane Eliza, whaling barque, was sold by auction in Sydney on 24 August 1839; The Admiral Cockburn lost onshore near Muisen Berg [Muizenberg, South Africa] 26 September 1839 all crew but one saved and 1100 of 1600 barrels saved; The Ann was condemned at Manila 30 September 1839 the master dead.
Whaling surgeon John Wilson sails on the Gipsy (Gibson). His journal is written up in Honore Forster ed., The Cruise of the Gipsy. The journal of John Wilson, surgeon, on a whaling voyage to the Pacific Ocean, 1839-1843, Fairfield, Washington, Ye Galleon Press, 1991.
In 1839 32 English and 15 American ships entered Coupang [Kupang] Harbour.

1840 - Two boats and a number of crew belonging to the barque Mary, whaler of were captured by pirates in Lombok Strait. The crew were set free for a ransom of fifty muskets and 6 kegs of powder; Tuscan condemned at the Bay of Islands in 1840; Zephyr lost after hitting a shoal 1 April 1840 off the Island of Borneo.
From mid-year the tariff on British and Colonial Sperm and Black Oil 1 shilling. Tariff on Foreign Sperm and Train Oil £26:12s. In addition all imports attracted an addition 5% duty.
In 1840 43 English and 3 American ships entered Coupang [Kupang] Harbour.

1841 - Risk wrecked at the Suadiva Attol, Maldives on 2 February 1841; The Harriet, master Hammer, was lost on Kosrae Island in late 1841, with the entire crew killed by the native population; Sir Andrew Hammond wrecked on the coast of Peru at 3 degrees North, crew and 400 barrels saved [300 lost]; the Hope (Rains) lost at Pago Pago 10 December 1841
 
1842 - Conservative was wrecked on Tanjoining Reef near Bali on 8 January 1842; The Elizabeth was condemned at Talcahuano in late 1842 and the cargo transferred to the Mercury, a merchant vessel. The Green, Wigrams & Green whaleship Active commanded by William Tolley Brookes is said to have returned with 3,859 barrels of oil after a four year (1439 days) cruise though Bills of Entry record just 600 Casks.  Seems 2,859 more likely.
In 1842 40 English and 11 American ships entered Coupang [Kupang] Harbour.
 
1843 - Whaler Dartmouth blew up at St Helena April 1843 with 3 or 4 killed and 8 to 10 injured; The Master of the Diana was murdered on board by the second mate and the vessel lost due to an explosion on board after leaving St Helena in May 1843. In the collection of the National Museum of Scotland is a large sperm whale lower jaw engraved and depicting a sperm whale and the whaleship Woodlark capturing it off the Banda Islands, Indonesia, 7th April 1843.
Tariff on British and Colonial Sperm and Black Oil 1 shilling. Tariff on Foreign Sperm Oil £15 and Train Oil £6. In addition all imports attracted an addition 5% duty.
 
In 1843 20 English and no American ships entered Coupang [Kupang] Harbour.
 
1845 – From mid-year the tariff on British and Colonial Sperm and Train Oil free. Foreign Sperm Oil £15 and Train Oil £6.
 
1846 – Whaler Aladdin sails for Hobart after a short career in the BSWF and undertakes 31 voyages in the colonial fishery; Foam abandoned at Mozambique prior to 23 October 1846 has been taken to Cochin to repair; Esther lost on the Southern American Pacific coast; Bermondsey returns from a single voyage having been out 1777 days since 15 October 1841 the original master (Samuel Swain) having died in Sydney in 1842

1847 – From 1 January 1847 the tariff on Foreign Sperm Oil £15 and Train Oil free
 
1848 – Foxhound put into Algoa Bay 1 August 1848 ‘clean’ - found leaky and ‘condemned’; master of the whaler Kent abandons his cruise in Sydney in January due to the unruliness of the crew and sails home
 
1849 - Ceylon Times 3 August 1849 reports on a ‘miraculous escape’ in a Captain Ahab type event in "which Captain G. W. Andrews [whaler Caroline] ... has lately experienced ... whilst in pursuit of a whale ... struck home, and the monster flew immediately downwards ... the rope caught the ankle of Captain Andrews, and whirled him overboard ... he had sufficient presence of mind to retain his ... knife ... [and] was enabled to sever the rope below his ankle ... the depth to which he descended must have been from 15 to 20 fathoms ... his ankle cut to the bone."; Whaler Brisk returns to London having been out 1639 days since 25 October 1844
 The Times (28 April 1849) reports that a new type of whaling gun accurate to a distance of 30 fathoms developed by W. Greener had recently been demonstrated before the whaleship owner Richard Greene and Captains Male, Baker and Jarman.
 All Home, Colonial and Foreign Oil now tariff free.

1850 – Fancy ‘condemned’ at the Auckland Islands; Favorite lost March/April 1850 at the Navigation] Islands [Navigator or Samoa Islands]

1851 – Ranger reported abandoned sinking 30 S x 40 W [off the Brazilian coast] after clearing Sydney bound for London with sperm oil

1856 – On return to London the master and first mate of the whaler Adventure were arraigned on charges of mistreating members of the crew

1857 – On its way back to London the Sir Edward Parry was involved in the rescue of men on the 'Richard Anderson', Captain C. E. Coffin, merchantmen, sailing from Antwerp to Baltimore at Lat. 41 Long 31:31 thus retaining a link to Nantucket to the very end of the trade!

1859 – Last vessel2 into port appears to have been the Cowlitz on 7 September 1859 with a cargo of 130 casks of sperm oil and the Caroline on 19 October 1859 with a cargo of 66 casks.

1860 - Probably the last British south sea whale fishery voyage was that of the Henrietta which sailed in 1857 or 1858 from London. The Empire (Sydney) of 22 October 1860 provides a detailed account that the vessel was attacked by islanders at Buckatoo on the island of Isabella [Solomon Islands] in June 1860 with a boat crew attacked and at least five men killed including the carpenter. The islanders then attacked the vessel and were fought off with the loss of the son of the Master aged five years. The Master was accompanied by his wife and two children including the boy lost at Isabella. The vessel is recorded as a schooner.  A letter dated 7 December 1860 published in the Empire 19 January 1861 and written by Brown suggests Henrietta was condemned at Port de France leaky as Brown advises he now has no ship. Sydney Mail 2 February 1861 records ‘Captain Stater ...  received positive information that Captain Brown's son, taken out of the Henrietta by the natives of Vicable Island, had been accidentally drowned in a canoe.’
 
DC