REPRODUCED FROM
“Maritime Southwest 7” - 1994
DARTMOUTH'S
WHALING TRADE
By
Peter Barton
Dartmouth's involvement in the Newfoundland Fishery is
well known.[1] The Newfoundland Banks cod-fishery attracted
west-countrymen almost from the year of their discovery by Cabot in 1497, and
for more than three centuries ships from Dartmouth were employed in this
trade. Naturally during all this time
it had its ups and downs, yet had it not provided fairly regular employment for
seamen, and a reasonable profit for shipowners, shipmasters and merchants it
would not have lasted so long, nor contributed so much to the development of
the town. Less inviting were the Arctic
whaling grounds where a few west-country ships did venture, but the whaling
trade of Dartmouth [if it warrants such a description] seems to have made so
little impact that it has been ignored by most historians. It is the purpose of this short article to
draw attention to the subject and perhaps to encourage further research.
The cod-fish and the whale both yielded valuable oil
although, of course, the amounts from each were vastly different. Cod was fished for food and the oil was a
mere by-product. The whale was hunted
for its oil although it too yielded valuable by-products. As far as possible the season for
cod-fishing and whaling was restricted to the summer months, but whereas cod
were netted in their hundreds and thousands, one whaler would be considered
very lucky indeed if its catch numbered as many as ten whales.
Other ports in Devon and the south-west had vessels engaged in the Newfoundland
fishery but the large number of ships sailing regularly from Dartmouth assured its recognition as
perhaps Britain's leading port in this trade. Much of the catch was destined
for the catholic countries of western Europe but the oil was brought home. Oil was used mainly for lighting but there
were many other uses to which it could be put.
With convenient access to the salt required for
curing, and with ready markets for their catch, it made sense for ships from
Europe's western seaboard to cross the Atlantic to net a rich harvest of fish
off the eastern shores of the North American continent. Geographically the Arctic and the whale were
marginally more accessible to ships sailing from Britain's northern and east
coast ports, and this accidental division of natural resources probably
explains why the whale fishery was of little interest to the
west-countrymen. If conditions off the
Grand Banks were often foggy and unpleasant they were certainly preferable to
the extreme cold and other dangers of whaling in Arctic waters.
Nevertheless, it is worth recalling that Dartmouth's
greater awareness of both trades sprung from the exploits of local men; Sir
Humphrey Gilbert and John Davis.[2] It had been
Davis, a friend and near neighbour of the Gilbert family who, only four years
after Sir Humphrey sailed from Dartmouth to claim Newfoundland for the Crown,
had ventured into Arctic waters in search of the fabled North-West Passage and
brought home news of seal and whale fishing grounds just waiting to be
exploited. Despite the very limited
success of Gilbert's 1583 voyage it seems to have acted as a stimulus to
Dartmouth's interest in the Newfoundland fishery but, probably for reasons
already mentioned, the discoveries of Davis did not inspire Dartmouth, or other
west-country shipowners, to send their ships in pursuit of the whale.
However, this state of affairs did not remain
indefinitely and we know that in the early part of the eighteenth century Exeter
fitted out one vessel and later two for the whaling trade.[3] Dartmouth
continued to ignore this trade until 1775 when Messrs. Teage Newman & Co.,
already well-known in the Newfoundland trade, took the plunge. They had recently acquired a 300-ton vessel
built in 1773 in a New England shipyard at Kittery, Maine [then part of
Massachusetts]. It was named Heptarchy[4] and although larger than vessels normally employed in
the Newfoundland fishery she is listed as leaving Dartmouth for Newfoundland in
August 1775 and returning in December.[5] In view of
the rising troubles within the American colonies this was possibly a voyage
arranged primarily to carry out war supplies or even troops.
On her return to Dartmouth the Heptarchy was prepared for entry into the 1776 Arctic whaling season. Before sending her to Newfoundland her
owners had already had the Heptarchy
sheathed and doubled, but in addition to the tar-based sheathing compound and
extra planking provided it was probably thought necessary now to have iron
plates fitted over her bow planking as
additional protection against the ice.
Before a Licence would be granted
all her equipment, including boats, would have to be checked by Customs
officers to see that the vessel was adequately fitted out for the trade. To qualify for a government bounty her
tonnage measurement needed to be verified.
The bounty payable to the whaling vessels was not sanctioned without
careful scrutiny. Another requirement
was that "all harpooners were
regularly brought up to the whale fishery and that apprentices were all between
the ages of 14 and 18 years..."[6]
Teage, Newman & Co., informed the Customs officers
at Dartmouth of their intention to enter the whaling trade, but as the first of
March had been the intended sailing date it was unfortunate that the tonnage of
the Heptarchy was calculated
incorrectly as this caused some delay.[7] Both
"...owners and selves fell in to the like error." admitted the local
Comptroller of Customs to his superiors in London. The length of keel of the Heptarchy
was 92.6ft. and her breadth 27.5ft. and so her tonnage worked out at 304
17/94ths. A Licence was granted and on
the 10th. March 1776 the Heptarchy
Captain Robert Maxfield, left the river Dart for Greenland. [8]
On the 7th. August 1776 the Heptarchy was reported in the Downs with her catch of three whales
and 1000 seals.[9] She then
headed down channel to arrive home on 24th. August.[10] Undoubtedly,
here would have been great excitement as Dartmouth's first whaler was sighted
off the entrance to the river. We do
not know how successful the venture would have been regarded but the high
initial cost of fitting out a whaler was not easy to recoup on a first
voyage. Bounty payments were to
encourage the whaling trade and cushion owners against the misfortune of
failure in a bad season. The whole crew
benefitted if the catch was good, but two or three whales were required before
all concerned in the venture could feel satisfied. The men from the Heptarchy
would have hunted seals when whales were scarce and the blubber from the number
they caught would have yielded about an extra 10 tuns (2,520 gallons) of
oil. Additionally, the seal skins would
be expected to command a fair price.
Surprisingly perhaps Teage, Newman & Co., had entered the trade when it was known that the bounty
was to be reduced from 40 shillings to 30 shillings per registered ton [of
ship] after the 1776 season, but this must have been taken into account for the
following year they entered another vessel in the Greenland whale fishery.
The vessel to join the Heptarchy was already 24 years old and had spent many years in the
West Indies trade. She was a smaller
vessel but ship-rigged and already sheathed and doubled. She had been launched in 1753 from a
shipyard at Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham as the Ranger, but her name had been changed to Charming Sally before Teage, Newman & Co., acquired her.[11] They too
changed her name so she became the Gibraltar
and measuring only 83ft. on her keel, her tonnage was calculated at 242 for the
payment of the bounty.[12]
In March 1777 the two whalers left Dartmouth, the Gibraltar on the 13th., with Richard Fox
in command, and on the following day the Heptarchy
under Captain Maxfield as before.[13] The first
news of their return came in September when the Heptarchy was reported as arriving in the Downs with a catch of
three whales.[14] From her
Captain the latest information was gathered concerning other whalers and
Maxfield said that when he had parted from the
Gibraltar she had only managed
to catch one whale. A few days later
the Heptarchy was reported[15] as having left the Downs for Exeter. Although no further entry relating to Heptarchy appeared in Lloyd's List that year it is reasonable
to assume that she returned to her home port to unload. Shortly afterwards the Gibraltar was reported [16] to have arrived in Dartmouth on the 13th. September
with only one whale to her credit.
Earlier she had been reported off Yarmouth Roads [17] so the route home taken by both vessels must have
been down the east coast, probably in company with the bulk of the whaling
fleet, and not down the west coast of the British Isles.
There are no issues of Lloyd's List extant for the year 1778 but Licences for the two
Dartmouth whalers were issued that year and their return from Greenland noted
at the Custom House.[18] Unfortunately
the record of their catches seems not to have survived. Again in 1779 the two whalers were in the
Arctic and on the 9th. August both were reported as back in Dartmouth, the Heptarchy with five fish and the Gibraltar, now with Richard Robinson as
master, with four fish.[19]
Although 1779 had been a comparatively successful
whaling season for Teage, Newman & Co., the following year the firm
withdrew the Heptarchy from whaling
and placed her in the government transport service. Seemingly the lure of certain profit when the ship was chartered
by the government at £1.00 per month per registered ton, was more attractive
than the uncertainty and risks associated with an Arctic whaling voyage. Even so the Gibraltar was again fitted out for the Arctic and left Dartmouth on
the 25th. March 1780[20] Her return
from this whaling voyage on the 7th. September must have been hailed as a great
success for the blubber of the eleven whales she had caught[21] probably yielded about 150 tuns of train oil.
On the 17th. March 1781, the Gibraltar, Captain Robinson, set sail once again for the Greenland
seas.[22] Further news
of her progress came sooner than anyone would have wished. The announcement in Lloyd's List for 13th. April 1781
reads:-
"The Gibraltar,
Robinson, from Dartmouth for Greenland, is taken by the Black Princess
Privateer, and carried into Morlaix."[23]
The ultimate fate of the Gibraltar is not known; she was not
ransomed back to her owners but even a near 30 year old vessel could have given
many more years service under another flag.[24] With the Heptarchy engaged upon government
transport duties and the Gibraltar
taken by the enemy, the whaling trade of Dartmouth came to an abrupt end.
Unfortunately what would have proved a
more complete and reliable source of information on the success of Dartmouth's
two whalers, the Port Books,[25] does not appear to have survived but using
information that appeared in issues of Lloyd's List the results may be
summarised:-
Name of
vessel Year and number of whales
caught
|
|
1776 |
1777 |
1778 |
1779 |
1780 |
|
Heptarchy |
3 |
3 |
? |
5 |
- |
|
Gibraltar |
- |
1 |
? |
4 |
11 |
|
Totals |
3 |
4 |
? |
9 |
11 |
The trade had spanned only five years,
which in terms of Dartmouth's long maritime history was the briefest of
episodes, but it does not deserve to have been neglected for so long.
This whole period had been one of
unrest with the revolt of the American colonies, and later the alliance between
the French and the Americans placing a
great strain upon the resources of the British Navy. All merchant shipping was in danger and heavy losses were
inflicted by the enemy. the Arctic
whaling fleet had received some protection from the Navy but the whalers
themselves carried their own armament.
The Heptarchy with fourteen
6-pounders and the Gibraltar with ten
6-pounders were reasonably well-armed[26] but this had not saved the Gibraltar when caught by a privateer. Unfortunately, we do not know what sort of account the Gibraltar gave of herself when engaged
by the enemy.
So far as is known, this is the first
time a survey of Dartmouth's involvement in the Arctic whaling trade has been
attempted. Its shortcomings are
obvious, but no Port Books and no pre-1786 record of ship registrations for the port are known to have
survived.[27] Furthermore
the British Museum Newspaper Library at Colindale could offer no contemporary
local newspapers. Even so, a more
diligent search, particularly into local archives, than the author has been
able to undertake may reveal material not hitherto used. Whether the factories existed in Dartmouth
for processing the whale oil or whether they had to be built specially is not
known. How the whalebone was marketed
is another question waiting to be answered.
Indeed the whole subject is one that, locally, I feel could well reward
further research.
Editors
Note: It
is interesting to note that whaling ventures were not totally unknown in other
areas of the west country as E.A.G. Clark in his thesis for Exeter University,
later published as the book The Ports of
the Exe Estuary, 1680-1860, indicates on page 167 where he states that:
"For a number of years in the
eighteenth century Exeter merchants engaged in the Greenland whale
fishery. The Exeter Whale Fishery
Company was founded about 1754, when a vessel of 346 tons was purchased in
London and fitted out in the Exe. Its
first voyage to Greenland began on April 18th.,1755, and it returned to the Exe
with whalebone and oil on August 9th.
An annual venture continued through the Seven Years War, and one Daniel
Courtenay was "kill'd defending the ship" against the French. Two vessels sailed to the fishery from the
Exe in 1759, but the Worthy Shepherd was
lost in the ice. The Exeter continued to sail annually until
1780. Eleven whales were caught in
1762, eight in 1772, and seven in 1776.
Whale oil and fins were offered for sale in the Exeter Flying Post and were also shipped coastwise to London. The Exeter
was offered for sale in 1783, but the Lympstone
sailed annually to the fishery until 1787, when it was acompanied by the Alcyone. Henceforward Exeter played no part in this hazardous Arctic
fishery."[28]
It will be noted below that reference is made to the Exeter Flying Post and it occurs to the
editor that research within the newspaper collections kept at the West Country
Studies library and at the Devon & Exeter Institution, amongst others could
prove a rewarding source of further information on this little known avenue of
economic adventure. It is also
interesting to note that to this day an area of sandbank which dries at low
water in the Exe estuary is know as the Greenland Bank and tradition has it
that the whalers lay up on this bank during the winter period when they were
not otherwise engaged.
It would be interesting to learn
whether other areas locally also ventured into this area of trade, particularly
from the north Devon coast at Appledore, Bideford and Barnstaple and, possibly, from the north Cornish coast also.
Peter came across a report of a whaler off Teignmouth during his researches,
but this vessel moved to London which proved to be its home port.
Peter Barton, a retired engineer and
acknowledged specialist in his field, has spent some 40 years
researching north-east merchant shipping of the 18th. and 19th. centuries
covering sail and iron steamships. This article stemmed from research into
Stockton-built vessels.The alum trade which for some 250 years was centred in
the north-east, is one of his interests. The majority of the alum was shipped
to London but perhaps surprisingly the
London Port Books indicate that the port of Exeter received regular shipments
of alum that had come from the North Yorkshire coast, this being at a time of
the concentration with the cloth industry.
I hope to persuade Peter to contribute a further article on this
specialised but little known trade in the future.
[1] Percy Russell's book, Dartmouth, A History of the Port and Town - London 1950, gives a concise but good account of this trade. A more comprehensive and recent contribution is David Starkey's essay in The New Maritime History of Devon, Volume 1 - Edited by Michael Duffy et al - Conway/University of Exeter 1993.
[2] He is known to have signed his name "Davys", but the Davis Straits lying between Greenland and the North American continent, have now attached the name "Davis" more permanently to this famous Elizabethan navigator.
[3] BT 6/93 Folio 98 Public Record Office (PRO).
[4] As 'heptarchy' means a government by seven persons possibly, at the outset at least, there would have been seven registered owners.
[5] Lloyd's List - 4 August 1775 and 15 December 1775.
[6] Letter Book. Collector to Board. Customs 65/1 28 April 1776 (PRO).
[7] Ibid. The error was very slight - about one ton !
[8] Lloyd's List 15 March 1776
[9] Lloyd's List 9 August 1776. A whaler did not return with her catch in this form. The blubber, stripped from the whales and seals, would be in casks. Whalebone and seal skins were retained and the rest abandoned.
[10] Lloyd's List 30 August 1776
[11] Lloyd's Register. Refer to issue 1775/6 for Charming Sally ex-Ranger and to issue 1778/9 for Gibraltar ex-Charming Sally.
[12] Customs 65/1 7 March 1777 (PRO)
[13] Lloyd's List 18 March 1777.
[14] Ibid - 5 September 1777.
[15] Ibid - 9 September 1777.
[16] Ibid - 19 September 1777.
[17] Ibid - 12 September 1777.
[18] Customs 65/1 21 July 1778 and 4 September 1778 (PRO).
[19] Lloyd's List - 13 August 1779.
[20] Ibid - 31 March 1780.
[21] Ibid - 12 September 1780.
[22] Ibid - 23 March 1781.
[23] Ibid - 13 April 1781. Morlaix on France' northern seaboard is about 100 miles due south of Dartmouth.
[24] It is worth noting that Basil Lubbock in Arctic Whalers, Glasgow 1937, refers to the 1787 season when for the first time the Hull whaling fleet included a Gibraltar. The 1790 Lloyd's Register describes her as 304 tons and French built in 1776. This entry suggests she must have been a different vessel to the Dartmouth Gibraltar but, because she was said to have come from France, perhaps the facts deserve closer scrutiny.
[25] Exchequer, Queens Remembrancer, Port Books. E.190 Series (PRO).
[26] Lloyd's Register 1779-80
[27] Ship registration was not compulsory until 1786, but earlier registers for some ports have survived.
[28] Exeter Whale Fishery ledger, 1754-9 [Exeter
City Library]; Third Report on the State
of British Fisheries, 1785, Appendix 27 [Reports of the House of Commons,
1715-1801, Vol III, p.131; L.B. VI etc
[Chapter House, Exeter; D. Macpherson, Annals of Commerce [London 1805], Vol
III, p.357; Exeter Flying Post, November 13th., 1772 and passim.