Voyage (1785–1788)
In 1785 Richard Cadman Etches and partners, including Nathaniel Portlock and George Dixon, formed a partnership, commonly called the King George's Sound Company, to develop the fur trade. Portlock and Dixon had served in the Pacific on James Cook's third voyage. In September 1785 Portlock, in King George, and Dixon, in the smaller Queen Charlotte, sailed from England. They sailed together for most of their three-year voyage. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reaching the Falkland Islands in January 1786, and transited Cape Horn to enter the Pacific Ocean. They reached the Hawaiian islands on 24 May and anchored in Kealakekua Bay (where Cook had been killed in 1779), but did not go ashore. They took on fresh food at other Hawaiian islands and proceeded on to what is now Alaska. Dixson reached the Haida Gwaii islands and named them the "Queen Charlotte Islands" after his ship. After two years of plying the waters, Portlock and Dixon departed North America, reaching Macao in November 1787.
While King George and Queen Charlotte were in China, the EIC chartered them to take cargoes back to England. Captain Dixon crossed the Second Bar on 7 February 1788, and on 14 March reached North Island, the northmost of three islands in the bay that formed the principle anchorage of Enggano Island. Queen Charlotte then reached St Helena on 18 June and arrived at The Downs on 18 September. [3]
Unfortunately, there is no online copy of Lloyd's Register (LR) for 1788. She next appeared in Lloyd's Register for 1789 with the notation that new owners had changed her name to Montreal.
| Year | Vessel | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|
| 1789 | Queen Charlotte | | | London | LR; now the Montreal, Martin |
| 1789 | Montreal | L.Martin | Phyne & Co. | London–Jamaica | LR |
| 1792 | Montreal | L.Martin
S.Palmer | Phyne & Co.
Jenkin & Co. | London–Jamaica
London–Bordeaux | LR |
|
John Meares was an English navigator, explorer, and maritime fur trader, best known for his role in the Nootka Crisis, which brought Britain and Spain to the brink of war.
George Dixon was an English sea captain, explorer, and maritime fur trader. George Dixon was "born in Leath Ward, a native of Kirkoswald". The son of Thomas Dixon, he was baptised in Kirkoswald on 8 July 1748.
Kruzof Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska at 57°10′14″N135°40′29″W. It is about 16 km (10 mi) west of Sitka, and is part of the City and Borough of Sitka. It was named in 1805 by Captain U.T. Lisianski as Crooze Island, after a Russian Admiral. It hosts the region's only volcano, Mount Edgecumbe.
Princess Royal was a British merchant ship that sailed on fur trading ventures in the late 1780s, and was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban José Martínez of Spain during the Nootka Crisis of 1789. Called Princesa Real while under the Spanish Navy, the vessel was one of the important issues of negotiation during the first Nootka Convention and the difficulties in carrying out the agreements. The vessel also played an important role in both British and Spanish exploration of the Pacific Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands. In 1790, while under Spanish control, Princesa Real carried out the first detailed examination of the Strait of Juan de Fuca by non-indigenous peoples, finding, among other places, the San Juan Islands, Haro Strait, Esquimalt Harbour near present-day Victoria, British Columbia, and Admiralty Inlet.
The King George's Sound Company, also known as Richard Cadman Etches and Company after its "prime mover and principal investor", was an English company formed in 1785 to engage in the maritime fur trade on the northwest coast of North America. The company had nine partners in 1785: Richard Cadman Etches, John Hanning, William Etches, Mary Camilla Brook, William Etches, John Etches, Nathaniel Gilmour, Nathaniel Portlock (captain), and George Dixon (captain). No change in the list of partners after 1785 has been found.
Nathaniel Portlock was a British ship's captain, maritime fur trader, and author.
King George was a British merchant ship engaged in whaling and the maritime fur trade in the late 18th century. She was launched in 1785 and taken up by the King George's Sound Company. She sailed in 1785 on a voyage of exploration, together with the {[ship||Queen Charlotte|1785 ship|2}}. The two vessels whaled in the South Seas and sought furs in the Pacific Northwest. They returned to England via Canton, where they picked up cargoes for the British East India Company (EIC). Their voyage accomplished a circumnavigation of the world. On her return new owners apparently sailed her between Britain and South Carolina. She is no longer listed after 1796.
A number of sailing ships have been named Queen Charlotte.
James Charles Stuart Strange was a British officer of the East India Company, one of the first maritime fur traders, a banker, and a Member of Parliament.
King George was launched in 1784 and made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1785 and 1798. She also participated in the invasion of St Lucia. In 1798 her owners sold her and she became a West Indiaman. An accident in 1800 at Jamaica destroyed her.
Earl Talbot was launched as an East Indiaman in 1778. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) between 1779 and 1793. She was sold for breaking up in 1793.
Lascelles was launched in 1779 as an East Indiaman. She made eight voyages for the British East India Company (EIC}, and then briefly became a West Indiaman. She was sold to the government for use as a storeship, but was broken up in 1807.
Lord Camden was launched in 1783 as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company. She made five voyages for the EIC before her owner sold her.
Contractor was launched in 1779 as an East Indiaman. She made seven voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and one as transport for a military expedition before her owners sold her in 1800 for use as a transport.
Earl of Wycombe was launched in 1786 as an East Indiaman. She made six voyages for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1800 she became a general trader, trading across the Atlantic to the West Indies and Canada. She was lost without a trace c.1803.
Earl of Chesterfield was launched in 1781 as an East Indiaman. She made four voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before she was sold in 1794 for breaking up.
Spy was built in France in 1780, almost surely under another name, and taken in prize. The British East India Company (EIC) purchased her in 1781 and used her for almost two years as a fast packet vessel and cruiser based in St Helena. It then sold her and she became a London-based slave ship, making two voyages carrying slaves from West Africa to the West Indies. She then became a whaler, making seven whaling voyages between 1786 and 1795. She was probably wrecked in August 1795 on a voyage as a government transport.
North West America was a British merchant ship that sailed on maritime fur trading ventures in the late 1780s. It was the first non-indigenous vessel built in the Pacific Northwest. In 1789 it was captured at Nootka Sound by Esteban José Martínez of Spain during the Nootka Crisis, after which it became part of the Spanish Navy and was renamed Santa Gertrudis la Magna and later Santa Saturnina.
Kent was launched in Deptford in 1781. She made six voyages to India, China, and South East Asia for the British East India Company (EIC), and participated as a transport in one military campaign. She was sold for breaking up in 1797.
Ranger was launched in 1776 in France, possibly as an East Indiaman for the French East India Company, and almost certainly under another name. From 1780 to 1786 she was a British vessel that was a transport and traded generally. In 1786–1787 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC). From 1788 she traded between London and Ostend, and was last listed in 1793 with unchanged data. In 1788 she had sailed to the East Indies, perhaps with new owners from Ostend, and may have remained in the East Indies.
Great Britain