Jump to content

Nathaniel Portlock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nathaniel Portlock
Nathaniel Portlock[1]
Bornc. 1749
Died12 September 1817
Greenwich
Buried
Greenwich
Service/branchRoyal Navy
RankCaptain

Nathaniel Portlock(c. 1748 – 12 September 1817) was a British ship's captain, maritime fur trader, and author.[2]

He entered theRoyal Navyin 1772 as an able seaman, serving inHMSSt Albans.In 1776 he joinedHMSDiscoveryas master's mate and served on thethird Pacific voyageofJames Cook.During the expedition, in August 1779, he was transferred toHMSResolution.

He passed his lieutenant's examination on 7 September 1780, then served onHMSFirebrandin the Channel fleet.

On Cook's third voyage, furs obtained in present-dayBritish ColumbiaandAlaskasold for good prices when the expedition called at Macao.[3]In 1785 Richard Cadman Etches and partners, including Portlock andGeorge Dixonformed a partnership, commonly called theKing George's Sound Company,to develop thefur trade.Dixon had also served onResolutionin thePacific Oceanunder Cook. In September 1785 Portlock and Dixon sailed from England. Portlock was in command of the larger vessel, the 320-ton (bm)King George,with a crew of 59. Dixon's was in command of the 200-ton (bm)Queen Charlotte,with a crew of 33. Dixon and Portlock sailed together for most of their three-year voyage.[4]They crossed theAtlantic Ocean,reaching theFalkland Islandsin January 1786, and transitedCape Hornto enter thePacific Ocean.They reached theHawaiian Islandson 24 May and anchored inKealakekua Bay(where Cook had been killed in 1779), but did not go ashore.[5]They took on fresh food at other Hawaiian Islands and proceeded on to what is now Alaska. After two years of plying the waters, Portlock and Dixon departed North America, reachingMacaoin November 1788.[6]

On their return Portlock and Dixon published an account of the voyage, based in part on letters written by William Beresford, the trader on the expedition.[1]

Returning to the Royal Navy in 1791, Portlock was appointed to command the brigHMSAssistant,which accompaniedBlighon his second voyage to transportbreadfruitplants fromTahitito theWest Indies.Following his return to England in 1793, Portlock was promoted to commander and later commanded the sloopHMSArrow.In 1799 he was promoted to captain, and served as aSea Fenciblescommander at Poole in 1803, and at Dartmouth from 1805 to 1807.[7]He died on 12 September 1817 in Greenwich Hospital.

His son, Major-GeneralJoseph Ellison Portlock,was a British geologist and soldier.

Portlock Harbor, a bay on the west coast of Alaska'sChichagof Island,was named by Portlock in 1789, following a visit there in August 1787.Portlock,a cannery settlement active in the early and middle 20th century, and Portlock Glacier, both on Alaska'sKenai Peninsula,were named in his honor.[8]

See also

[edit]
  • HMSLutine— while commandingArrow,Portlock was involved in the wreck and attempted salvage ofLutine,which sank on 9 October 1799 carrying a large cargo of gold. The Lutine Bell, which was salvaged, was in the past rung when ships were reported sunk atLloyd's of London.

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^abPortlock and Dixon (1789)
  2. ^Gough, Barry M. (1983)."Portlock, Nathaniel".In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.).Dictionary of Canadian Biography.Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.).University of Toronto Press.
  3. ^Hīroa (1953), p 35
  4. ^Pethick (1976), pp 97–100
  5. ^Restarick (1928)
  6. ^King, Robert J."Spanish America in Eighteenth Century British Naval Strategy and the Visit of the Malaspina Expedition to New South Wales in 1793".Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2005.Retrieved6 September2009.
  7. ^"Captain Nathaniel Portlock (c. 1747-1817)".National Maritime Museum, London. 2008.Retrieved26 October2015.
  8. ^Orth, Donald J. (1967).Dictionary of Alaska Place Names.Washington:U.S. Government Printing Office.p.773.

References

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nathaniel_Portlock&oldid=1234724794"