Prologue to Scottish Domination of NorthernWhaling: The Role of the FrenchRevolutionary War, 1793-18011

Chesley W. Sanger

Introduction

By the time the French Revolutionary War began in 1793, Scottish Northernwhaling, after just forty-two years of activity, was in decline. Rapid growthfollowing the American War of Independence led to over-expansion, and in thefive years leading up to the French Revolution the trade was reduced by morethan a third from the record levels of thirty-one whaling vessels during the1787 and 1789 seasons. It fell a further thirty percent in 1793, a decline en­tirely precipitated by the war. Throughout the balance of the decade, however,the fleet remained relatively stable at approximately ten ships (see table 1).2

The French Revolution proved a critical turning point in the develop­ment of Scottish Northern whaling. While the level of activity dropped duringwartime, it was also a period in which the Scottish trade entered a stage ofmaturity and consolidation. In the decades that followed, the Scots were firstable to outstrip the English and then to achieve global domination of Northernwhaling. The foundations for this growth can be traced to the 179Os. This"take-off" occurred because after half a century of whaling the Scots were

11 would like to acknowledge the advice from Lewis R. Fischer. Particularthanks are also due to Charles Conway, Cartographic Laboratory, Memorial Univer­sity, for drawing the figures, and to Sharon Wall for typing the manuscript. This re­search was supported by the Department of Geography, Memorial University, and theSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

2British involvement in Northern whaling has been well studied by GordonJackson, The British Whaling Trade (Hamden, CT, 1978; new ed., St. John's, 2(05);Basil Lubbock, TheArctic Whalers (Glasgow, 1937; reprint, Glasgow, 1968); and Wil­liam Scoresby, Jr., An Account of the ArcticRegions with a History and Description ofthe Northern Whale-Fishery (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1820; reprint, Newton Abbot, 1969).The Scottish side of the British trade has been examined in Chesley W. Sanger, "TheOrigins of the Scottish Northern Whale Fishery" (Unpublished PhD thesis, Universityof Dundee, 1985).

International Journal of Maritime History, XX, No.1 (June 2008),97-114.

97

98 Chesley W. Sanger

better able to cope with adverse wartime conditions and had established North­ern whaling as a Scottish tradition.

Table 1Scottish Northern Whaling Vessels by Port, Destination and

Greenland RiRht Whale Catch, 1793-1801~ ~ ~ ~.~ ~ ~ 'Ce, 19_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

B/~s§fJd Endeavour :0-4 ;0.2 : 0.8: 0.6: 07. : •

North Star 0-4 0·5 °00

Friendship DU·,: DU-3 DU-5: DU.3· DU·5· DU-3' DU.3. DU.9· DU·8

Raith "E-4 E·1. . . . .Royal Bounty "E·l E·3 E-6 "E·7 I "E·6 "E·9 "E·8 "E·l0. .. t·.·East Lothian 0·3 . 0·3 0·4 0·10 0·9· 0-0 0·5 0·8 "0·5

- - --. - - - ---- -- - • -- --to • • I • • .Latona "A·2 A·2 A·12 A-9 A·7. A·18 A·6 A-8 A·4-- - --t • • • , • • •F!'!dley, __ "CO

Eliza Swan'~M:3-j;M-6' "M-6·'"M.9· ~M-l: "M-5 '"M-75 "M-6' "M-9

Dundee .DU·4 tDU·3 • •

Tay ·"DU.a: DU.2· DU.5· DU·5 ·DU.ld DU-o1ou.9iGeorge Dempster . "M.3 t 1 ; -- l

t •• t • •

Hercules "A-l "A·7 "A·11 "A·8 "A-4' "A-2 A-2 A·8 A5

Robert : P·2 rp:O: P5 I P·3 : P2 1P6 : P-6 : P.8: P-6

E"stridge DU9 DU5

Jane (Jean) A-l0

TOTALTOTALVESSELS 14 12 10 9 10 ; 10 10 10 11

TOTALWHALES . °271 40 69 60 "60 41 595 76 °69,

AVERAGE CATCH 19 ' 33 69 67 6_0 4_1 6_0 76 63

EASTGREENLANDVESSELS 6 9 7 7 7 6 8 7 8

-- ----_._---~--- - -- t __ ------+-_____ -<0" _______ 0-··------- . ._ __

WHALES °14 ; 19 45 43 48 27 425 55 °43- .

AVERAGE CATCH 23 I 21 64 61 69 ; 45 53 79 54

DAVISSTRAITVESSELS

,8 3 3 2 3 4 2 3 3-_ .. --

, 13 1 21,-

WHALES 24 17 °12 , 14 17 21 26-- ----- ----------_. - - -.- ._+----._- ._.- ~ -

AVERAGE CATCH 16 70 80 85 40 35 85 70 87

PORTS PortEOtN8URGH LErTH E 0·4· CatchOUNBAR 0 at East GreenlandAll(RD£EN •FlATH Of ClVD[ C Vessel captured\olONTRQS[ .. DaVIS StraitDuNDEE ou • Vessellosl IncompletePETERH[AD p

Sources: See note 3; and newspapers (various).

Prologue to Scottish Domination ofNorthern Whaling

Table 2Scottish Northern Whaling Returns by Port, 1783-1801

99

EDtNBUROH """" FIRTH~ FORTHLEITH BO'NESS DUN8AIl DUNDEE AIIEJlDEEN MOtmIOSE P£1VIHEAll ~ (-ICLYDE

\\~\~%%.,.~~,%%",~~,%~ ~~'%~.,.~~'%~~'!.~~~~~ ~~~\\ ~~, ~~'%". ~~'%~ ~~'%~ ~\.'%,~ ~\'%,~. ~~~~ ''\ ~~ 1>$ '%,~ ~

1783 2''';~1 601784 111) , 0 2ttf 20 '~141 38 ~(11 '01785 '~)I 63 5111 ~o ni~1 .. 6<21 30 1;1) 10 10111 1001786 15>j41 38 , llll s s ISiS, 30 12121 60 11121 s s ''<21 28 20/" '0 6(1) 801787 10\51 '0 6j~) , 2 '4(51 28 10')1 33 1313, '3 7i)) 23 lSIS, 30 6121 301788 9161 ,~ 8l4) 20 17(51 34 18(31 60 4()1 , 3 16(31 ~3 0(11 00 1(41 18 1(21 051789 9t5i , 8 '4131 .~ 1314) 33 12(4) 30 5(3J " 16131 ~3 01' I 00 lOt), 33 , Sill ,,1790 12i51 24 5/2', n 9/)1 30 3441 08 8(31 20 212) , 0 1(11 , 0 J(21 1 s1791 0141 00 2121 10 4(31 , 3 13,41 33 513, , 7 18131 '3 111, , 0 4121 20 01" 001792 0/31 00 0", 00 '4(31 ., 10\41 2~ 5(2') 25 1(], 03 5411 50 012, 00 0(11 001793 "1)1 , 3 7(21 3' .·,3) , 3 3121 t 5 8,2) 30 2/11 20 0(11 001794 12j)1 40 5(21 25 8131 21 9121 '5 8n) 60 0\11 001795 1)i2) 6' 12!21 80 10,2/ '0 2312} ", 61') 80 5111 50 • 'ncotT'!C.*t.1796 1111 10 16121 80 812, .0 11(2) 8' 9111 90 3111 30179( 1~·12j " t6(2) 80 '''/21 '0 1)/2'1 6' "(11 , 0 2(1) 201798 712/ 3~ Oi1\ 00 )12') 1 ~ 20(2) 100 5(11 50 6111 601799' 17'21' 8" 9~21 " 12(21 60 812/ '0 1~PI " 6(11 601800" 15a)· ,~ 13121 6~ 18(2) gO 18(21 80 6(1) 60 8111 eolMl 11.21· S' 5-/21 2' 13(2) e, 19(3) 6" 9(1) 90 6111 60

Sources: See table 1.

In some respects the stability of Scottish Northern whaling during theFrench Revolution disguised the many pressures that beset the trade during theconflict. Indeed, the war created conditions which had a strong influence onthe industry. On balance, however, the factors encouraging continuation andthose opposing it, though different and varying from year to year, wereroughly equal in their influence, as is indicated empirically by the relativelyconstant level of participation.

Since the last decade of the eighteenth century was such a crucialstage for Scottish whaling, it is important to identify and assess the more sig­nificant factors affecting it. While these forces can be considered separately,the following discussion integrates the agents of influence with descriptive re­construction and analysis of seasonal activities to demonstrate the increasinglymultifarious character of the trade during this critical period.

Initial Adjustment, 1793-1795

At the beginning of hostilities the Scottish Northern whaling fleet comprisedfourteen vessels, two-thirds of what it had been at the end of the previous year.The 1793 season continued the run of generally poor results which had re­cently affected the trade (see table 2). While only Findlay, the lone west coastwhaler, and Tay of Dundee actually returned "clean," the two most productive

100 Chesley W. Sanger

whalers, Blessed Endeavour and Dundee, captured just four whales each.' Thegenerally poor results, however, were offset to some extent by the fact that thewhales taken at both East Greenland and Davis Strait were much larger thanthose caught in more than a decade (see figure 1). Despite this result and thegovernment's decision to continue the bounty, although at a significantly re­duced rate, the 1793 Scottish Northern whale fishery was in essence a com­plete failure (see figure 2).4

The French Revolutionary War brought the usual pressures. Despitethe limited protection offered by legislation passed the previous year, press­gangs again made it difficult to procure suitably qualified crews.' At the onsetof hostilities the press became vigorous, and many Scottish whalers lost theircrews before arriving home. The bounty documentation for Royal Bounty ofEdinburgh, for example, contains a note dated 31 August 1793 which providesan indication of what was occurring. It read: "N.B. part of the Crew left theShip 23 Inst. to the northward off Montrose, for fear of being impressed."6

Additionally, French men-of-war and privateers were about to make theirpresence felt.

3Scottish Record Office (SRO), E508/93/8/10 and 12-13, bounty payments;and E205/2/93, pipe rolls, "Declared Accounts, Customs." It should be noted that al­though available sources indicate that Tay did not catch any whales, the custom recordsfor this particular voyage are incomplete. The target species of the Northern whalefishery was usually referred to as the Greenland right whale by Europeans and morecommonly called the bowhead by American whalers. For a full discussion of the re­source base of the Northern whaling industry, see Sanger, "Origins," 183-271; Sanger"'On Good Fishing Ground But Too Early for Whales I Think:' The Impact ofGreenland Right Whale Migration Patterns on Hunting Strategies in the NorthernWhale Fishery, 1600-1900," American Neptune, LI, No.4 (1991), 221-240; and "'SawSeveral Finners but no Whales:' The Greenland Right Whale (Bowhead) - An Assess­ment of the Biological Basis of the Northern Whale Fishery during the Seventeenth,Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," International Journal of Maritime History, III,No.1 (1991), 127-154.

4The bounty was reduced from thirty to twenty-five shillings per ton. Thisseventeen percent reduction, as in all previous depreciations, had a significaut impacton the size of the English and Scottish Northern whaling fleets. It is clear that the num­ber of speculators prepared to invest in whaling, even with continued, albeit reducedgovernment support, declined dramatically.

5David Macpherson, Annuals of Commerce, Manufactures, Fisheries andNavigation, with Brief Notices of the Arts and Sciences Connected with Them (4 vols.,London, 1805; reprint, London, 1972), IV, 233.

6SRO, E508/93/8/6, bounty payment.

Prologue to Scottish Domination ofNorthern Whaling 101

50.0

45.0

.8.0 40.0:::l::0'6 35.0

en~ 30.0t'llo'0 25.0...Q).0E 200:::lCQ) 15.0

~Q) 10.0

~5.0

Davis Strait

......... ,~ -r -""' .. "

Greenland .' '\,--_

1~1~1~1~1m1_1m1~lmlmlml~1_1~

Year

Figure 1: Size of Greenland Right Whales Captured by the Scottish Northern WhalingFleet, 1783-1796

Source: See table 1.

When Findlay caught only one white whale and thirty seals at DavisStrait in 1793, Glasgow withdrew from Northern whaling, leaving the trade tothe traditional east coast whaling ports (see figure 3).7 Consequently, in 1794only twelve Scottish vessels were involved in Northern whaling - nine at EastGreenland and three at Davis Strait (see figure 4). The Greenland Sea fisheryproduced only marginal results, although the majority of vessels operatingalong the ice-edge west of Spitsbergen returned with at least two or three ex­ceptionally large whales. The three vessels at Davis Strait, however, had thebest results in more than a decade (see figure 5). All three - Royal Bounty ofEdinburgh, Hercules of Aberdeen and Eliza Swan of Montrose - returned withfull loads. This success was somewhat tempered, however, by whalebone

7Jbid., E508/93/8/1O. White whales, like seals, were still considered "inci­dental" targets at this date. Findlay was thus a "clean" ship.

102 Chesley W. Sanger

prices, which fell by more than one-third." This was a result of changes in la­dies fashions that emphasized foundation support much less than previously,thus reducing demand for whalebone." As an observer writing in 1805 noted,"about this time [1771] there was a very great consumption of whale bone, orfins, in very stiff stays for the ladies. That rage has now greatly abated: thanksto the writings of Doctor Buchan, and the good sense of the ladies. "10

Another debilitating factor in 1794 was the threat of capture. A reportcarried in the Aberdeen Journal, for example, illustrates the danger faced byreturning whalers:

We hear from Shetland, that on the 8th curt. a large vesselwas spoke by some fishermen off the Isle of Unst, whichthey supposed was a French privateer. She carried 18 ironguns, and two wooden ones, had her boats laid across herdeck in the manner of the Greenlandmen [Northern whalingvessels], which seemed intended for a decoy, as she wascruising [sic] near the track of the homeward bound whaleships. 11

The deception proved effective, and their worst fears were realized when Dun­dee, homeward bound from Greenland with three large whales, was capturedoff Duncan's Bay Head on 21 July 1794. Fortunately for the owners, however,the whaler was retaken by His Majesty's man-of-war King Fisher on 25 Julyand returned with cargo intact to Dundee. 12

8lbid., E508/ 94/8/2/8-9; and Great Britain, National Archives (TNA/PRO),Board of Trade (BT) 6/93, fol. 137; and British Museum (BM), Add. Ms. 38, 389.

9For a detailed discussion of changes occurring in female clothing styles as aconsequence of the French Revolution and their impact on Northern whalebone prices,see Jackson, British Whaling Trade, 83-84. I provide a broader overview in "'Oil is anIndispensable Necessity of Life:' The Impact of Oscillating Oil and Baleen (Bone)Prices on Cyclical Variations in the Scale and Scope of Northern Commercial Whaling,1600-1900," International Journal o/Maritime History, XV, No.2 (2003),147-158.

1tMacpherson, Annals, Ill, 512. But as Jackson, British Whaling Trade, 83,noted almost two centuries later, "the 'good sense' of the ladies was not, perhaps, sucha sensible remark for a historian of commerce, for it dealt a severe blow to the whalingtrade."

"Aberdeen Journal, 29 July 1794.

12SRO, E508/96/8/4, bounty payment. Illustrating the seriousness of thisthreat, as well as the relative good fortune of the Scottish trade in escaping what couldvery well have been a crippling blow, Raith of Edinburgh had a similar encounter.

Prologue 10 Scottish Domination ofNorthern Whaling 103

100 100

90 Davis Strait 90

80

oGreenland80

Q)IIIIII

'0 Q)Q) >:;

Average (i)a. 70 70 a.III IIIU Q)III (ijQ) s:(ij ~~ 60 60~ 1:1: 01

01 a:a: '0

50 50 C'0 IIIC CE Q)c Q)Q) ...Q) 40 4.0 C)...

'0C)

'0 s:o

(i)30 30

iii.0 U

E Q)

::> 01Z III

(i)20 20 >«

10 10

o 01793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801

Year

Figure2: Scottish Northern Whaling Returns, 1793-1801 (No. of whales)

Source: See table 1.

Captured off Shetland, the vessel was recaptured when the French prize crew made themistake of celebrating its good fortune prematurely and was overpowered. /bid.•E508/95/817. The incident, not unexpectedly, received wide coverage in the Scottishpress. See, for example, Edinburgh Advertiser. 26 August 1794.

104 Chesley W. Sanger

WhalingCore

o 100I I

krn

~ .:

I/

r/ENGLAND

Firthof

Clyde

Peterhead

Montrose, IL-.~

Aberdeen

i-~

I II I DundeeI j,-_...J

Dunbar

~Edinburgh

Leith

NORTHENIRELAND

1~ t---+---,

-'Z

-ouen'0Q>.DE

!!2Q)(/) q(/)Q)>.r: H(/)

Year

Figure 3: Scottish Northern Whaling Vessels by Port. 1793-1801

Source: See table I.

Prologue to Scottish Domination of Northern Whaling 105

HUNTING GROUNDS'GREENLAND' Harp SealNEWFOUNDLAND: Harp Seal _GREENLAND': R'llht Whale

17' ·CenturyPost 1r ·Century

DAVIS STRAIT: R'llht Whale

":-0"".

Figure 4: Hunting Grounds

J " , ..

Source: Courtesy of the author.

Even with relatively good catches in 1794. the overall prospects forthe industry were not good. Prior to the beginning of the next season the Scot­tish Northern whaling fleet was cut to ten vessels. The companies that contin­ued. and which would soon become the foci of the Scottish rise to dominationof both British and global Northern whaling during the nineteenth century.obtained even better results than in the previous season. One reason was thatforeign and English competition was drastically reduced." Combined withfavourable hunting conditions. this enabled the Scots to secure very goodcatches on both the major Northern whaling grounds."

"As Lubbock. Arctic Whalers. 135. reported: "The French frigates headed byLe Tartare played havoc amongst the Dutch Greenland ships at the ice edge. At Am­sterdam a list of 37 Dutch whalers was posted as having been captured by the FrenchCruisers. ~ On English whaling see. for example. Jackson. British Whaling Trade. 70­116; and Scoresby. Account. II. 138-161.

"Aberdeen Journal. 27 July 1795. reported the return of the two local whal­ers from East Greenland with "full" loads. While the three Scottish whalers at DavisStrait did only marginally better. the seven Greenland Sea vessels returned with a sig-

106

3000

<D~.!:3:c<D.!:toZ.cB2000oU(j)

<D0..

<D.0.0 150 a::J:0"0<J)

..::<:<J)<tlUa 1000

<D.0E::JCQ)Q)<tl<D~

Chesley W. Sanger

Greenland

I~ 1~ I~ t~ 1~ 1~ 1~ 1m 1m 1~ 1~ 1~ 1~ I~

Year

Figure 5: Scottish Northern Whaling Returns, 1783-1796 (Blubber)

Source: See figure 1.

Despite excellent catches, the slump within the Scottish and Englishwhaling trades in general caused a reduction in supply and a significant rise inthe price of Northern whale oil. The shortfall also brought about a brief resur­gence in whalebone prices. The capture of Holland by France added further

nificantly improved average of 6.4 whales. Even the poorest vessel at East Greenland,East Lothian of Dunbar, captured four large whales. SRO, E508/ 95/8/4, bounty pay­ment.

Prologue to Scottish Domination ofNorthern Whaling 107

encouragement to British whalers by crippling their only serious competitors. IS

On the negative side, the normal constraints imposed by wartime conditionswere still present and, if these were not sufficient deterrents, the bounty pay­ment was reduced as scheduled to twenty shillings per ton after 25 December1795.16 Westminster's decision to encourage American entrepreneurs to estab­lish, via Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Dunkirk, France, a whaling centre atMilford Haven also had a negative impact on the British Northern whale fish­eries." Even though the British Northern whaling fleet in general, and theScots in particular, had enjoyed two relatively successful seasons, the traderemained somewhat depressed. Nevertheless, there were signs that prospectswere improving.

The Scottish Northern whaling trade followed the same trend after1795 as had been experienced during the Seven Years' War and the AmericanWar of Independence. IS The participation rate remained remarkably constant.The reduction to a "normal" wartime level in the Scottish fleet was influencedby "normal" wartime causes." There was, however, one important differencebetween Scottish Northern whaling during the French Revolutionary War andthe two previous conflicts: the level of participation remained significantlyhigher. Even at its lowest ebb in 1796, the Scottish Northern whaling fleetnumbered three times that of 1779. Moreover, six east coast ports now perse-

15For a full discussion of the impact of French military success on Scotland,see Henry Hamilton, An Economic History of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century (Ox­ford, 1963), 333-337 and passim.

"Scoresby, Account, II, 113.

I7For a detailed discussion of the difficulties American whalers had in estab­lishing a whaling settlement in Britain following the American War of Independence,and the complicated course of events leading up to the eventual selection of MilfordHaven, see A.H. Clark, "History and Present Condition of the Fishery," in G. BrownGoode (ed.), The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States (8 vols., Wash­ington, DC, 1884-1887), II; Jackson, British Whaling Trade; Edouard A. Stackpole,Whales and Destiny: The Rivalry Between America, France, and Britain for Control ofthe Southern Whale Fishery, 1785-1825 (Amherst, MA, 1972); and A. Starbuck, His­tory of the American Whale Fishery, from its Earliest Inception to the Year 1876 (2vols., Washington, DC, 1878; reprint, New York, 1964).

lSSanger, "Origins," 380-437 and 483-508; and Sanger, "The Impact of theAmerican Revolutionary War on Scottish Northern Whaling: The Dunbar Factor,"Northern Scotland, XX (2000), 71-89.

19BM, Add. Ms. 38/356/167/88, Liverpool Papers. In a report dated 31 No­vember 1801 the Commissioners of Customs, observed that "[a]s to the present Dimi­nution of the Trade, it is not more than happened always in a time of War."

108 Chesley W. Sanger

vered in the trade, whereas little more than a decade earlier only Dunbar, withjust four whalers, had maintained a precarious Scottish presence on the North­ern whaling grounds."

It is clear that the apogee of British Northern whaling, which was tooccur during the first half of the next century and which eventually wouldleave the Scots as the dominant participant, had its roots firmly embedded inan enterprise that had survived poor returns, depressed markets, reducedbounty payments and other debilitating factors that normally affected the indus­try during wartime. The period 1796-1801 offered sufficient inducement topermit the establishment of a nucleus of survivors around which the nine­teenth-century expansion of Scottish Northern whaling would occur.

Consolidation and Stability, 1796-1801

At the beginning of the 1796 season the naval press was intense along the Firthof Forth. As a report carried by the Edinburgh Courant noted, "there has beenfor several nights a very hot press for seamen on the river. All the ships werestripped of their hands; and a number of able-bodied landsmen were taken indifferent quarters of the town. ,,21 The consequence was that only one whalingvessel put out from Edinburgh/Leith that year. On 19 March, for example, theEdinburgh Whale Fishing Company was still advertising for men to completethe crew of Royal Bounty, about to make the shorter voyage to EastGreenland. Even at this late date, however, "a few more GOOD SEAMEN,"were still "WANTED to complete her complement. ,,22

Early accounts from Davis Strait in 1796 indicated that "in generalthe vessels had been remarkably successful."23 Shortly thereafter, followingthe return of the two Scottish whalers, Eliza Swan and Hercules, from the westof Greenland in July, the Aberdeen Journal noted that "the fishing in theStraits never was so successful as this year. "24 Meanwhile, the whale fishery atEast Greenland, abetted by favourable environmental conditions and reducedcompetition, also yielded handsomely. After the return of Tay to Dundee withfive fairly large whales and 230 seals, a local newspaper observed that "the

20Sanger, "Impact," 71-86.

"Edinourgt: Courant, 3 March 1796.

»tua.. 19 March 1796.

23Aberdeen Journal, 28 June 1796.

24Eliza Swan killed nine and Hercules eight; the latter which comprised a fullship. Edinburgh Advertiser, 31 July 1796; Aberdeen Journal, 19 July 1796; and SRO,E508/96/8/3, bounty payment.

Prologueto Scottish DominationofNorthern Whaling 109

Captain reports, that the fishing in general, has been successful, but there werefew ships out. "25

Despite offshore success, the industry was still beset with problemsfrom the press and enemy action at sea in 1796.26 Together with a steep de­cline in the price of whalebone, these factors kept the trade in a reduced state.Nevertheless, prior to the 1797 season the Edinburgh Whale Fishing Companytook Aberdeen's lead and redeployed one vessel on each of the two Northernwhaling grounds. Both fishing areas once again produced excellent results (seetables 1 and 2). Although there are no statistics to indicate the size of thewhales captured in 1797, it seems fairly safe to assume that those taken atDavis Strait were significantly larger and that prospects on those groundslooked much more favourable than at East Greenland, for in the following sea­son the fleet at Davis Strait was expanded to four, while the number of Scot­tish whalers operating on the Greenland Sea grounds was reduced to six."

While the overall picture of the Scottish economy during the lasttwenty years of the eighteenth century was "one of expansion and progress,"the combined output from the Northern and Southern whale fisheries in 1797was sufficiently large to induce a further reduction in the price of bone and,for the first time in four years, the price of whale oil. 28 These falling pricespartially negated the effects of excellent catches by the Northern whalers. Infact, it was not until the price of oil increased significantly in 1800, again incombination with other factors, that the Scottish industry showed signs of ex­pansion, even though good catches continued throughout the remainder of theFrench Revolutionary War. The defeat of the Dutch naval forces by AdmiralDuncan of Dundee in 1797 also had important implications for the Scottish

25Aberdeen Journal, 19 July 1796; and SRO, E508/96/8/6, bounty payment.

"Robert of Peterhead, for example, on its homeward voyage had three offi­cers impressed by the frigate Circe; SRO, E508/96/811, bounty payment. Scottishnewspapers carried numerous accounts at the beginning of the whaling season on theloss of the Hull Greenland whaler Gibraltar. Details of this event, as well as additionalincidents threatening the 1796 British Northern whaling effort, are provided by Lub­bock, Arctic Whalers, 140-142.

27There is, unfortunately, a gap in the bounty documents for information per­taining to the size of Greenland Right whales taken by Scottish vessels between 1797and 1805.

28Hamilton, Economic History, 332. For additional information on the trans­formation of the Scottish economy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centu­ries, see Tony Clarke and Tony Dickson, "The Making of a Class Society: Commer­cialization and Working Class Resistance, 1780-1830," in Dickson (ed.), Scottish Capi­talism: Class, State and Nation from before the Union to the Present (London, 1980),137-180.

110 Chesley W. Sanger

Northern whale fishery. Subsequent action against the Dutch whaling fleetensured that the British would gain almost full control of the trade before thetum of the century. 29

The relatively indifferent catches at Davis Strait in 1798 were clearlydiscouraging, and the Northern whaling fleet continued to be plagued by priva­teers who were even more aggressive than before. At the beginning of the sea­son the Greenland whalers were impelled to sail in convoy and to seek navalprotection whenever possible.30 Similarly, while Scottish vessels were not ac­tually threatened while operating on the Northern whaling grounds, the returnvoyage brought the prospect of ambush by French privateers, particularlywhen approaching their home ports. Rodney of Dundee, as a local newspaperexplained, "was very near being taken [5 JUly]. ..by a French privateer off Pe­terhead, a few miles from land, and nothing saved him but a great swell of thesea, which prevented the privateer from getting her guns to bear on him; andwhen he got close in with Fraserburgh, the privateer put out to sea. ,,31

In the summer of 1798 the British navy made a concerted effort tocapture the remnant of the returning Dutch whaling fleet. As a correspondentfrom Shetland reported:

Groenlandia, with six fish, taken the 29th ult. [July] £.S.£.9 leagues from the Stadt-head of Norway. From the way inwhich our cruisers [sic] are stationed, between Shetland andthe Stadt-head, there is every possibility that few of theDutch Greenland Ships will find their way home this sea­son."

Although this manoeuvre also made the returning British whalers vulnerable tothe press, the blockade was not without considerable benefit over the next few

29See, for example, the account of the conflict provided by Macpherson, An­nals, IV, 429-430. Duncan's victory led directly to the destruction or capture of virtu­ally the entire Dutch whaling fleet, thus ensuring that English and Scottish whalerswould subsequently dominate the Northern whale and seal fisheries.

30Aberdeen Journal, 20 March 1798, reported that "[o]n Thursday passed byhere, the Greenland fleet from Hull, etc., consisting of 23 vessels, under convoy of theProserpine frigate."

"Cateaonian Mercury, 12 July 1798. See also Aberdeen Journal, 10 July1798.

"Aberaeen Journal, 20 August 1798.

Prologue to Scottish Domination ofNorthern Whaling 111

years for the Scottish and English Northern whaling trades." The effectiveelimination of all foreign competition, the overall success of British whalers atboth East Greenland and Davis Strait and the government's decision to extendthe bounty payment which had been due to expire in 1798 for an additionalyear at twenty shillings per ton, did much to offset the negative effects of thecontinuing decline in the price of whale products, the implementation of newimport duties, a vigorous naval press and the increased threat of capture byFrench and Dutch privateers."

On the whole, there is no doubt that the war generated forces thatbenefited the long-term interests of Scottish Northern whaling. Even in theshort term, the whaling companies which remained almost always managedpaying voyages, and in an unprecedented number of cases vessels returnedbumper catches. Contemporary commentaries and reports were characterizedby a growing feeling of buoyant optimism. An example of this is conveyed inan Edinburgh editorial:

The adventurers in the [whale] fisheries have been uncom­monly fortunate this season. The gratification which everymind feels on the success of meritorious enterprise, is muchincreased in recollecting, that in forcing this property fromthe deep, a number of fine fellows obtain employment, andthe best nursery is established for that great source of, notmerely our power, but existence - our Marine."

By the end of the eighteenth century, the protection of the English andScottish whaling fleets was not only given a high priority by British naval au­thorities but was also achieved with good effect. Before the 1800 whaling sea­son the Aberdeen Journal reported that "two convoys are appointed to sail

33A. Milne, "Peterhead and the Arctic Whale Fishery," in James F. Tocher(ed.), The Book of Buchan (Aberdeen, 1943), 300, noted that "[w]ith the outbreak ofthe French Revolution and the subsequent blockade of European ports by the Britishfleet, the English [and Scots] had the field [Northern whaling] to themselves and, as theoil at that time was in use the world over in lamps, and as a lubricant, the demand for ithere grew apace since the Dutch were no longer in a position to meet it. "

34As Macpherson, Annals, IV, 460, explained, "[tjhe navies of all the hostilepowers were now almost completely annihilated: thenceforth the British commercialshipping enjoyed, almost without competition, the undisturbed navigation of every partof the ocean. " The East Lothian and Merse Whale Fishing Company of Dunbar conse­quently decided to reintroduce, after an absence of thirteen years, the old North Star toreplace Blessed Endeavour, which had been lost at East Greenland.

35Edinburgh Advertiser, 19 July 1799.

112 Chesley W. Sanger

about the end of this month [March] from Leith Roads; one for the Elbe; andthe other for the Greenland ships. ,,36 At the end of March the same paperwrote that "[o]n Friday evening, a large fleet of Greenland Ships passed thisbay, under convoy. "37 What had traditionally been a problem at sea during warappears to have been effectively eliminated.

By 1800, conditions had improved to such an extent that the DundeeWhale Fishing Company was prepared to replace the lost Tay with anotherwhaler, Estridge. 38 This initiative was richly rewarded when each of the twoDundee vessels captured nine whales. For the sixth consecutive season, bothgrounds yielded well. The seven Scottish vessels at East Greenland captured anaverage of 7.9 whales, while the three operating at Davis Strait averagedseven.

With an improvement in both domestic and, with the elimination ofDutch suppliers, foreign demand for whale products, the price of Northernwhale oil for the first time in four years increased by more than thirty-ninepercent, rising from approximately £29 to almost £40 per ton." This fillip,combined with the decision to extend the bounty payment and a decline in theamount of oil imported by Southern whalers, set the stage for a dramatic up­turn in the British Northern whaling industry." The revitalization was espe­cially important for the Scots.

Of particular significance in 1801 was the expansion of the Aberdeenwhaling fleet to three vessels. As North Star (1799) and Estridge (1800) weresimple replacements, the addition of Jean represented the first infusion of"new" capital into the Scottish trade in more than a decade. All the Scottishvessels, with the exception of the Dunbar whaler, North Star, managed excel­lent catches. Those at Davis Strait, as in the previous year, made very shorttrips, capturing their whales on the new Southwest grounds, and all returnedfull. Most of the East Greenland whalers did likewise."

"Aberdeen Journal, 17 March 1800.

»tsu.. 31 March 1800.

38This was a 312-ton, British-built ship carrying six whaling boats. SRO,E5081107181II, bounty payment.

39See, for example, Macpherson, Annals, IV, 462-463.

40"The Act for the Encouragement of the Greenland fishery Continued till25th December 1801;" ibid., IV, 494.

41The Scottish whalers at Davis Strait were back in early June; AberdeenJournal, 22 June 1801 and Edinburgh Courant, 11 June 1801. I provide information onthe four major hunting grounds encompassed by the Northern whale fishery in several

Prologue to Scottish Domination of Northern Whaling 113

During the French Revolutionary War. Scots took unprecedentednumbers of Greenland right whales. It was important to future Scottish in­volvement in Northern whaling that they had been able to hold on to the tradein the face of wartime adversity. This prolonged series of successful voyagesenabled a nucleus of six experienced Scottish whaling companies. employingincreasingly seasoned and skilful masters. to persevere (see table 3). Theemergence of an east coast whaling core guaranteed both the survival andgrowth of the Scottish Northern whale fishery during the nineteenth century.

Table 3Whaling Experience (as Masters) of Commanders of

the Scottish Northern Whalin2 Fleet. 1795-1800

VESSElS

'. - .~'.

'.:,

PORT 1196 1191 1198 '800ADDITIONAL [XP[Rl[NCt:

IYl:ARS.

Source: See table 1.

publications. On East Greenland. see "Environmental Factors Affecting 17th-19th Cen­tury Whaling in the Greenland Sea." Polar Record. XXVll. No. 161 (1991). 77-86; onDavis Strait. see M'Dodging in the Bight. A Good Place for a Whale:' EnvironmentalFactors Affecting Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Whaling in Davis Strait." TheNorthern MarinerlLe Marin du Nord. IV, No.1 (1994). 17-33: on Baffin Bay. see "'We Are Now in a Splendid Position for Whales:' Environmental Factors AffectingNineteenth-Century Whaling in Baffin Bay." Mariner's Mirror. LXXX. NO.2 (1994).159-177; and on Cumberland Gulf. see "Scottish Over-Winter Whaling at CumberlandGulf. Baffin Island. 1853-1890." International Journal of Maritime History. XIX. No.2 (2007), 161-199.

114

Conclusion

Chesley W. Sanger

The events of the last decade of the eighteenth century demonstrated thatNorthern whaling had fmally been established as a Scottish tradition. Part ofthis was the ability to persist in whaling despite the adverse effects of war. TheFrench Revolutionary War resurrected the naval press, provided alternativemilitary employment for vessels and again brought the threat of capture byenemy warships and privateers. The conflict was also accompanied by the con­tinued growth of the British and American Southern whale fisheries, increasingfitting-out costs, new import duties, variable oil and bone prices and furtherreductions in the bounty. While these forces would have brought about a re­duction in the size of the Scottish Northern whaling effort, other factors tendedto promote its growth. With respect to the latter, for instance, reduced compe­tition on the Northern whaling grounds, regenerated stocks, generally favour­able environmental hunting conditions, increased average annual catches oflarger whales, expanding domestic and foreign oil and bone markets and thecontinuation, albeit at a reduced level, of the government's tonnage subsidiescombined to enable the Scots to maintain a substantial presence in Northernwhaling during the war. More important, the trade became concentrated exclu­sively in east coast ports where experienced owners, masters and crew em­ployed proven Northern whaling vessels.

The prospects for the Scottish Northern whale fishery on the eve ofpeace in Europe looked promising. The spirit of optimism was shared through­out the country. A report carried by an Edinburgh newspaper towards the endof the 1801 whaling season, for example, provides an indication of the favour­able attitude that prevailed. It read in part:

The [whale] Fisheries become annually more produc­tive ... Not a vessel that we have heard of this season returnedempty. We are informed of many arrivals in England andScotland with cargoes of blubber, whalebone, and sperma­ceti, which must afford to the adventurers in the fishing tradeprofits for this season far exceeding their most extravaganthopes."

The French Revolutionary War was the era in which Scottish whalingentered a stage of maturity and consolidation which permitted further expan­sion. Not only was a continued presence in Northern whaling ensured, but bythe middle of the nineteenth century the Scots would outstrip their English ri­vals and completely dominate the industry. The stage was set for the beginningof the "golden age" of Scottish Northern whaling and sealing.

42Caledonian Mercury, 1 August 1801.