Samuel Enderby & Sons

Samuel Enderby & Sons was a London-based British whaling and sealing enterprise founded by Samuel Enderby in the 1770s. It grew out of the Enderby family's Atlantic trading and whaling activities during the period surrounding the American Revolutionary War. When restrictions and disruption affected the supply of whale oil from New England, the family redirected its vessels toward the South Atlantic and later toward the South Pacific, Southern Ocean, and waters around New Zealand. The company became important not only as a commercial operator but also as a sponsor of maritime exploration. Its captains were encouraged to search for new whaling and sealing grounds, survey unfamiliar coastlines, and report useful geographic information. The 1788–1790 voyage of Amelia was an early landmark: sailing west around Cape Horn, it became the first vessel of any nation to undertake whaling operations in the Southern Ocean and returned with a substantial cargo of sperm oil. By 1791 the business owned or leased a large fleet operating in subantarctic and Southern Ocean waters. Enderby vessels subsequently participated in voyages connected with the early British presence in the South Pacific and New South Wales, including ships of the 1791 Third Fleet. Company voyages also contributed to the development of the New Zealand whaling trade. Rattler's 1793–1794 surveying voyage under James Colnett examined Pacific whaling grounds and the Galápagos Islands. Ocean's captain, Abraham Bristow, discovered the Auckland Islands in 1806, while Syren reached Japanese whaling grounds in 1819 and returned to London with a large sperm-oil cargo. After the death of Samuel Enderby, control passed to his sons. In the next generation, Charles and George Enderby developed the company's Thames facilities, creating Enderby's Wharf and associated rope and sail-making works. The family also sponsored major Southern Ocean expeditions. John Biscoe's 1830–1833 expedition, using Tula and Lively, circumnavigated Antarctica and charted extensive areas of the region, including the landform later known as Enderby Land. A further expedition led by John Balleny in 1838–1839 discovered the Balleny Islands. The family's attempt to establish a permanent settlement at Auckland Island ultimately weakened the business. Charles Enderby founded the Southern Whale Fishery Company and established the Enderby Settlement at Port Ross in 1849. Intended to support agriculture, ship resupply, repairs, and whaling, the settlement became known as Hardwicke but failed and was abandoned in 1852. Charles returned to London in 1853, and the associated financial difficulties led to liquidation of the Enderby family business in 1854. The company is remembered through the geographic names Enderby Land, Enderby Island, and Enderby Plain, as well as its appearance in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.

Samuel Enderby's maritime activities began before the formal creation of Samuel Enderby & Sons. By about 1768 he had acquired a vessel used for trading, later renamed Rockingham. In 1773 he started the Southern Fishery, operating ships registered in London and Boston and relying heavily on American Loyalist captains and harpooners. The business moved finished goods toward the American colonies and brought whale oil from New England to Britain. Some Enderby vessels were reportedly associated with tea cargoes connected with the Boston Tea Party, although the company's principal business was trading and whaling rather than tea distribution. The American Revolutionary War disrupted the New England whale-oil trade. An embargo on whale-oil exports in 1775 encouraged Enderby to seek alternative grounds in the South Atlantic. Rockingham sailed from Britain on 11 November 1775 under Captain Elihu L. Clark for the Brazil Banks. Around the same period Samuel Enderby, together with Alexander Champion and John St Barbe, organized a fleet on the Thames at Greenwich. The formal family company was founded around 1775–1776. By 1785 it controlled seventeen whaling ships, but intensive hunting had severely reduced South Atlantic whale populations. The family consequently shifted its attention toward the South Pacific, New Zealand, and subantarctic waters. The Enderbys had to overcome the East India Company's historical monopoly over much of the South Pacific trade. After lobbying by the family, the government permitted access to the region. Amelia left London on 1 September 1788 under Captain James Shields. After rounding Cape Horn, the vessel conducted whaling in the Southern Ocean; a crewman killed a sperm whale off Chile in March 1789, and Amelia returned in March 1790 with 139 tons of sperm oil. This voyage helped establish the company's pattern of combining commercial exploitation with geographic discovery. The fleet expanded rapidly. By 1791 the company owned or leased sixty-eight vessels active in subantarctic and Southern Ocean waters. Several ships were included in the Third Fleet voyage to New South Wales. Company captains also helped develop the New Zealand whaling trade, with vessels such as Speedy, Britannia, and Ocean making repeated voyages from Port Jackson. Rattler's expedition from 1793 to 1794, commanded by Royal Navy Lieutenant James Colnett, surveyed Pacific whaling grounds and the Galápagos Islands. Samuel Enderby died in 1797, leaving the enterprise to his sons Charles, Samuel, and George. During the early nineteenth century, Enderby vessels continued operating around New Zealand and the Southern Ocean. Ocean's Abraham Bristow discovered the Auckland Islands in 1806, and Syren visited whaling grounds near Japan in 1819 before returning with 346 tons of sperm oil. In 1830, following the death of Samuel Enderby Junior, grandsons Charles and George Enderby acquired a Thames site that became Enderby's Wharf. The site included a ropewalk and a hemp works producing rope and sail canvas, giving the family interests beyond the direct sale of whale products. The company sponsored some of the period's most important Antarctic voyages. From 1830 to 1833, John Biscoe commanded Tula, accompanied by Lively, on an expedition seeking sealing grounds and exploring the Southern Ocean. The expedition circumnavigated Antarctica and charted coastal and island features, although it suffered deaths from scurvy and lost Lively in the Falkland Islands. A later voyage led by John Balleny in 1838–1839, aboard Eliza Scott, discovered the Balleny Islands. Charles Enderby's Southern Whale Fishery Company attempted to create an enduring base at Auckland Island. The Enderby Settlement was established at Port Ross in December 1849, with plans for farming, ship provisioning, minor repairs, and whaling. The community, known as Hardwicke, failed to become economically viable and was abandoned in August 1852. Charles returned to Britain in 1853, and the settlement's failure contributed to the bankruptcy and liquidation of the Enderby family business in 1854. The company's historical legacy persisted in Antarctic and Southern Ocean place names and in literary references, especially Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.

• 1854

  Business liquidated

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The failed settlement and related financial problems led to liquidation of the Enderby family business.

• 1849

  Enderby Settlement founded

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Charles Enderby established a settlement at Port Ross on Auckland Island to support regional maritime activity.

• 1839

  Balleny Islands discovered

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  John Balleny's expedition aboard Eliza Scott discovered the Balleny Islands.

• 1833

  Biscoe expedition returns

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The company-sponsored Southern Ocean expedition returned after Antarctic circumnavigation and extensive charting.

• 1830

  Enderby's Wharf established

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Charles and George Enderby established a new Thames headquarters with rope and sail-making facilities.

• 1806

  Auckland Islands discovered by Ocean

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Abraham Bristow of Ocean discovered the Auckland Islands south of New Zealand.

• 1791

  Fleet reaches sixty-eight vessels

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The company owned or leased sixty-eight whaling ships operating in subantarctic and Southern Ocean regions.

• 1788

  Amelia sails for the Pacific

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Amelia departed London, beginning the company's pioneering Southern Ocean whaling operation.

• 1785

  Fleet reaches seventeen ships

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The company controlled seventeen whaling vessels before shifting away from increasingly depleted South Atlantic grounds.

• 1775

  Company founded

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Samuel Enderby founded the family company in London during the disruption of the Atlantic whale-oil trade.

• 1773

  Southern Fishery begins

  [1]Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Samuel Enderby began operating a London- and Boston-linked whaling business known as the Southern Fishery.

A historically significant British whaling and maritime-exploration enterprise whose commercial fleet helped expand European knowledge and activity in the Southern Ocean and around New Zealand.

• Whaling products · 1775

  Whale oil

  The company's core commercial output was whale oil, obtained through long-distance whaling voyages. It traded both general whale oil and sperm oil, transporting cargoes back to Britain for use in lighting, lubrication, and other industrial applications of the period.

• Whaling products · 1789

  Sperm oil

  Sperm oil was a particularly important product of the company's Pacific and Southern Ocean operations. Amelia returned to London with 139 tons in 1790, and Syren returned from waters near Japan with 346 tons in 1822.

• Marine animal products · 1775

  Whalebone and seal products

  Whaling and sealing voyages also produced whalebone and seal-related materials. These products formed part of the wider maritime commodity business associated with the company's Southern Ocean operations.

• Maritime manufacturing · 1830

  Rope and sail canvas

  At Enderby's Wharf, the family developed a ropewalk and hemp works producing rope and sail canvas from hemp and flax. These facilities supported the company's fleet and broadened its business into maritime supplies and manufacturing.

• 1849Enderby Settlement

  Auckland Islands · New Zealand

  Charles Enderby established a planned settlement at Port Ross to provide agriculture, resupply, repairs, and a base for whaling vessels.

  Outcome. The settlement, later called Hardwicke, proved unsuccessful and was abandoned in 1852.

  Source
• 1838Balleny expedition

  Southern Ocean · Antarctica

  The company supported John Balleny's voyage in Eliza Scott to investigate Southern Ocean whaling and sealing prospects.

  Outcome. The expedition discovered the Balleny Islands.

  Source
• 1830Southern Ocean Expedition

  Southern Ocean · Antarctica

  The company sponsored John Biscoe's expedition in Tula and Lively in search of sealing grounds and new commercial opportunities.

  Outcome. The expedition circumnavigated Antarctica and charted Enderby Land and numerous other Antarctic features, despite deaths from scurvy and the loss of Lively.

  Source
• 1793Rattler surveying expedition

  Southeastern Pacific · Galápagos Islands

  Samuel Enderby & Sons sent Rattler under James Colnett to survey prospective whaling grounds and surrounding Pacific geography.

  Outcome. The voyage surveyed the Galápagos Islands and contributed geographic information useful to later maritime operations.

  Source
• 1788Amelia Southern Ocean voyage

  Southern Ocean · Pacific Ocean

  The company sent Amelia west around Cape Horn to conduct whaling in the Southern Ocean, combining a commercial objective with the opening of a new operating region.

  Outcome. Amelia returned to London with 139 tons of sperm oil and established a precedent for the company's exploration-linked whaling strategy.

  Source

• 1849

  Create a Southern Ocean settlementStrategy

  Background

  The company needed a regional base for agriculture, ship supply, minor repairs, and whaling operations.

  Action taken

  Charles Enderby founded the Enderby Settlement at Port Ross on Auckland Island.

  Aftermath

  The settlement failed and was abandoned in 1852; its financial consequences contributed to liquidation of the family business in 1854.

  Source

• 1830

  Add maritime manufacturingStrategy

  Background

  The family sought to strengthen its Thames-based maritime operations beyond the ownership of whaling vessels.

  Action taken

  Charles and George Enderby established Enderby's Wharf with a ropewalk and hemp works producing rope and sail canvas.

  Source

• 1788

  Enter the Southern Ocean and PacificStrategy

  Background

  The family sought access to South Pacific waters historically restricted by the East India Company's monopoly.

  Action taken

  After lobbying for permission, the company dispatched Amelia around Cape Horn to conduct whaling in the Southern Ocean.

  Source

• 1775

  Shift from Atlantic supply routes to South Atlantic whalingStrategy

  Background

  The American Revolutionary War and an embargo on whale-oil exports from New England disrupted the company's established Atlantic supply arrangements.

  Action taken

  Enderby redirected vessels toward the South Atlantic, beginning with Rockingham's voyage to the Brazil Banks.

  Aftermath

  The move expanded the company's direct whaling operations and eventually encouraged a further shift toward the Pacific and Southern Ocean.

  Source

1. 1Samuel Enderby & Sonsen.wikipedia.org