''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 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. Th ...

. She sailed in 1785 on a voyage of exploration, together with the . The two vessels whaled in the South Seas and sought furs in the Pacific Northwest. They returned to England via

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

(Canton), where they picked up cargoes for the British

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

(EIC). Their voyage accomplished a

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...

of the world. On her return new owners apparently sailed her between Britain and South Carolina. She is no longer listed after 1796.

Voyage (1785-88)

In 1785 Richard Cadman Etches and partners, including

Nathaniel Portlock Nathaniel Portlock (c. 1748 – 12 September 1817) was a British ship's captain, maritime fur trader, and author. He entered the Royal Navy in 1772 as an able seaman, serving in . In 1776 he joined as master's mate and served on the third Pac ...

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 The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, reaching Port Egmont, in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

, on 5 January 1786.British Southern Whale Fishery Database – voyages: ''King George''.
/ref> They then transited

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

to enter the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. They reached the Hawaiian islands on 24 May and anchored in

Kealakekua Bay Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona. Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples (heiaus) and al ...

(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 Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. After two years of plying the waters, Portlock and Dixon departed North America, reaching

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...

in November 1787. In China Portlock picked up a cargo for the British

. Homeward bound, Portlock sailed from China 10 February 1788 and on 13 March reached North Island, the northmost of three islands in the bay that formed the principle anchorage of

Enggano Island Enggano Island is about 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia, though it can also be considered a barrier island of Sumatra. Enggano is about long from ea ...

. ''King George'' reached St Helena on 13 June, and arrived at The Downs on 23 August.British Library: ''King George'' (5).
/ref> On their return Portlock and Dixon each published accounts of their voyage.

Fate

No longer listed after 1796.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * *{{Citation , first1=Nathaniel , last1= Portlock , authorlink1 = Nathaniel Portlock , title=A voyage round the world but more particularly to the north-west coast of America: performed in 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788, in the King George and Queen Charlotte, Captains Portlock and Dixon , date=1789 , place = London , publisher=J. Stockdale, and G. Goulding , oclc = 221899194 , ol=6961184M Pre-Confederation British Columbia Sailing ships of the United Kingdom 1785 ships Whaling ships Ships of the British East India Company

Voyage (1785-88)

Fate

See also

Notes

Citations

References