William Taverner ( 1680 – 7 July 1768) born

Bay de Verde Bay de Verde ( 2016 population: 392) is an incorporated town in Conception Bay on the northern tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The first recorded inhabitants at Bay de Verde arrived in 1662. Bay de Verde b ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Taverner, son of William Taverner was a plantation owner in St. John's in 1768 and by 1702 had business establishments in Trinity and

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

. He became very successful in his business, so much so he spent the winter months in England. Following the Treaty of Utrecht, Placentia and the southwest coast of the Island of

were ceded to Britain. Taverner was appointed to survey this part of the coast and the adjacent islands where the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

usually fished. His report, presented in 1718, included charts and noted the presence of French ships at Saint Pierre. From 1718 until 1725, Taverner was probably involved in the trade between Poole, Placentia and Saint Pierre. He and other Poole men were involved in the salmon fishery of the south coast in 1726. Taverner conducted another survey from 1726 to 1728, this time on the west and northeast coast of the Island of Newfoundland. Experimenting with trade and the fishery in the area, he was operating on his own account in the Strait of Belle Isle in 1729. As an advisor to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, Taverner was consulted in 1740 on the question of fortifications in Newfoundland. His review of the fishery for the years 1736 to 1739 demonstrated the need for protection. Most of Taverner's survey work was presented verbally rather than in chart form and few documents are extant. Nevertheless, Taverners work was significant in expanding English knowledge of the south coast and in pioneering trade in the areas previously dominated by the French and

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

External links

*
''Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taverner, William Taverner, Wiliam 1768 deaths People from Bay de Verde Year of birth uncertain