NOTES ON THE WHALING SHIP EMELIA'S JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH SEAS (1788-1790)CAPTAIN JAMES SHIELDS' REPORT TO ENDERBY & SONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS EL INFORME DEL CAPITÁN JAMES SHIELDS A ENDERBY & SONS Y OTROS DOCUMENTOS

Abstract

In this paper some notes are written about the journey of a group of English whalers between 1788 and 1790 to hunt sperm whales in the Pacific Ocean aboard Emelia, the first ship to cross Cape Horn for this purpose. The notes cover a series of topics that, together, aim to provide a look at the context in which this journey takes place and the results obtained. It includes a brief description of the ship, its owners and also its captain. His itinerary could be reconstructed, based on the letter from Captain Shields to Samuel Enderby & Sons, owners of the ship, and a report sent to the British authorities by a group of whaling traders. Some information is given on the trips that follow in the footsteps of Emelia in 1790. In addition, the identity of the harpooner who killed the first sperm whale in the southern seas, allegedly the first officer Archaelus Hammond, from Nantucket is discussed.