92 The Story of the New England Whalers 



British man-o'-war and serve under the claws 

 of the cat. 



The British government had determined to 

 establish a British whale fishery. As few British 

 subjects knew anything about whale fishing, and 

 because Nantucket men knew all about it, the 

 authorities tried to compel the captured whalers 

 to man the ships destined for this fishery, and 

 not only secure the bone and oil wanted in the 

 market, but at the same time build up a whale- 

 fishing population at some port in England. To 

 encourage the owners of British ships fitted for 

 this fishery, the government granted each ship a 

 bounty of from 500 to 1000. 



In a communication from the American com- 

 missioners in France (Franklin and John Adams), 

 dated October 30, 1778, to M. de Sartine, is the 

 following : 



"The English last year carried on a very valu- 

 able whale fishery on the coast of Brazil and off 

 the River Plate . . . just on the edge of sound- 

 ings, off and on. . . . They have this year about 

 seventeen vessels in this fishery which have all 

 sailed in the months of September and October. 





