212 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



There is, therefore, reason to think that the 

 first Spanish whaling in the Pacific preceded the 

 British. 



Colnett was a naval officer, who had taken part 

 in one of Cook's voyages. In 1792 the merchants 

 of the city of London, interested in the South Sea 

 Fisheries, prepared a memorandum, and submitted 

 it to the Board of Trade, in which they planned a 

 voyage round Cape Horn to discover whaling 

 grounds for whalers who had rounded the Cape. 

 The Admiralty were induced to look with favour on 

 the scheme, H.M. sloop the Rattler was sold to the 

 merchants, and Colnett was nominated to take com- 

 mand of her, being granted leave for the purpose. 

 A crew of twenty-five men were engaged, and the 

 vessel was equipped and made ready for sea by the 

 nth November, 1792. Colnett purchased a half- 

 share in the vessel, the other half of the undertaking 

 being in the hands of Messrs Enderby & Sons, 

 ^at that time the largest firm in the whale fishery. 

 Owing to trouble with the French at this time there 

 was a delay in clearing the Rattler, and she was sent 

 to Portsmouth to await her commander, who joined 

 her on the 24th December, 1792. In the meanwhile, 

 owing to the bounty offered by the Admiralty to 

 seamen for enlisting in the navy, the crew of the 

 Rattler was depleted by the desertion of three sea- 

 men, who left to join the navy. Three landsmen 

 were secured in the Isle of Wight, and the Rattler 

 set out on her voyage with a crew of seventeen 

 officers and men, three landsmen, and five boys ; her 



