Editing South Sea Company (section)

=== Arctic whaling ===
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{{main|Whaling in the United Kingdom#The northern whale fishery}}

The [[Greenland Company]] had been established by an act of Parliament, the [[Greenland Trade Act 1692]] ([[4 Will. & Mar.]] c. 17) in 1693 with the object of catching whales in the Arctic. The products of their "whale-fishery" were to be free of customs and other duties. Partly due to maritime disruption caused by wars with France, the Greenland Company failed financially within a few years. In 1722 Henry Elking published a proposal, directed at the governors of the South Sea Company, that they should resume the "Greenland Trade" and send ships to catch whales in the Arctic. He made very detailed suggestions about how the ships should be crewed and equipped.<ref>Elking, Henry [1722](1980). ''A view of the Greenland Trade and whale-fishery''. Reprinted: Whitby: Caedmon. {{ISBN|0-905355-13-X}}</ref>

The British Parliament confirmed that a British Arctic "whale-fishery" would continue to benefit from freedom from customs duties, and in 1724 the South Sea Company decided to commence whaling. They had 12 whale-ships built on the River Thames and these went to the Greenland seas in 1725. Further ships were built in later years, but the venture was not successful. There were hardly any experienced whalemen remaining in Britain, and the company had to engage Dutch and Danish whalemen for the key posts aboard their ships: for instance all commanding officers and harpooners were hired from the [[North Frisia]]n island of [[Föhr]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Uwe |last=Zacchi |language=de |title=Menschen von Föhr. Lebenswege aus drei Jahrhunderten |publisher=Boyens & Co. |location=Heide |year=1986 |isbn=978-3-8042-0359-4 |page=13}}</ref> Other costs were badly controlled and the catches remained disappointingly few, even though the company was sending up to 25 ships to [[Davis Strait]] and the [[Greenland]] seas in some years. By 1732 the company had accumulated a net loss of £177,782 from their eight years of Arctic whaling.<ref>Anderson, Adam [1801](1967). ''The Origin of Commerce''. Reprinted: New York: Kelley.</ref>

The South Sea Company directors appealed to the British government for further support. Parliament had passed an act of Parliament{{which|date=April 2025}} in 1732 that extended the duty-free concessions for a further nine years. In 1733 the [[Whale Fishery Act 1732]] ([[6 Geo. 2]]. c. 33) was passed that also granted a government subsidy to British Arctic whalers, the first in a long series of such acts of Parliament that continued and modified the whaling subsidies throughout the 18th century. This, and the subsequent acts, required the whalers to meet conditions regarding the crewing and equipping of the whale-ships that closely resembled the conditions suggested by Elking in 1722.<ref>Evans, Martin H. (2005). Statutory requirements regarding surgeons on British whale-ships. ''The Mariner's Mirror'' '''91''' (1) 7–12.</ref> In spite of the extended duty-free concessions, and the prospect of real subsidies as well, the court and directors of the South Sea Company decided that they could not expect to make profits from Arctic whaling. They sent out no more whale-ships after the loss-making 1732 season.