James Weddell

James Weddell (August 24, 1787 - September 9, 1834) was an English navigator, sealer, and explorer of the antarctic.

Later life

Weddell offered his services to the Admiralty with a proposal for a return voyage to the high southern latitudes, but was turned down. Instead, he returned to trading along the warmer Atlantic coasts. In 1829 he was still master of the Jane, but on a passage from Buenos Aires to Gibraltar the Jane leaked so badly that she had to be given up at the Azores. Weddell and his cargo were transferred to another ship for the passage to England, but this ran aground on the island of Pico, and Weddell only barely survived.

Related Topics:
Admiralty - 1829 - Buenos Aires - Gibraltar - Azores

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The loss of the Jane meant financial ruin for Weddell, who was forced to take paid employment as a ship's master. In September 1830 he left England as master of the Eliza, bound for the Swan River Colony in western Australia. From there he proceeded to Tasmania. He sailed back to England in 1832.

Related Topics:
1830 - Swan River Colony - Australia - Tasmania - 1832

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Weddell died in 1834 at the age of forty-seven in relative poverty and obscurity in London.

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