Nathaniel Portlock

Nathaniel Portlock (c1748–12 September 1817) was a British ship’s captain, maritime fur trader, and author.

He entered the Royal Navy in 1772 as an able seaman, serving in HMS St Albans (1764). In 1776 he joined HMS Discovery (1774) as master’s mate and served on the third Pacific voyage of James Cook. During the expedition, in August 1779, he was transferred to the HMS Resolution (1771).

He passed his lieutenant’s examination on 7 September 1780, then served on HMS Firebrand (1777) in the Channel fleet.

On Cook's third voyage, furs obtained in present day British Columbia and Alaska sold for good prices when the expedition called at Macao. In 1785 Richard Cadman Etches and partners, including Portlock and George Dixon formed a partnership, commonly called the King George's Sound Company, to develop the fur trade. Dixon had also served on Resolution in the Pacific Ocean under Cook. In September 1785 Portlock and Dixon sailed from England. Portlock was in command of the larger vessel, the 320 ton (BOM) King George, with a crew of 59. Dixon's was in command of the 200 ton (BOM) Queen Charlotte, with a crew of 33. Dixon and Portlock sailed together for most of their three year voyage. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reaching the Falkland Islands in January 1786, and transited Cape Horn to enter the Pacific Ocean. They reached the Hawaiian islands on 24 May and anchored in Kealakekua Bay (where Cook had been killed in 1779), but did not go ashore. They took on fresh food at other Hawaiian islands and proceeded on to what is now Alaska. After two years of plying the waters, Portlock and Dixon departed North America, reaching Macao in November 1788.

On their return Portlock and Dixon published an account of the voyage, based in part on letters written by William Beresford, the trader on the expedition.

Returning to the Royal Navy in 1791, Portlock was appointed to command the brig HMS Assistant, which accompanied Bligh on his second voyage to transport breadfruit plants from Tahiti to the West Indies. Following his return to England in 1793, Portlock was promoted to commander and later commanded the sloop HMS Arrow (1796). In 1799 he was promoted to captain, but does not appear to have had further employment at sea. He died on 12 September 1817 in Greenwich Hospital.

His son Major-General Joseph Ellison Portlock (30 September 1794 – 14 February 1864) was a British geologist and soldier.