George Dixon (captain)
| George Dixon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1748 Kirkoswald, Cumbria |
| Died | 11 November 1795 (aged 46–47) Bermuda |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | c. 1776–1791 |
| Commands held | |
George Dixon (1748 – 11 November 1795) was an English sea captain, explorer, and maritime fur trader. George Dixon was "born in Leath Ward, a native of Kirkoswald". The son of Thomas Dixon, he was baptised in Kirkoswald on 8 July 1748.
He served under Captain Cook in his third voyage, on HMS Resolution, as armourer. In the course of the voyage he learned about the commercial possibilities along the North West Coast of America.
History has not served Dixon well; for he is the least known of those who served and or were taught by Captain Cook and is only rarely mentioned in history books. When he is mentioned, he is relegated to a minor figure, overshadowed by the more dramatic figures of Cook and William Bligh, another officer on Cook's ill-fated third trip.
In 1782, George Dixon was engaged by William Bolts. The Wiener Zeitung newspaper of 29 June 1782 carried a report from Fiume that, “in the early days of this month, Mr. von Bolts, Director of the Triestine East India Company, together with the English captain, Mr. Digson, arrived in this city”. George Dixon wrote in the introduction to his account of the voyage he made for the Etches Company to the North West Coast in 1785–1788:
So early as 1781, William Bolts, Esq; fitted out the Cobenzell, an armed ship of 700 tons, for the North-West Coast of America. She was to have sailed from Trieste (accompanied by a tender of forty-five tons) under Imperial colours, and was equally fitted out for trade or discovery: men of eminence in every department of science were engaged on board; all the maritime Courts of Europe were written to, in order to secure a good reception for these vessels, at their respective ports, and favourable answers were returned; yet, after all, this expedition, so exceedingly promising in every point of view, was overcome by a set of interested men, then in power in Vienna.
The Triestine Society sent the Cobenzell in September 1783 on a commercial voyage to the Malabar Coast and China by way of the Cape of Good Hope. After leaving Trieste, she proceeded to Marseilles, where she took in the principal part of her cargo and departed that port in December. Apparently, Bolts still wished to carry out his North West Coast venture in connection with this voyage, and asked George Dixon to participate. However, Dixon went back to England, where he attempted to interest Sir Joseph Banks and English merchants in the North West Coast fur trade. This resulted in the formation of the Etches consortium, of which Dixon became a member with appointment as captain of the Queen Charlotte. The similarity is notable between the plan of the consortium and that elaborated by Bolts, which was apparently communicated to them by Dixon.
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