William Mariner (writer)

William Mariner (1791–1853) was an Englishman who lived in Tonga from 29 November 1806 to (probably) 8 November 1810. He later published Tonga Islands, an account of his experiences that is now one of the major sources of information on Tonga, before it was significantly influenced by European culture, Christianity or colonisation.

As a teenager, Mariner was a ship's clerk aboard the British privateer Port au Prince. In 1806, while it was anchored off the Tongan island of Lifuka, in the Ha'apai island group, Port au Prince was seized by a chief named Fīnau ʻUlukālala. Most of the crew were killed during the capture of the ship, but the chief spared Mariner and a few crewmates. Mariner lived in Tonga for four years. After returning to England, Mariner dictated a detailed account of his experiences, a description of Tongan society and culture, and a grammar and dictionary of the Tongan language.

The Port-au-Prince was an English private ship of war, a vessel of 500 tons armed with 24 long nine and twelve pound guns as well as 8 twelve pound carronades on the quarter deck. She carried a "letter of marque" and this document permitted her Captain and crew to become pirates against the enemies of England, primarily France and Spain. In payment for their pirate raids any plunder they seized was to be their own.

Commanded by Captain Duck she sailed for the New World on 12 February 1805 having been given a twofold commission by her owner, a Mr. Robert Bent of London. Their primary goal was to attack the Spanish ships of the New World capturing gold and valuables but if she failed in that task her secondary objective was to sail into the Pacific in search of whales to be rendered for their oil.

The Atlantic crossing was rough but uneventful and she lay off the coast of Brazil by April and then rounded Cape Horn in July before proceeding north in search of Spanish Galleons laden with treasure. They captured a number of ships but most yielded little in the way of valuables and at times the men began to get disgruntled by capturing what they contemptuously referred to as dung barges. The Port-au-Prince was now also on the lookout for whales as well but, although catching a few, experienced little success in this endeavour.

After leaving Hawaii in September under the command of Mr. Brown, she intended to make port at Tahiti but missed the target and instead sailed westward for the Tonga Islands. She arrived in Ha'apai on 9 November 1806, almost two years since departing England and after numerous engagements, leaking badly and having already witnessed the death of her captain. She was laden with the spoils of war and cargo amounting to approx twelve thousand dollars plus a considerable amount of copper plus silver and gold ore. A large quantity of silver candlesticks, chalices, incense pans, crucifixes and images complemented the treasure.

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