Thomas Ebrill
Thomas Ebrill (also Abrill) was a British trader who operated in the Pacific from 1826 to 1842 with the ships Minerva , Star and Amphitrite .
Life
In 1820 he had been living in Tahiti for some time . Together with his brother-in-law Samuel Pinder Henry, he planted a sugar cane plantation there. His numerous trade and transport trips took him over a period of 25 years through the whole of Eastern Polynesia , but also to Sydney and Valparaíso . From 1832 to 1839 he operated pearl fishing on the Gambier Islands , for which he used Polynesian divers from Rapa . In 1839 he assisted the French captain Laplace, who was stranded on the reef off Tahiti.
After Ebrill had brought the first shipment of sandalwood to Sydney in 1826 , he resumed this trade around 1841/42. On November 1, 1842, he and his ship's crew fell victim to an attack by Melanesians on the Pine Island , New Caledonia ; his ship was looted and burned. Ebrill succeeded in 1833 in the Actéon group of the Tuamotu archipelago re- sightings of islands, which at the time were believed to be new discoveries.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Max Quanchi & John Robson: Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of the Pacific Islands, Lanham-Toronto-Oxford 2005, p. 39
literature
- O'Reilly, Patrick: Tahitiens: répertoire bio-bibliographique de la Polynésie Française ; supplément; Paris: Musée de l'Homme, 1966 (Publications de la Société des Océanistes; 17)
- Dunmore, John: Who's who in Pacific navigation ; Carlton, Vic. : Melbourne Univ. Press, 1992, p. 95
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ebrill, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British merchant |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 18th century or 19th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 19th century |