Compañía Argentina de Pesca
Encyclopedia
Compañía Argentina de Pesca (Argentine Fishing Company) was initiated by the British-Norwegian whaler
and Antarctic explorer Carl A. Larsen
, and established on 29 February 1904 by three foreign residents of Buenos Aires
: the Norwegian
consul
P. Christophersen, H.H. Schlieper (US national), and E. Tornquist (a Swedish banker). Larsen was the company’s Manager, in which capacity he organized the building of Grytviken
, the first land-based whaling station in Antarctica put into operation on 24 December 1904.
Compañía Argentina de Pesca applied for a British whaling leases
at the British Legation
in Buenos Aires
; the application was filed by the company's president Christophersen and Captain Guillermo Núñez, a technical advisor and shareholder in the company who was also Director of Armaments of the Argentine Navy
. The lease was granted by the Governor of the Falkland Islands
and Dependencies
on 1 January 1906, and subsequently renewed.
In 1960 Compañía Argentina de Pesca ceased its operations on South Georgia
, selling the Grytviken whaling station to Albion Star (South Georgia) Ltd. (Falkland Islands
).
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
and Antarctic explorer Carl A. Larsen
Carl Anton Larsen
Carl Anton Larsen was a Norwegian Antarctic Explorer, who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils, for which he received the Back Grant from the Royal Geographical Society...
, and established on 29 February 1904 by three foreign residents of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
: the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
P. Christophersen, H.H. Schlieper (US national), and E. Tornquist (a Swedish banker). Larsen was the company’s Manager, in which capacity he organized the building of Grytviken
Grytviken
Grytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...
, the first land-based whaling station in Antarctica put into operation on 24 December 1904.
Compañía Argentina de Pesca applied for a British whaling leases
Leasing
Leasing is a process by which a firm can obtain the use of a certain fixed assets for which it must pay a series of contractual, periodic, tax deductible payments....
at the British Legation
Legation
A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
; the application was filed by the company's president Christophersen and Captain Guillermo Núñez, a technical advisor and shareholder in the company who was also Director of Armaments of the Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
. The lease was granted by the Governor of the Falkland Islands
Governor of the Falkland Islands
The Governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands, acting "in Her Majesty's name and on Her Majesty's behalf" as the islands' de facto head of state in the absence of the British monarch...
and Dependencies
Falkland Islands Dependencies
Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement for administering the British territories in Sub-Antarctica and Antarctica from 1843 until 1985.-Background:...
on 1 January 1906, and subsequently renewed.
In 1960 Compañía Argentina de Pesca ceased its operations on South Georgia
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands, known as the South Sandwich...
, selling the Grytviken whaling station to Albion Star (South Georgia) Ltd. (Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
).
See also
- History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsHistory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsThe history of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is relatively recent. When European explorers found the islands, they were uninhabited, and their hostile climate, mountainous terrain, and remoteness made subsequent settlement difficult...
- Sovereignty of South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSovereignty of South Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsThe sovereignty of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is disputed between the United Kingdom and Argentina. The United Kingdom claimed South Georgia in 1775, annexed the islands in 1908, and has exercised de facto control with the exception of a brief period during the Falklands War in...
- GrytvikenGrytvikenGrytviken is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a...
- Carl Anton LarsenCarl Anton LarsenCarl Anton Larsen was a Norwegian Antarctic Explorer, who made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica, the most significant being the first discovery of fossils, for which he received the Back Grant from the Royal Geographical Society...
- Viktor EsbensenViktor EsbensenViktor Esbensen was a Norwegian mariner known for exploring the Antarctic region together with his father-in-law Carl Anton Larsen, looking to make a living from whaling. He was killed when his ship was sunk in World War II....