Following the Treaty of Utrecht, Placentia and the southwest coast of the Island of Newfoundland were ceded to Britain.
Taverner was appointed to survey this part of the coast and the adjacent islands where the French usually fished.
His report, presented in 1718, included charts and noted the presence of French ships at Saint Pierre.
Taverner conducted another survey from 1726 to 1728, this time on the west and northeast coast of the Island of Newfoundland.
Nevertheless, Taverners work was significant in expanding English knowledge of the south coast and in pioneering trade in the areas previously dominated by the French and Basques.