In the age of so-called `merchant carrier`, master mariners had all powers to operate and manage ships for they went on board ships as shipowners and merchants. But status and wages of master mariners fell with the advent of the specialized shipowners. In this context I examined status and wages of master mariners in English merchant ships during the industrial revolution. The results are as follows; The status of master mariners fell to simple navigator or foreman of the crews in the coastal route and near sea routes such as the Baltic and the Western Europe routes and guided by the ship`s husbands or shipping agents in the ocean routes such as the Atlantic and the Mediterranean routes. The wages of master mariners did not increase so much in comparison with those of common crews throughout the period from the middle of the 18th century to the early of the nineteenth century. The wages of master mariners increased from ￡5-6 in the middle of the 18th century to ￡7-10 during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the same period the pay of able-bodied seamen rose from 55-65s to ￡5-11. What caused and resulted by specialized shipowners to cope with changeable market situations with flexibility was reduction of master mariners` position and authority and even increase in wages compared to the great raise those of common crews.