Newburyport, Gloucester, Marblehead, New Bedford, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard were important places for whaling during the 1800s.
People hunted whales for their oil. The oil was used to make perfume and to light lamps. People also wanted bones and meat from the whales.
Most whale hunting crews included a captain, boat steerers, harpooners, sailors, a cook, a steward, a cooper, a blacksmith, an engineer, and a cabin boy. The captain was in charge but everyone had to do his part.
Whaling was a very dangerous business. Usually, the whale was much larger than the ship. After they spotted a whale, the brave crewmembers climbed into smaller boats and rowed toward the whale. They had to get close enough to aim and throw their harpoons. Once they killed the whale, they tied it to the large ship so it wouldn't float away. Then they removed all the parts of the whale they wanted. Often sharks gathered around the rotting whale.
Whalers were often away from home on long voyages. It often took two to three years to find, follow, and kill the whales before returning home to their families.
Whaling
Newburyport, Gloucester, Marblehead, New Bedford, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard were important places for whaling during the 1800's.
People hunted whales for their oil. On the ships, the blubber was "tried out," melted down into oil. The oil was used to make perfume, to make candles, and to light lamps. People also wanted bones and meat from the whales.
Most whale hunting crews included a captain, boat steerers, harpooners, sailors, a cook, a steward, a cooper, a blacksmith, an engineer, and a cabin boy. The captain was in charge but everyone had to do his part.
Whaling was a very dangerous business. Usually, the whale was much larger than the ship. After they spotted a whale, the brave crewmembers climbed into smaller boats and rowed toward the whale. They had to get close enough to aim and throw the harpoons. Once they killed the whale, they tied it to the large ship so that it wouldn't float away. Then they removed all the parts of the whale they wanted. Usually, sharks gathered around the rotting whale.
Whalers were often away from home on long voyages traveling as far away as the south Pacific and the Antarctic. It often took two or three years to find, follow, and kill the whales before returning home to their families.
During the early and mid 1800's New Bedford was the most successful whaling center in the world.In 1857, there were more whalers from New Bedford than all the other whaling ports combined. There were 329 whaling vessels in New Bedford's fleet and 10,000 men worked for the fleet.
Petroleum, oil, was discovered in 1859. After that the whaling industry declined.
This picture shows a whaleman cutting into a whale.