Whaling

The whaling industry boomed in the early 1800s, though it would later fade when whale oil was no longer needed for lamps. Despite its decline, the whaling industry left a fascinating legacy of journals, illustrations, literature, and even art. One young whaler in particular, Herman Melville, became a titan of American literature.

What Products Were Produced from Whales?
Whaling in the 1800s is often remembered for tales of adventure, but men actually risked their lives throwing harpoons at huge animals because many useful products were obtained from the bodies of whales.

Was Moby Dick a real whale?
When Herman Melville wrote his classic novel Moby Dick, he based the character of the white whale on a real animal, a white whale often sighted in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America.

A Brief History of Whaling
The whaling industry flourished in New England from about 1820 to 1860, until the demand for oil for illumination was replaced by oil taken from the ground.

New Bedford Whaling Museum
New Bedford, Massachusetts was a center of the American whaling industry in the 1800s. The site for the New Bedford Whaling Museum boasts a number of worthwhile online exhibits as well as a comprehensive overview of American whaling.

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