William Martin's 1887 Whaling Voyage Main Menu William Martin Biography of William Martin The 1887 Voyage Acknowledgments and Site Information Providence Public Library

Whaling in the 19th Century

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At its peak in the middle of the 19th century, whaling was one of the most important industries in America. Prior to the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania, whale oil provided lighting in lamps and candles and lubricated the machinery of the Industrial Revolution. Even byproducts like baleen played an important role, stiffening corsets, hats and riding crops. 

But the ecological costs of the whaling industry were equally prominent. As whale populations began to dwindle voyages became longer and increased in distance. Whaling crews faced voyages of three years or longer, away from their families and uncertain that their efforts would lead to financial success. The daily life of a whaler was divided between tedium and brutality; the former often filled with making journal entries or working scrimshaw and the latter with the pursuit, butchering and processing of whales. 

This page has paths:

  1. William Martin and the 1887 Voyage of the Eunice H. Adams Jordan Goffin

Contents of this path:

  1. The Industry of Whaling
  2. Life at Sea
  3. Occupations aboard a whaling vessel
  4. Desertion