Whalers harpooning a whale.
The New England whaling industry was once the most profitable and widespread enterprise in the world. Before Nantucketers pioneered modern whaling, Native Americans and settlers practiced the trade on a very small scale. Nantucket's direct access to the Atlantic and close proximity to whale-rich waters made it attractive for whaling. The industry eventually expanded over the entire New England region. As a result, whalers influenced other whale ports and drastically impacted whale populations in Atlantic waters, which led to the radical movement of whaling to the Pacific, where the industry slowly fell to it's demise.