An Innovative Industry Leads to Innovative Ideas
The modern whaling industry led to some of the most innovative ideas of the 19th century, especially in ships and harpoons. Almost everything in ships changed, and a new lethal harpoon became a killing machine.
- Ships greatly changed: they became larger and beamier, while also becoming faster in the process. - Original ships coming out of Nantucket were very narrow, slow and small. - Crews were being killed by rough weather weekly; New England ship engineers had to do something different. - They came up with the idea to make a deeper, wider V-shaped hull, eventually earning the classification of clipper. - The hull cut through the water like a knife, and since it was deeper it offered more room for storage. - Sails also became larger. - As a result, the sails caught more wind allowing the ship to move faster. Propulsion also changed over time. New ships that were built right before the industry ended were iron steamships that could travel farther faster than the traditional sloop or clipper. Harpoons were instrumental in the killing of whales. When Nantucketers began whaling, they were generally thrown by hand. It was hard for the whalers to pinpoint the location of their throw, and it had to be thrown HARD to pierce the whale's thick skin. - A Norwegian named Svend Foyn built the first explosive harpoon. - American whalers quickly began to use it. - When it was mounted on the state-of-the-art clippers, they became literal killing factories, and whale populations in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans hit record lows. |
NANTUCKET HARBOR: A MAJOR WHALING HUB
Ships entering Nantucket Harbor on "camels".
Nantucket became the whaling capital of the world, so naturally Nantucket Harbor became one the busiest and most crowded ports in the world, though New Bedford remained THE largest port.
- There were a series of sandbars that led to the grounding and eventual sinking of many ships at the mouth of Nantucket Harbor.
- Engineers came up with the idea to put drydocks there to move ships over.
- The drydocks became known as "camels".
- There were a series of sandbars that led to the grounding and eventual sinking of many ships at the mouth of Nantucket Harbor.
- Engineers came up with the idea to put drydocks there to move ships over.
- The drydocks became known as "camels".
Crews Were Diverse and Equal
The whaling industry was one of the few places where Native Americans, Blacks, and other badly treated cultures found work on a regular basis.
- Since the industry was so taxing on lives, finding the right person was difficult for ship owners. - Blacks turned to the industry because they were paid, on the contrary countrymen in the south were slaves. - Native Americans also became modern whalers, as the ones who did not die and assimilated into American culture employed their knowledge and skills. - Crews were also from Pacific Islands, such as Tahiti, Polynesia, and Hawaii. These men would join a ship for a few months and leave upon return to their native homes. |