WHALING WAS ONE OF THE MOST LUCRATIVE INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD
A wharf in New Bedford
Captain Ichabod Padduck introduced residents of Nantucket to whaling in 1690. That small scale whaling operation ballooned into one of the most profitable whaling operations by the early 19th century. As a result, Nantucket and New Bedford became the largest hubs of whaling in New England, and eventually, the world. Their harbors were bursting with ships, small and large, foreign and domestic.
At each new port that ship captains and crew went ashore, they brought the New England culture with them. Seafaring cities all over the Eastern Seaboard became some of the most diverse places on the planet; cultures blended, ideas on whaling were exchanged, and most importantly, the whaling process was explained to prospective ship owners. New England whalers were the influential driving force behind many of the new operations that became present at the time.
At each new port that ship captains and crew went ashore, they brought the New England culture with them. Seafaring cities all over the Eastern Seaboard became some of the most diverse places on the planet; cultures blended, ideas on whaling were exchanged, and most importantly, the whaling process was explained to prospective ship owners. New England whalers were the influential driving force behind many of the new operations that became present at the time.