A Brief History of Whaling

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While you could argue that practically everyone who has gone through the American education system has at least heard of Moby Dick, the whaling industry, a main element of the epic, is not so well known. In order to fully understand and appreciate this great work, it is in my opinion, important to have somewhat of an understanding of the industry which it is centered around. This is especially true because whaling was such a prominent, and important aspect of 19th century culture and although far less popular, still exists today. Throughout this essay I will give a brief history of whaling, discuss why it was such an important industry in the 19th century, talk about whaling in modern times, and lastly, tie it in to the novel.

Although not popularized until around the 19th century, whaling as a source of food and materials is believed to go back to prehistoric times. Experts believe that people in what is now Korea hunted whales as early as 5000 B.C. while the early inhabitants of Norway started hunting the enormous mammals about a thousand years later (Encyclopedia.com, 2008). Many early Native American tribes on the northwest coast had also practiced whaling (Encyclopedia.com, 2008). These people traditionally used canoes or boats made of animal skins to hunt whales when groups of them passed by during migration. As time went on other people, like the Japanese and Aleuts began to hunt these huge creatures. The Japanese used nets while the Aleuts used poison dipped spears, and the Inuits used toggle head harpoons (Jackson, 2011). Although early peoples who hunted whales for subsistence only went after small whales like Beluga whales and Narwhals, whaling was still a very dangerous affair (Encyclopedia.com, 2001).

The Basque...

... middle of paper ...

...o eventually allow commercial whaling again (Encylopedia.com, 2008).

Works Cited

Encyclopedia.com. (2008) “Whaling.” Retrieved December 7th 2011 from:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-whaling.html

Fears, Niki. (2009) Brighthub.com “20th Century Whaling and the Eve of Extinction.” Retrieved

December 12th 2011 from: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science- environmental/articles/17115.aspx

Jackson, Gordon (2011) Britannica.com “Whaling.” Retrieved December 7th 2011 from:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641450/whaling

Keet, Andrew. (2009) Whales.org.za. “The History of Whaling” Retrieved December 12th

2011 From: http://www.whales.org.za/facts/whaling.aspx

McNamara, Robert. (2007) About.com. “History of the 19th Century Whaling Industry.”

Retrieved December 10th 2011 From: http://history1800s.about.com/od/whaling/a/Hist

whaling.htm

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