Whaling Voyages as a Team-Building Exercise

The Northern Whale Fishery, The Swan and Isabella, c. 1840, John Ward of Hull, A11984 from NGA

(Updated, 12/12/16: fixed broken links, updated cross-references)   This post, like the previous one, comes from my recent Ahab-lite obsession with whaling, as well as the recent general interest in Hermann Melville’s monumental Moby Dick – which celebrated its 161st anniversary in 2012 (including my slow plod through it over many months, the Google doodle […]

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The Golden Age of Whaling

Boston Harbor, Sunset, Fitz Henry Lane

The mid-18th century was the “golden age” of whaling in America, with hundreds of ships making long voyages – often into uncharted parts of the oceans – to kill whales and process them into key ingredients of the Industrial Revolution: oil to illuminate homes, offices, streets and factories at night; and lubrication for machines. Candles […]

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