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Episodes tagged "whaling": 1 through 2 of 2

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  1. Beale Recounts the Whaling Industry
    date 1839map Pacific, Outside UStags whaling, whaling industry

    The whale industry was a vital part of the American economy in the 19th century. Many able-bodied men risked their lives to bring back the precious oil tied up in the blubber and head case of the enormous beasts of the sea. Thomas Beale, a surgeon aboard a whaling vessel, spent many years observing the whaling industry first hand. He took care to document the anatomy and behavior of the whales themselves...

  2. Essex: Starvation and Survival
    date November 20, 1820 to February 23, 1821map NANTUCKET, Massachusettstags whaling, Nantucket, cannibalism, Essex

    As the sun sank toward the horizon, the empty, blue enormity of the Pacific washed over three small whale boats. The Essex had sailed from Nantucket a year ago, scouring two oceans for the whale oil that drove the island’s economy.  On November 20, 1820, the ship was 2000 miles west of South America, over 1200 miles from the nearest island. That day, an eighty-ton sperm whale escaped the pursuing...