History of the Pacific Islands Commons^™

The Whaler’S Empire: Industry, Environment, And American Expansion In The Pacific Ocean, Andrew J. Hiner

All Theses

The American whaling industry reached its peak in the mid nineteenth century, numbering over seven hundred vessels and reaching from the South Atlantic to Arctic Oceans. The rise of this maritime trade coincided with the emergence of the nation’s industrial revolution at home, a revolution which employed the product of whaling—namely whale oil—as a lubricant for machinery. Historians have often overlooked the use of this commodity in manufacturing, focusing instead on whale oil’s use as an illuminant. Examining the relation between the whaling and manufacturing industries offers new insights into how ocean environments played a role in domestic production. It …