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Whale oil was a huge business back then. Oil lanterns were ubiquitous in businesses and in homes. Whalers were very well paid and doing a very physical and rela
by tomcam 3y ago
Whale oil was a huge business back then. Oil lanterns were ubiquitous in businesses and in homes. Whalers were very well paid and doing a very physical and relatively dangerous job, sort like frackers now.
- lovecg 3y agoOn that note, “Moby Dick” is a surprisingly detailed and accurate depiction of whalers’ day to day, I learned a lot.
- ulizzle 3y agoThere's a movie called "In the Heart of the Sea" which you should watch. It's about the same shipwreck of the Essex that Melville took inspiration from.
- mordechai9000 3y agoIt's based on an excellent book, of the same title. The book delves into the social structure of Nantucket society and the whaleship crews, the personal backgrounds of many of the officers and men, and the details of the whaling business. I don't remember if the film showed this, but the captain had to go home and tell his sister they ate her son, his nephew. It was second disastrous voyage, if I remember correctly, and it was the end of his career. No one would risk a whaling ship under him again.
- hprotagonist 3y agoAlmost. Pollard captained the Two Brothers on his return…which promptly sank. Then he quit. Owen Chase, Thomas Nickerson and others returned to sea multiple times.
- quercusa 3y agoMoby Dick is a great book, but it's a mistake to make 16-year-olds read it. I've heard of many people reading it 30 years later and really enjoying it.
- soperj 3y agoIt was the 5th largest industry in the US in the 1850s, the US had by far the most whaling ships of any nation.