19th century whaling
A01=Skip Finley
African American maritime history
African diaspora maritime
African-American history
African-American sailors
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
American industry
American whaling industry
Atlantic world labor history
Author_Skip Finley
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Black whaling captains
Cape Verdean sailors
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HBJK
Category=HBTM
Category=JBSL
Category=JFSL
Category=KNAF
Category=NHK
Category=NHTM
COP=United States
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
early American industry diversity
eq_bestseller
eq_business-finance-law
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
harpoon techniques
industrial whaling decline
Language_English
maritime apprenticeship systems
maritime labor history
maritime skill based advancement
maritime trade
New England whaling
PA=Available
post Civil War maritime labor
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
shipboard social mobility
small boat whaling
softlaunch
U.S. history
whaling
whaling boat crews
whaling captains of color
whaling economic history
whaling expedition life
whaling industry collapse
whaling industry history
whaling leadership hierarchy
whaling logbooks records
whaling masters biographies
whaling mates and steerer
whaling museum archives
whaling navigation skills
whaling occupational roles
whaling primary sources
whaling risk and danger
whaling ship crews
whaling voyages Atlantic
Product details
- ISBN 9781682478325
- Weight: 417g
- Dimensions: 155 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 31 Mar 2022
- Publisher: Naval Institute Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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The history of whaling as an industry on this continent has been well-told in books, including some that have been bestsellers, but what hasn't been told is the story of whaling's leaders of color in an era when the only other option was slavery. Whaling was one of the first American industries to exhibit diversity. A man became a captain not because he was white or well connected, but because he knew how to kill a whale. Along the way, he could learn navigation and reading and writing. Whaling presented a tantalizing alternative to mainland life.
Working with archival records at whaling museums, in libraries, from private archives and interviews with people whose ancestors were whaling masters, Finley culls stories from the lives of over 50 black whaling captains to create a portrait of what life was like for these leaders of color on the high seas.
Each time a ship spotted a whale, a group often including the captain would jump into a small boat, row to the whale, and attack it, at times with the captain delivering the killing blow. The first, second, or third mate and boat steerer could eventually have opportunities to move into increasingly responsible roles. Finley explains how this skills-based system propelled captains of color to the helm.
The book concludes as facts and factions conspire to kill the industry, including wars, weather, bad management, poor judgment, disease, obsolescence, and a non-renewable natural resource. Ironically, the end of the Civil War allowed the African Americans who were captains to exit the difficult and dangerous occupation--and make room for the Cape Verdean who picked up the mantle, literally to the end of the industry.
Working with archival records at whaling museums, in libraries, from private archives and interviews with people whose ancestors were whaling masters, Finley culls stories from the lives of over 50 black whaling captains to create a portrait of what life was like for these leaders of color on the high seas.
Each time a ship spotted a whale, a group often including the captain would jump into a small boat, row to the whale, and attack it, at times with the captain delivering the killing blow. The first, second, or third mate and boat steerer could eventually have opportunities to move into increasingly responsible roles. Finley explains how this skills-based system propelled captains of color to the helm.
The book concludes as facts and factions conspire to kill the industry, including wars, weather, bad management, poor judgment, disease, obsolescence, and a non-renewable natural resource. Ironically, the end of the Civil War allowed the African Americans who were captains to exit the difficult and dangerous occupation--and make room for the Cape Verdean who picked up the mantle, literally to the end of the industry.
Skip Finley is a former broadcasting executive who was responsible for over 40 U.S. radio stations and experienced success in all areas of radio. Attempting retirement since age 50, he keeps returning to communications, currently in marketing at the Vineyard Gazette Media Group on Martha's Vineyard, where he summered since 1955, deciding to become a writer. For five years Finley wrote the weekly Oak Bluffs Town Column and is a contributor to several publications in the areas of whaling and history.
